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Hilary Long,
AMEMEMEW
"There is only one way to learn. It's
through action."
This is a quote from Paulo Coelho,
and it's what 17 -year-old Kristina
Dekroon will be doing this summer.
In July, Dekroon will be leaving
for an 18 -day trip to Kenya on a Me
to We trip (affiliated with Free the
Children).
For over two weeks,.. Dekroon, a
Dublin -area resident, will be expe-
riencing the vibrant lifestyle of the
Kenyans as well as working along
side the locals to build an elementa-
ry school, working on a water project
to dig wells and teaching English to
school children.
"I'm very excited," Dekroon said.
This is not the' first trip like this
Dekroon has been on. Last year she
and classmates from St. Michael
Catholic Secondary School in Strat-
ford took a poverty awareness trip to
the Dominican Republic.
"It really opened my eyes to the in-
justices that are happening around
the world," she said. "I want to make
a difference."
She said this trip will be an adven-
ture of a lifetime.
"I hope that I'm strong enough to
go into this trip with an open heart,
mind and soul. I believe in a world
that is free of struggle and poverty
and full of love and compassion of
others. I also know that we all have
so much to learn from our neighbours
around the world in order to make
the dream of 'one world: one love' a
reality," Dekroon wrote in a letter.
"My main objective while on this
trip is - to learn; learn from others
so that I may be the change that is
much needed in this world."
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� s a eac n .
While on the trip Dekroon- said
she will be lucky enough to receive
intensive and interactive leadership
training from a program designed by
Marc and Craig Keilberger.
"I trust that my leadership train-
ing will allow me to take the benefits
of my international experience home
with me and share my experience
with the community," she wrote.
"I believe not only that change is
possible, but that a change is com-
ing. There is so much evidence that
supports this. This trip to Kenya is
one of my ways of supporting this
change that is coming."
By going on this trip, Dekroon
hopes to find some direction.
"I don't really know what to do with
my life. I hope this trip will help me
find out what I am supposed to do,"
she said.
"Hopefully, my trip to Kenya will
open my eyes to the possibilities that
I'm capable of and give some direc-
tion to my life," she wrote.
Dekroon is asking the public to
help support her trip to Kenya. On
Jan. 10 Dekroon will be collecting
empty beer and liquor bottles and
aluminum cans in the staff parking
lot for Walkom's valu-mart (beside
Main Street United Church).
All the donations collected will help
to fund her trip and 'any donations
exceeding the cost of the trip will be
donated to Joe's Dream Foundation,
an organization that gives scholar-
ships to youth going on a Me to We
trip that requirefinancialsupport.
For additional information or to
help fund Dekroon's trip, contact
Kristina Dekroon at 519-345-2337.
Avon Maitland students having.. trouble
applying to out -of -province schools'
Stew Slater
Administrators for the Avon Maitland District School
Board have been asked to look into the challenges faced
by senior students hoping to gain acceptance into uni-
versities outside Ontario.
Student Senator .Darby Alcorn — who represents Wing -
ham's F.E. Madill Secondary School on the board's Stu-
dent's Advisory Committee — brought the issue forward
at a regular meeting of trustees recently.
She suggested Grade 12 students applying for in -prov-
ince post -secondary education are generally happy with
an easily -navigable, electronic process with links to all
major Ontario colleges and universities.
But the process isn't always so easy for those inter-
ested in studying elsewhere.
Alcorn — one of nine students chosen annually by their
peers to represent their high school on the advisory com-
mittee — says she has heard complaints from someone in
her own school as well as another Avon Maitland high
school.
"I know some students have had to go through (ap-
plying for out -of -province education) pretty much on
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their own," she told trustees. "And their guidance de-
partments didn't know how to deal with it or how to get
information."
Education superintendent Ted Doherty expressed sur-
.prise that guidance counselors were unable to assist in
out -of -province applications.
He agreed it's much more convenient to apply for in -
province institutions — since they're all linked electroni-
cally and all information can be passed by email.
But he added that it's not unheard of for students to
apply for out -of -province institutions, so experienced
guidance counselors should be able to navigate the pro-
cess.
Still, he promised Alcorn that he would bring up the
issue to guidance departments — which meet together. on
a regular basis to discuss their work.
"So, hopefully, (out -of -province application) can be
something that is easier for students in the future."
In an interview, Doherty said each Avon Maitland high
school "may have a couple" of out -of -province applica-
tions each year.
"It just seems like an area that could be looked at,"
Alcorn told reporters after the meeting.
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