The Rotary Club of Orléans held its annual Young People of Character Awards on June 2 during which 26 young people were honoured for their achievements in six different categories – Resilience, Positive Attitude, Courage, Compassion, Persistence, Commitment to Excellence, Creativity, Entrpreneurship and Social Responsibility.

Colonel By Secondary School student Nora Wilson was recognized for exempli-fying the attributes of compassion, leader-ship, persistence and resilience as the leader of her school's LGBTQ+ support club despite suffering from chronic pain and fatigue.

Twenty-nine young people came together at the Shenkman Arts Centre on June 2 for the Young People of Character Awards, PHOTO SUPPLIED

Wilson challenges her fellow students, teachers and adults at large to be more open and accepting of members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Cairine Wilson Secondary School student Kate-Lynne Braye was recognized for her courage in overcoming her fear of performing in front of people. The Grade 11 student's fear was strong at times that she would often be brought to tears at the very thought of performing in drama class. But rather than take the easy way out by dropping the course from her schedule, she persisted and eventually learned to manage her fear to the point where she decided to join the school's improv team.

Although shy at first, Braye slowly built up her confidence and became one of the most creative and impactful members of the team. She eventually became a team leader and helped them earn a spot in the city's finals. Today, Braye shares her experience and tips to teach others how they can overcome their fears and enjoy student life to the fullest.

Richard Muhindo is a Grade 10 student at Lester B. Pearson High School. A native of the Republic of Congo in Central Africa, Muhindo immigrated to Canada in 2017 after spending seven years in a refugee facility in Uganda.

Since coming to Lester B. Pearson, Muhindo has taking advantage of every opportunity to get involved ina number of club's including the Alzheimer's Club which visits local seniors homes to interact with the residents.

He is also a member of the school's Global Outreach Club and he acts as an ambassador to newcomer students by helping them make the transition to their new country and a new school.

St. Matthew High School student Joseph Thottungal was recognized for maintaining a 95% average in Grade 10 French Immersion while accumulating 225 hours of community service, pursuing his favourite sports of soccer and badminton and acting as a peer counsellor.

Other recipients of this year's awards include Mary Helen Widman, Pascaline Kavira, Samuel Musafiri, Neema Bihamb and Mathania Vuningoma from Lester B. Pearson; Alexandre Diab, Ahn-Lin Legacé, Céleste Duguay, Victoria Ufholz and Jasmine Fortin from École secondaire Béatrice-Desloges; Arkkan El-Khatib, Molly Kennedy and Chuxuan Zhou from Gloucester High School; Zoé Roy-Stang, Romanos Stamakatos and Catherine Marcotte from École secondaire Garneau; Max Wheelehan, and Scott Sharma, from Colonel By Secondary School; Shantal Gonzalez from St. Matthew High School; Kenneth Langille from Rockland High School; Olivia Gault from Cairine Wilson Secondary School; Cameron McNeil from St. Peter High School; Leewinchell Jean from École secondaire Gisèle-Lalonde; and Keiran McClelland from Elmwood.

(This story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local business partners.)