{"id":33039,"date":"2023-05-12T00:10:04","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T04:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=33039"},"modified":"2023-05-18T20:40:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T00:40:11","slug":"local-students-have-brush-with-royalty-ahead-of-coronation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/local-students-have-brush-with-royalty-ahead-of-coronation\/","title":{"rendered":"Local students have brush with royalty ahead of Coronation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the days leading up to the Coronation, local students from St. Andrew\u2019s College had a brush with royalty as the Duke of Edinburgh\u2019s Awards program marked its 60th<\/sup> anniversary in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The awards program, which was founded by the late Prince Philip as a way for students to stay active, discover themselves, and give back to the communities they call home, is now spearheaded by Prince Edward, the King\u2019s youngest brother, who now bears the ducal title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students Brandon Chen, David Yang, and Matteo Cericola, who are among the youth currently going through the program, took part in events in Toronto that not only marked the award\u2019s anniversary but connected and celebrated participants from coast to coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The week kicked off with a presentation of the Gold Awards, the top level in the \u201cDuke of Ed\u201d hosted by Lieutenant-Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell at Queen\u2019s Park. Following the presentations, Prince Edward led youth in a summit alongside the King\u2019s representative in Ontario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe youth summit, from my point of view, was a gathering of a lot of like-minded individuals from across Canada in a conference room; the one word I would use to describe it was a \u2018collective\u2019 of experiences,\u201d says Brandon, who has finished his Silver level and is now working his way towards the Gold. \u201cPrior to this conference, I always thought of the Duke of Ed as a very individualistic experience but this opened up my eyes to see that there are so many other individuals across the country who have the same goals and aspirations as I do and that I am not alone in my journey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The feeling of being a part of a \u201ccollective\u201d is shared by David, who said the conference was a chance for them to take notes, hear about different experiences, and make suggestions on how the program could be improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was a lot of diversity among the people on the day of the conference. Although all of us had the same goal of pursuing the Duke of Edinburgh\u2019s Award and also pursuing excellence, all of us were in different situations and all of us had to kind of work through those situations to achieve the same goal and it opened my eyes to\u2026 you might be put into different situations than others, but everyone still has the same ability and similar chances to be able to complete whatever they\u2019re going for and whatever challenges they take on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of the conference, David says he was \u201cnervous\u201d about meeting the newly-minted Duke of Edinburgh but said he was struck by how \u201cdown to earth\u201d he was and in how comfortable he was \u201ckeeping the conversation going and chatting in a tone that us students would be more comfortable with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was able to sustain his presence within our conversations and, at the same time, he was able to stand out as a leader and guide us through and also look for our perspectives,\u201d says David.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adds Brandon: \u201cI had never met a prince before. What should I do? Should I bow? Shake his hand? Before he came to our table I had an uptight attitude, but when he actually sat down and started to engage in conversation, I found that he was just a human being like all of us. He was asking us questions, guiding the conversation, giving his input; he wasn\u2019t talking the entire time and allowed us to give our input and he listened. That really surprised me because I thought someone of that stature wouldn\u2019t necessarily be so open to hearing our ideas. It was a really eye-opening experience chatting with Prince Edward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo, a member of St. Andrew\u2019s Pipes and Drums, had a slightly different experience with the Duke of Edinburgh, with his talents put to good use as he piped the late Queen\u2019s son into a gala dinner. Introduced to the Duke of Ed program by Brandon, Matteo describes it as \u201ca way to present to the world that you\u2019re well-rounded and prove yourself to be a well-rounded individual.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very important for growth and development of character \u2013 and in every aspect of your life,\u201d he shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brandon agrees that taking part has been a chance to show not only others but himself that he is a \u201cwell-rounded citizen\u201d with volunteer opportunities, skills building, physical recreation, and undertaking an \u201cadventurous journey,\u201d a key component in the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow that I am on my Gold and I have been consistently logging in hours for the past few years now, I feel I learned a lot about myself in regards to my time management and how consistent I can stay with my habits \u2013 the good ones and the bad ones,\u201d he says. \u201cI have been trying to improve myself through the skills I targeted in the online record book and I feel time management and consistency were the two main skills I learned through the awards program. It is a really special program because unlike other programs, it really opens up to individuals of all different backgrounds and interests. I feel students with varying interest can all participate in the award and it really prepares you and sets you up well for the challenges that you will face in the future, whether that be reaching a deadline in school or getting cut from a sports team, to trying out or auditioning for specific bands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adds David: \u201cIt gets you prepared for later in life. The huge thing about the award is it gave me the opportunities to take opportunities I otherwise wouldn\u2019t have taken. For someone who is really focused at school I never thought about doing more than I needed to, to achieve success at school only. After that, I learned it is quite important to be more well-rounded rather than just focusing on one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Duke of Edinburgh Award program is open to young people between the ages of 14 and 24 and is based on the principle that looking outside the traditional boundaries of formal education, much can be discovered about the self through discovering “hidden talents”, in developing “untapped leadership potential” and making a difference in the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information, visit dukeofed.org.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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