The Rotary Club of Orléans handed out their 2021 Youth Awards on April 11, along with four academic scholarships worth $500 each.

The scholarship recipients included Grade 12 Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School student Mashkura Tathoye and Grade 10 École second-aire Béatrice-Desloges student Emma Beehler. The other recipients were Aliya Karimjee and Maxime Malouf.

Tathoye volunteered with the Operation Ramsey Crisis relief team as an intake worker, creating hygiene packages for homeless youth of Operation Come Home, She was also instrumental in organizing mental health workshops for youth whose mental health has been impacted by COVID-19. As well, Masskura helped to keep electronic waste out of the landfill by collecting, recycling and distribute electronic equipment to local charities.

In addition to being an Honour Roll student at Béatrice-Desloges, Emma Beehler is a gifted musician whose instrument of choice is the alto sax. She is also a top achiever in regional cheerleading competitions.

Now in its sixth year, the Rotary Club of Orléans Youth Awards recognize young people who demonstrate outstanding leader-ship, courage, citizenship and community engagement while maintaining academic excellence.

The theme of this year’s awards was “COVID heroes”.

Due to the pandemic, the ceremony was held virtually via Zoom to maximize participation by family and friends of the students while respecting and maintaining provincial COVID-19 guidelines and safety protocols.

There were 12 recipients in all, each of whom received a certificate and trophy in the days following the virtual ceremony. The awards were divided into five categor-ies: Citizenship, Commitment to Excellence, Leadership, Persistence and Resiliency.

The winners in each category are as follows:

Resilience
- Magann Baptiste

Commitment to Excellence
• Mashkura Tabassum Tahoye
• Aliya Karimjee
• Keshav Gosain
• Kavindi Cathurya Mahanoma
• Joshua Dore

Leadership
• Emma Beehler

Citizenship
• Muhammad Qureshi
• Austin Alexander
• Maxime Malouf

Perseverence
• Madison White
• Vincent Pelletier

The Rotary Club of Orléans Youth Awards are open to youth between the ages of 14-18 years from Orléans and the surrounding area. The young person must be nominated by video (2 minutes long) from someone who can attest to his or her character and is not a parent. (Ideally the nominations are done by a friend, teacher, Scout leader, coach, clergy, employer, etc.)

The COVID-19 edition of the awards presented an opportunity to recognize young people in the community who demonstrate outstanding strength of character during a challenging time.