“10 Stories of Possibility” – Meet tomorrow’s leaders!
In honour of our 10th Anniversary year, and our 10 Leading Notes, here is the sixth of 10 very special stories about the wonderful possibilities that can happen when kids experience the joys and challenges of making music at OrKidstra! Look out for a new story of possibility at the beginning of each month and click here for the previous stories.
“10 Stories of Possibility” – Today’s grads, tomorrow’s leaders!
It’s a very proud moment. Four teenagers stand on the stage – they are smiling – they know how hard they’ve worked and how much they’ve accomplished to get to this moment. David (18), Celeste (17), Derek (17), and Kina (18): these outstanding young women and men are OrKidstra’s graduates of 2017.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 100% of OrKidstra graduates complete high school and go on to post-secondary education
- 100% of OrKidstra graduates, who were of age, voted in the last federal, provincial or municipal election (compared to the national average of 68% in the 2015 federal election)
- 100% of OrKidstra graduates feel that OrKidstra has helped them develop important skills like time management, goal setting, musicianship, teamwork, social skills, confidence, empathy and leadership
David, Celeste, Derek and Kina are sad to leave their OrKidstra family, but also excited about the next chapter of their lives: all four graduates will be continuing onto post-secondary education. Derek and Kina will be staying closer to home and attending Carleton University and the University of Ottawa respectively, while David and Celeste will venture outside of Ottawa to Canada Christian College in Toronto and McGill University in Montreal respectively. With some serious scholarships under their belts, these four students will be studying in a diverse range of fields including Political Science, Music, Computer Science and Biomedical Science.
Photo compliments of Robert S. Vibert.
French horn player and new OrKidstra graduate David – who speaks French, Haitian Creole and English – says, “OrKidstra has helped me out big time. I’ve become much more confident in myself through my experiences at OrKidstra.” Violin player and OrKidstra graduate Kina – who speaks Tigrinia, Belene and English – was in the very first violin class in 2007. Now 18, Kina will be attending the University of Ottawa in the fall working towards an Honours BSc in Biomedical Science.
Even though they won’t be coming to OrKidstra every day after school anymore, all four graduates want to stay involved with OrKidstra in the future if they can – as a mentor, teacher, supporter, volunteer or performer – and keep OrKidstra and music as a part of their lives. David says, “When I play the French horn, I feel great! I live and breathe music… It’s always there for me… Every event with OrKidstra has been a wonderful experience. Thank you for your support: without you playing your part, there would be no OrKidstra. We need to help change the lives of children while they’re young.”
You can help youth from under-served Ottawa areas – youth like Celeste, Derek, David and Kina – to graduate and achieve their goals.
Donate to OrKidstra today!
