Thursday March 30, 2023 | COWICHAN VALLEY, BC [Updated 2:25 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
For demonstrating the drive to step up in the face of challenges and make a positive change, the Loran Scholars Foundation recognizes youth from across Canada.
One of their 2023 Loran Scholar winners is Brynna Coogan from Cowichan Secondary School in Duncan (within SD79 Cowichan Valley School District).
Coogan is the founder and leader of her school’s first environmental club. She coaches a community swim team and her schools’ aquatics program. She is captain of the senior girls’ volleyball team, an active member of the school’s leadership class, and a section leader in the concert band.
“We are incredibly proud of Brynna for being selected as a Loran Scholar,” says Cathy Schmidt, Board Chair, Cowichan Valley School District. “Through this opportunity the impact we have felt in our district through Brynna’s work can be shared across the country,” said Schmidt in a news release from SD79 today.
About the scholarship:
The Loran Scholars Foundation is described as committed to identifying and supporting young people to realize their full potential. To find these youth, the Foundation administers a thorough scholarship selection process across the country. Selection supersedes grades and is based on strength of character, a deep commitment to service, evidence of courage, compassion, and an entrepreneurial spirit.
The only award of its kind in Canada, the Loran Award is a four-year leadership enrichment program consisting of summer work experiences, scholar gatherings, an annual living stipend, and a tuition waiver at one of 25 university partners.
Each Loran Award is valued at up to $100,000 over four years of undergraduate study, including mentorship and summer experiences.
There are 36 recipients in 2023 (seven of those in BC), see: 2023 Loran Scholars. Recipients are selected by a team of volunteers.
===== RELATED:
Island Social Trends local journalism program for high school students (Mar 2, 2023)
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Island Social Trends is a professional news portal at islandsocialtrends.ca . Fully online since mid-2020, Island Social Trends emerged from the extensive groundwork of previous print publications in the west shore: MapleLine Magazine (2008-2010), Sooke Voice News (2011-2013), and West Shore Voice News (2014-2020).
Since 2008, journalist and editor Mary P Brooke has taken a socioeconomic lens to news analysis about the west shore and south Vancouver Island region, including BC provincial news, and national news impacts.
Ms Brooke has been covering news of School District 62 (SD62) at the board and committee level, including attending nearly all of their meetings since 2014. Mary P Brooke was a school trustee candidate (SD62 Belmont Zone – Langford, Colwood, Metchosin and Highlands) in the October 2022 election, as a service to community.
The Island Social Trends Journalism Program offers the opportunity for high school students on Vancouver Island to learn journalism by preparing and submitting articles in a real world context.