With the goal of instilling a sense of pride in the next generation, the Canadian Pharmacy of Vancouver established the Maple Leaf Youth Awards Program, formerly known as the Canadian SOARS Awards. The program recognizes and rewards the exemplary achievements of students in grades 11 & 12 in the categories of Academics, Arts, and Community Service. Within this awards program and as part of its commitment to bilingualism, the Club has created the Prix Feuille d’érable to recognize students that excel in French literary arts. Students are asked to send samples of their achievements and submit an essay on a relevant theme in Canadian society. Submissions are then reviewed by a panel of judges. The winners are selected from hundreds of applicants and invited to attend a celebratory event in their honour.
2017 Maple Leaf Youth Award Winners
1st Place Winner: Xiaoyu (Henry) Huang, Sir Winston Churchill Secondary
Xiaoyu Huang is the Chief Development Officer at Pansophy Education Institute, a tutoring and academic consulting start-up based in Richmond, BC. A pianist, conductor, choral arranger, and music instructor, he gave his solo recital debut this June and made his conducting debut at Queen Elizabeth Theatre. He is a graduate of Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School’s International Baccalaureate Bilingual Diploma Programme and Class Valedictorian, and will attend Brown University (Providence, RI) this fall to study economics, English literature, and music. Read Henry’s award winning essay here.
2nd Place Winner: Emma Shou, Sir Winston Churchill Secondary
Emma graduated from the International Baccalaureate Program at Sir Winston Churchill and will be attending Simon Fraser University this fall. She is a competitive figure skater with almost 16 years of experience in the sport and competes at the second highest level. Some of the ways she has given back to her community include volunteering for the organization Kitchen on a Mission, writing for The Starfish, an environmental news website, and volunteering to help on Canskate: Learn to Skate lessons for eight years.
3rd Place Winner: Jin Ho (Michael) Rhee, Point Grey Secondary
Michael is a graduate of Point Grey Secondary School. In this fall, he will be going to Western University for business and computer science program. He has a passion for volunteering within his community.