Simon Lemieux
Collège Saint-Charles-Garnier

“For Simon, if something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly.” This in a nutshell reveals a great deal about the type of personality and the quality of commitment of Simon Lemieux, a Secondary 4 student at Collège Saint-Charles-Garnier. As a contributor to the Magasin partage and the Club 2/3 organization, a member of his school’s football and basketball teams, with his passion for producing videos and high awareness of the plight of the most destitute in underdeveloped countries, this young man tries in a very modest way to leave his mark while seeking to be a source of inspiration for those around him.

Effort, discipline, perseverance and team spirit are at the top of his list of objectives when Simon Lemieux decides to get involved in a project. Indeed, when Simon chooses to give of his time, the project must first and foremost be one close to his heart and the rest will follow. “Since I entered the Collège, I have discovered just how fulfilling commitment can be. To be able to help people, to contribute to making my school a better place and also to make new friends, I think all this encourages me to get involved in various things,” the student recounts.

Simon’s contribution to the success of the Magasin Partage project and the Club 2/3 organization perfectly bears witness to the extent of his generosity. For three years now, Simon has been giving of his time to the Magasin Partage to help underprivileged families at Christmas. With the Club 2/3, he is steadfastly involved in raising funds at his school that are then donated to a humanitarian cause.

“Last year, the profits made from selling healthy snacks went towards supporting the cause of women’s education in Burkina Faso. This year, our actions are geared towards helping the Goutte à goutte project aimed at curbing desertification and promoting better water management in Niger,” explains Simon, adding that his participation - along with 15,000 other young people - in the 2/3 Walk, a major international youth solidarity event, was an unforgettable and moving experience.

With his desire to become a responsible citizen of the world who is aware of the major issues of today and tomorrow, Simon admits that every day he quenches his great thirst for information by poring through the newspapers, watching the news and reading books on economics and politics. “This enables me to form my own opinions,” he says, pointing out that he would like to one day become a doctor.

To satisfy his great need for knowledge, next year Simon plans to participate, as part of a delegation from his school, in a humanitarian trip to Bolivia. He hopes that the experience, which he looks forward to with great enthusiasm, will allow him to better understand the everyday life of people in precarious living conditions and to work with them in order to help them make progress and improve their situation.

“Although he is shy, Simon spontaneously draws a lot of people around him. He has a natural affinity with others and a type of leadership that is expressed by setting the example. Often when he gets involved in a project, numerous other young people follow suit, and this, without him having to ask. This is in great part due to the respect he shows them and the way he gives of his friendship,” reveals Cycle 2 homeroom teacher Gilles Marquis.

In fact, it is friendship, one of his most cherished values, that prompted Simon to join the football team. The demanding schedule of a complete season (with sometimes up to four practices per week plus the games) could have discouraged many, but not Simon. He sees sports as another way of surpassing himself and even found that football was no longer enough and last year joined the basketball team. “The two seasons overlap until November,” he explains. “Sometimes, I have to deal with a very tight schedule. I have football practice in the afternoon, I take a break for dinner, go to my b-ball practice and then do my homework when I get back home. I find it really stimulating,” he adds quite naturally.

Whether it is in academic, humanitarian, extracurricular or sports activities, Simon’s involvement enables him to find a balance that is very important to him, a balance that enables him to learn, understand and take action.

Simon Lemieux
Collège Saint-Charles-Garnier