A former Beaver Valley resident is out to prove that travel is the best form of education with her destination set on the Amazing Travel Scholarship.
Danielle Clarke, a first year Bachelor of Journalism student at Carleton University in Ottawa, is one of 15 finalists using social media to spread words, videos and photos of the importance of travel.
The competition is put on by S-Trip, an organization that plans grad or university excursions, which offers two scholarships each year to high school students applying to university as well as university students applying for future years of study.
Her journey started with a video in which she garnered enough attention from followers and judges to move onto the final round going head-to-head with competitors via her blog that uses photos, videos and at least one essay to describe how travel teaches individuals to look beyond the text book.
“Travel is taking everything we think we know and putting it behind us to open our eyes, ears, and minds to new cultures, people and languages,” she wrote in her essay. “Education is so much more than just what comes from a classroom.
“When a person travels they acquire a set of skills that allow them to tap into our world’s differences and appreciate them for what they are.”
The 2012 J. L. Crowe graduate's travel bug started early when in Grade 8 she spent a week in Japan with Trail's sister city program to her experience in Grade 10 when a school trip led her to Italy.
Shortly after she joined Interact, the youth branch of Rotary, and became president of the club that later went to San Miguel, Mexico, to volunteer at a children’s orphanage.
Inspired by lessons learned abroad, Clarke graduated a year early and went on a Rotary Youth Exchange to Germany for what would have been her final year. While there she submitted regular columns to the Trail Times prior to pursuing her passion for writing at the Ottawa university.
She's currently working as a freelancer at the Rossland News until August before heading back to her four-year program. Clarke is hoping to do a double major with linguistics so she can go onto to teach a second language upon completion of studies as well as travel the world as a freelance writer.
“I am very excited about this scholarship opportunity because it is good practice with social media for my future career,” she told the Time via email. “I also love the idea of spreading my passion for travel with the world.
“Travelling is the best form of education out there and I stand firmly by that.”
The grand prize is a $2,500 tuition for post-secondary education as well as a paid two-month internship at S-Trip in Toronto. The winner also receives an eight-night paid vacation voucher for two.
Those wanting to get behind Clarke can share her blog (https://www.amazingtravelscholarship.com/#finalist/danielleclarke) posts until May 25, at which time the competition will close and a winner will be selected on May 30.