A 17-year-old Trail girl is one of 20 students from across Canada chosen to receive the prestigious TD Community Leadership scholarship.
Amber Oosthuyzen, a Grade 12 J.L. Crowe Secondary student, was recognized with a sizeable award for her ongoing contributions to her school and community.
“It is so exciting because it will cover my four years of university,” said Oosthuyzen.
More than 3,400 high school applications were considered for the award. The TD Canada Trust scholarship includes up to $10,000 for tuition per year and $7,500 a year toward living expenses.
Oosthuyzen was recognized for starting the “Redefining Beauty” program. It is a four-week program, to run yearly, that focuses on improving self-esteem for girls from grades seven to 12. She initiated and secured funding for the project and developed a training program for future volunteers.
She is an active Air Cadet and has received their citizenship award for community service the last four years.
“It is great to see Amber recognized for the truly kind and generous person she is in the school and community,” said J.L. Crowe principal David DeRosa.
“What is wonderful is that she is being recognized, not just for a finite period of time, but for her contributions over a significant period of time.”
Within weeks of submitting her application, Oosthuyzen was contacted by the TD Canada Trust panel for an interview in Vancouver.
“It was scary, but all the application reviewers were really nice,” she explained.
By the first week of May, Oosthuyzen received a phone call from a TD representative to tell her that she had won the scholarship.
Oosthuyzen was flown to Ontario to attend the National Award Ceremony, held at the beginning of May in downtown Toronto.
During the conference, the 20 recipients met to discuss and share ideas, stories, motivations and advice on how to initiate future community projects.
This fall Oosthuyzen will be attending Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. She will be studying international development and sociology.