Local youth Maria Patterson is being recognized for her volunteer work by an organization supporting Alberta participation in assisting international development.
Patterson, 17, has been named in the 2014 Top 30 Under 30 Magazine for The Alberta Council for Global Cooperation.
“I’m really excited, I’m just so overwhelmed with emotion.”
“I’m grateful to be recognized at this level as well.”
Drumheller Valley Senior Secondary School teacher Monica Lund nominated Patterson for the magazine’s award.
Patterson said her and friend Madison Colberg started the local youth Rotary Interact Club, which is now almost into two years with at least 15 youth involved.
She says the club is run by the youth, “We can tackle any initiative, or anything we personally feel needs to be addressed, we can do - we’re in charge of the club. It opens a lot of doors for different activities.”
She says they’ve had a lot of support from the Rotary Club and businesses in the community, and they were able to support the Morgan Jayne Project with a monetary donation.
Patterson says she is passionate about both upholding human rights on an international level and helping others.
Her next trip is to work at an orphanage in Nepal for two to three weeks, and the rest of the summer she’ll be working as it’s her last summer before university, she says.
Patterson says she’s looking at an undergraduate program in International Development at the University of British Columbia, with an eye to eventually becoming a human rights lawyer.
The Alberta Council for Global Cooperation describes itself as a coalition of voluntary sector organizations located in Alberta, working locally and globally to achieve sustainable human development.
The magazine’s launch is February 1st in Edmonton and is co-hosted by the University of Alberta’s Global Education Program.
International Development Week this year will be February 2 to 8, and Canadians are encouraged to learn more about international development and to share their experiences with others.