The community spirit at H.J. Cody School continues to resonate in Sylvan Lake as students were visited by special guest speaker from WE Day, Megan Beliveau.
Beliveau shared the inspiring story of WE Day creator Craig Kielburger, who created WE when he was just a child. WE is a program which has inspired and helped countless youth. The presentation is intended to help inspire youth to make a difference in their own communities.
“I love coming to schools like this because the energy of students and the motivation they have to create change is what drives me to keep doing it,” Beliveau said. “They really have this passion that is unprecedented. It’s wonderful to see students taking action for things they care about.”
Beliveau noticed a distinct energy at H.J. Cody that is indicative of a wider youth movement focused on helping people.
“I definitely see a growing movement of students using their passions to make a difference,” she said. “H.J. Cody is a spectacular model of what it looks like when we follow our passions and use that to create change. H.J. Cody is rocking it.”
Beliveau hopes the stories she shared on February 9 will inspire others to take action.
“My hope is that anyone can see that anyone can make change happen,” she said. “If we tap into our passions, we can build on those passions.”
Beliveau uses both large presentations and small focus groups in order to reach coax inspiration.
“It’s helpful having big presentations but also having smaller groups like we did today with Interact,” she said. “We are able to really work on the reflective aspect of things. We can take that time to do in depth work one on one.”
She added that change can be something that takes place without us knowing.
“I think it’s a ripple effect,” she said. “We may never know the full impact of our actions but it really can stem way beyond our knowledge. That really motivates me.”
Beliveau and her colleagues at WE believe that anyone at any age can make a difference.
“We say there is no age requirement for change makers,” she said. “We work with any age and any school. It’s becoming a cooler thing to care and this generation is proving that.”
Beliveau added, “It was a great group from H.J. Cody and I look forward to seeing more from this community.”
reporter@sylvanlakenews.com