Over the past year, I had an opportunity to work in a number of schools. Through my work with the City and the Toronto District School Board I was able to help organize a number of events, such as tree plantings and community clean ups.

[metaslider id=557]I have also worked with over a dozen schools in the Downsview area. In this time I've had the chance to see the diversity of talent and the latent opportunity that many of our students have. It also an eye opening experience that saw me discover the needs many students face in the classroom. There is nothing worse that wasted talent and opening doors for young people is the only remedy for wasted lives. With this in mind, I started a $100 bursary for high achieving graduating elementary school students, $150 for middle school graduates and $250 for those graduating from high school. The Downsview community needs to celebrate its successes more often. It has been over a year in the making, but it finally came through in June. I was able to hand a bursary to two dozen graduating students from grades 5, 8 and 12. Frankly, the work I do is a privilege. Public service is a vocation more than a job and it has some very rewarding moments. It was great to be able to celebrate students for their individual success, but it was well worth doing for me too. It was a way to give back to my community. The students that received the Leadership Award, were students that not only excelled academically, but that also fostered a better school community:

“The students have demonstrated leadership in the school by showing a love of learning and have led other students to improve their academic achievements. They have also created a more inclusive, welcoming place in the school community by their active participation in extra-curricular activities.”

By Matias de Dovitiis