Blythe Wieclawek - 2023 Young Woman of the Year

“I have always used goal-setting to keep moving forward and reach my full potential.”
Blythe is a student at Twin Lakes Secondary School and is preparing to graduate at the top of her class with the highest grades for her year in multiple subjects such as Chemistry, History and French. While participating in the gifted cluster classes, she also participated in the Extended French program and has completed the test for DELF obtaining her certification of bilingualism.
Outside of the classroom, Blythe has dedicated over 400 hours to various volunteer groups in the community. Blythe’s passion though has been with Sustainable Orillia Youth Council, which she was president for 2 years. It is through the Youth Council that she was able to grow and lead this group of inspired students from all 3 high schools in Orillia through multiple initiatives and change-making projects that have made Orillia and Simcoe County more sustainable.
Away from school and volunteer work, Blythe is passionate about competitive swimming. She has been a member of the Orillia Channel Cats Swim Club for a decade. She qualified for Olympic trials at age 14 and has competed provincially and nationally and this year had the opportunity to participate in the FINA Swimming World Cup.
With Blythe’s love of science and swimming, she plans to attend Harvard University in the fall and represent them within the American National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) next year.
“I also have a long-term goal to be accepted to medical school and eventually specialize in either anesthesiology, family medicine or cardiology.”