Local high school students an inspiration to all

from The Bugle Observer

Jeanne Langille is publisher of The Bugle-Observer.

If you have ever had a jaded moment in which you found yourself lamenting about the future of mankind, I've got just the cure for you.

Talk to some of the more than two dozen students involved in a new community group called Students Taking Action Today (STAT).

Headed by the tremendously engaging teacher Trish Foster, these young people are all students at Carleton North High School. After class, you could say, without exaggeration, that they are working to change the world.

The new group had its roots in Mrs. Foster's world issues class. Then it spilled out of the classroom, out of regular school hours and into an extracurricular activity. Essentially, the students decided they wanted to dedicate some of their free time to raise awareness about global issues throughout the school and the entire community.

Mrs. Foster explains their motives best:

"The students felt that they were learning about important issues, and they wanted to make sure other students in the school had the same opportunity. It was Grade 12 student Autumn Smith who really pushed that we should have an extracurricular activity devoted to awareness regarding global issues."

So these young people are going in where many people would be inclined to throw up their hands in despair. No issue, whether it's providing clean water for poverty-stricken countries, working to provide medical clinics in under-developed countries or focusing attention on the spread of malaria, is too daunting for them to tackle.

They gather facts through research and through bringing in guest speakers with expertise on global issues. Then they get down to work. They organize fundraisers to make a donation to World Vision to provide medical clinics, immunization shots and clean water for countries in need.

They want to make sure everyone cares, not just them, so they spend some time engaging their fellow students and hanging posters about global issues around their school.

They ignited a lot of their colleagues into enthusiastically participating in Earth Hour, World Malaria Day, Earth Day and Habitat for Humanity.

Autumn inspires me when she explains her plan of action.

"We should focus on making a difference in the world one small step at a time – STAT gives students the opportunity to do that."

When I see the work of Autumn and her colleagues in Carleton County, I am so inspired about the future of our world. They set an example to the frustrated, the tired, the apathetic.

By the way, if you need to get your car washed, let them do it in support on their projects on May 31. The location will be announced in an upcoming edition of the Bugle-Observer once the students have selected it.

The world can be a better place and it takes a group of high school students to remind us how we can change it, one step at a time. What a wonderful example they set as role models for youth in our community!