With Canada Day just 10 days away, Innisfail's Adele Beaudoin has given the nation her heart.
In doing so, she has earned the honour of being a national award-winning writer.
She is just 15 years old.
Last spring the Grade 10 student at Innisfail High School (IHS) discovered inspiration during a drama class when her class was asked what made them proud to be a Canadian.
That turned on the proverbial light bulb for Beaudoin.
“The sky seemed a lot bigger here, and other kids who had travelled also said that. I have never left the country, but it seemed like a prominent theme,” said the young teen.
She went home and The Sky was created, a 496-word fiction short story that won this year's federal government's Write It! contest, an annual competition for the Canada Day Challenge. The contest is open to all Canadian youth between the ages of eight and 18 for them to express what makes them proud to be Canadian through drawings, photos or creative writing.
Beaudoin's short story is based on the perspective of an immigrant girl who must move to Canada, her doubts about going to a place of ice and cold, but ultimately discovering a nation where the sky symbolizes inclusiveness, peace, comfort and love.
“Canada, as I've known it, has always been a country full of multiculturalism. I feel as though this is part of the Canadian identity, and should be acknowledged,” said Beaudoin. “The sky is an accurate metaphor for Canada; it's always changing, with different elements, and it's beautiful.
“We should be proud of the mix of cultures and people; it is something that makes us unique,” she added. “Canada is a place where we are all accepted and cared for. And, I couldn't be prouder of it.”
And outside her immediate family, there are few, if any, prouder than Wayne Pineau, the principal of IHS, of his young student's accomplishment.
“She is an amazing young lady. She's an honours student who is really diligent in her studies and works super hard to be a positive member of our community, so it's really fantastic,” said Pineau. He said what makes Beaudoin's accomplishment even more remarkable is that no one told her to enter the contest. From the very start, she drove the inspiration to the award-winning finish line.
“It was something she did outside of school hours on her own. She was doing some work for social studies and was checking the federal government website and came across the contest, and decided to enter and the idea began to flow,” said Pineau. “We have lots of opportunities that do come out and send them out to students, and it's very rare for students to do that and take the time, especially to do it with such high- calibre work. It is an amazing story.”
Beaudoin and the other contest winners are receiving many prizes, including an all expenses paid trip for two to Ottawa to celebrate Canada Day on Parliament Hill. The Innisfail teen is heading to the nation's capital with her mother Kari. All contest winners will have the opportunity to meet some of Canada's most inspiring people, visit the Sir Wilfrid Laurier National Historic Site, tour museums, galleries, the Parliament Buildings and be part of a special summer exhibit at the Canadian Museum of History.
As for her future, Beaudoin told the Province last week she may opt to become a writer.
“It is definitely on the table,” she said.
But with a national award for writing now part of her resume, few would argue against the fact she's already there.
Wayne Pineau, principal of Innisfail High School
"We have lots of opportunities that do come out and send them out to students, and it's very rare for students to do that and take the time, especially to do it with such high-calibre work. It is an amazing story."
