Julia Felgner - 2019 Young Woman of the Year

Julia Felgner is a hardworking, dedicated student who goes above and beyond in her academic studies at Twin Lakes Secondary School. She is a passionate and engaged learner inside and outside of the classroom, and completes every assignment, test and activity thoroughly and critically. Since grade nine, she's been on the Honour Roll with Distinction, and has been enrolled in Academic/University level courses since the beginning of high school. Julia is in the Extended French program, and took an Advanced Placement (AP) history course this year. Her hard work and perseverance has earned her numerous top mark awards in many subjects as well as a current average of 98.6%. In every class and course, she takes every challenge head on. Julia always asks for feedback on every assignment, and takes the time to figure out how to apply the feedback to future assignments, so she will continue to learn, develop and grow as a student and individual. As a curious and eager learner, she frequently asks questions to clarify and develop a deeper understanding and perspective on the subject matter she's learning. Julia sets goals and perseveres until she achieves them, then sets more and keeps going. She believes and recognizes there's always room for improvement, and continues to challenge herself academically.

Julia has been passionate about helping others and contributing to the well-being of her community from a very young age. When she was only eight, she made and sold bookmarks to raise money for the Salvation Army, and had previously participated in toy, food, and clothing drives to help those struggling with natural disasters, poverty and hunger. Her passion for helping others continued into her teens, and she began to volunteer in her community, both on a local and global scale. In grade seven, she became involved with the organization Me to We, and has been dedicated to changing the world ever since.

As a leader of the Twin Lakes Me to We Team, she organizes We Scare Hunger, a community food drive held on Halloween to collect non-perishable food items for the local food bank every year. During the holiday season, she makes Christmas cards for those who live at local retirement homes, and shops for/wraps Christmas gifts at a community church for families in need. Over the past three years, Julia's led the Twin Lakes' Me to We week where she's sold rafiki chains to raise money for Me to We's five global pillars: health, opportunity, water, food and education. At the end of the week, she co-headed a bake sale to raise money for The Lighthouse Soup Kitchen and Shelter's project, Building Hope. Julia's also headed up the Me to We initiatives, We are Silent and We Stand Up to take a stand against bullying and hate, and to speak up for those in the world whose voices have been silenced by fear and repression. Her involvement and volunteering with Me to We led her to Take Action Camp, where she volunteered at the Me to We headquarters, and cleaned up local parks, made toys for refugee children and created beds for animal shelters.

In grade nine, she helped run a clothing drive by setting up a three-day makeshift clothing store of free students' and teachers' gently used clothing donations for youth in her community. The same year, Julia also volunteered for her school's Breakfast Club, and helped run and organize a Christmas Community Dinner in her school's cafeteria. She was selected for RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) and attended the three day leadership camp. She was selected again as a Junior Leader in grade ten, and spent the three-day weekend volunteering by coaching and supporting the new campers and running activities to help them grow as individuals.

Through her vo?unteer work, she has significantly impacted her community by improving the lives of those around her. Not only has Julia made a lasting impact on local and global issues, her volunteer contributions have inspired those of all ages to make a difference in the world.