A St. Albert student will receive a medallion and a scholarship next month for her years of volunteer work.
St. Albert resident and Northern Alberta Institute of Technology student Avalina Zenari is one of the eight Albertans set to receive the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Citizenship Medallion from Alberta Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani this July.
The medallion is awarded to eight young Albertans a year. It honours students who have contributed to their communities through outstanding citizenship, leadership, public service, and voluntary endeavour, and consists of a medallion and a $7,000 scholarship.
Zenari, 19, previously served as St. Albert’s representative on the 2022-2023 Minister’s Youth Council and represented St. Albert Catholic High School (SACHS) at the 2023 Envirothon in New Brunswick.
Zenari said she was completely blown away and shocked when she learned she was getting the award.
“I was absolutely honoured to receive this award.”
Volunteer efforts
Zenari said she was nominated for this award in part because of her efforts to address student mental health at SACHS. Concerned about the isolating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, she co-founded the Mind Matters club to provide students with suicide prevention training, self-care workshops, information on mental health supports, and free nutritious food. Zenari said she planned to roll out similar initiatives this fall at NAIT as one of the college’s paid outreach and wellness leaders.
Zenari said her time on the Minister’s Youth Council gave her the chance to meet students from across the province and learn a lot about how the education system works. She also got to lobby then-education minister Adriana LaGrange to increase supports for literacy and mental health, both of which had declined in students because of the pandemic.
Zenari has volunteered with Amplify St. Albert since roughly 2018 and is now on its youth advisory committee.
“I’ve always loved everything to do with helping youth,” she said, especially when it comes to planning events where youths can express themselves.
Zenari said she organized beading and soap-making workshops for Amplify last year, and will be the host for this year’s art battle event at the Illuminate festival on July 6. She encouraged guests to come out to Illuminate and check out the body art, photography, and live music performed by young St. Albert artists.
Zenari is also a longtime volunteer with the St. Albert International Children’s Festival of the Arts and works great with children, noted Kathleen Bell, a community cultural co-ordinator with the City of St. Albert who works closely with Zenari.
“She’s such a light of a human being,” Bell said of Zenari, and always ready to contribute.
“We could not do what we do without people like Avalina.”
Passionate about the news media and education, Zenari said she is earning a degree in radio and television at NAIT and hopes to later get a degree in teaching or psychology. She encouraged St. Albert youths to get involved with their community to help figure themselves out.
“Doing good for others is always the right thing to do.”
Zenari will receive her award July 26 in Calgary. Details on the award can be found at www.alberta.ca/queens-platinum-jubilee-awards.
