A Sundre High School student is quickly becoming a Global Vision veteran.
For the second time, Keyanna St.Dennis recently attended the organization’s National Youth Ambassador Caucus in Ottawa, which took place June 1-5. She has also attended other Global Vision events, such as last fall’s Arctic Youth Ambassador program in Iqaluit, Nunavut.
“I’m very thankful I was able to represent my community because I love where I come from,” said the leadership class student during a phone interview on Tuesday, June 5 while awaiting her return flight home from Ottawa, adding she relishes any opportunity to showcase Sundre on a national stage.
“That was a huge honour for me.”
Although she had previously participated in the caucus, St.Dennis said the event is never the same.
“I really like going to Global Vision because it’s like a new experience every time,” the Grade 11 student said, expressing gratitude for the opportunities to have been able to participate in these events.
She said each caucus offers an opportunity to meet many new amazing people and forge new friendships and memories while along the way learning about places and issues that one might not necessarily have even been aware of.
“It brings so much joy to me,” she said.
“Plus it’s fun to see Ottawa!”
This year’s caucus was more jam-packed than last year’s and offered additional opportunities to learn more through projects and group activities, she said.
For example, participants were split into teams and embarked on a clue-based adventure around Ottawa styled after Amazing Race except without having to run. Hints included directions such as going to the place where justice is served, leading teams to the Supreme Court where another clue directed them along to their next goal, she said.
“We worked as a team to figure out where to go and how to get there.”
Her group successfully completed the race this year and the experience helped foster and develop valuable team skills, she said.
Another major take-away from the caucus was a project in which students selected a national or global issue of their choosing. Because of her previous trip to Nunavut, where she learned about exorbitant grocery prices that are generally double the average throughout the rest of the country, St.Dennis opted to choose food security in Canada’s north.
“We were able to brainstorm and come up with some solutions and a plan. I really enjoyed that,” she said.
“That’s probably one of the highlights for sure, was being able to talk with other people about issues that you’re passionate about. It gave me an idea of maybe what I’d like to do in the future.”
While she has previously expressed a potential interest in pursuing a political career, St.Dennis also has in mind the idea of founding a non-profit organization that would strive to subsidize food costs for Indigenous peoples in Canada’s north.
“It’s something to think about for the future.”
