A student committed to successfully completing two years in one so as to make up for lost time

An adept of travel and humanitarian aid, outstanding organizer, tireless sportswoman – and even coach when the fancy takes her –, member of various committees and above all highly attuned to the needs of others, Andréanne Mecteau is the very portrait of a steadfastly committed top of the class student. However, this hasn’t always been the case for the Vanier high school student. A few years ago she became severely demotivated and her unacceptable behaviour caused her many a problem. But thanks to her motivation and perseverance, she got a grip on herself and is now proving all predictions wrong.

A student committed to learning French so as to be quickly assimilated into our culture

It certainly takes audacity and courage to leave one’s homeland at the age of 14 and head to an unknown, snow-covered country where they speak a completely different language. However, this is what Fatoumata Barry did when she said farewell to her native Guinea to come live in Québec. A year and a half later, the Secondary 1 student at La Cité high school speaks fluent French (with a Québec accent to boot), has established a good circle of friends, is involved in her community and at school and hopes more than anything else to graduate from high school and become a nurse.

A student committed to winning her fight against cancer by continuing to put her heart into dancing

As teenagers, we all had the feeling at some point that we were invincible, that nothing terrible would ever happen to us. Stéphanie Bernard must have felt like this once too, that is until the day she was diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer of the lymph nodes. She was 14 years old at the time and for her the news seemed almost surreal, like a bad dream. Now, a year and a half later, she sees life in a whole new light and wants to tell all the young people around her that there’s always a way out as long as you never give up. The Saint-Anselme high school student’s story is quite a lesson in life.

A student committed to getting increasingly involved so as to fight prejudice and rejection

Learning to live with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder would be a daily challenge for anyone but it is even harder for a child and this is something Jérôme Bordeleau, a Secondary 5 student at the Polyvalente de L’Ancienne-Lorette, knows something about. Ever since elementary, he has always been a brilliant student but he long suffered from prejudice, prying stares and rejection. Then one day he decided he’d had enough and needed to face the music. He turned his involvement in various projects into a source of motivation to improve his interpersonal skills… and perseverance became his most valuable asset.

A student committed to overcoming dyslexia in order to fulfil his goal of becoming a computer scient

Up until very recently, Benoît Sénéchal, a Secondary 4 student at Collège Saint-Alphonse in Saint-Tite-des-Caps, had no idea what academic success meant. Benoît suffers from dyslexia, dysorthographia and an attention deficit disorder, and also has to contend with being far away from his family, missing out on a lot of activities, spending his summers studying and devoting many hours to trying to catch up. Though he would have had all the best reasons for giving up, Benoît persevered and said to himself that he would one day make his dream of becoming a computer scientist a reality. And he’s on his way to doing just that!

A student committed to overcoming a visual disability in order to succeed at school and fulfil her dreams

Since birth, Katy Jalbert-Mercier, a student at Louis-Jacques-Casault high school in Montmagny, has had to learn to live with a major visual impairment that has led to just as significant learning disabilities. Without ever getting discouraged, she kept her head held high, remained optimistic and forged ahead in order to overcome the hurdles and attain her personal goals for success. Katy is now 16 years of age and is finally enrolled in the Secondary 1 level of a vocational training program in semi-specialized trades (FMSS), is a member of the Opération Enfant Soleil committee at her school and was even elected class president.