Lauren Hayhurst - Making a Difference throughout the Community

In the words of St. Mary’s Academy principal, Mrs. Connie Yunyk, “In my thirteen years of teaching I have never seen a student contribute more to our school community than Lauren.”

From doing face-painting at the Teddy Bears’ Picnic to being a co-leader of her school’s Amnesty International student group, Lauren has demonstrated her caring and dedication to multiple projects through a variety of agencies. According to Mrs. Yunyk, “She is equally adept at either being a foot-soldier carrying out instructions, or the independent, creative leader who has the freedom to work on her own.”

As a foot-soldier, she has worked at Marymound’s Pow Wow Days passing out water bottles and popsicles, serving bison stew and bannock, and helping with the clean-up after the event. At her school’s debating tournaments she has volunteered several times as the tournament score tabulator.

As a leader, Lauren showed great initiative, as when there was a need for a babysitting course instructor for a grade six class at a neighbouring school, she promptly volunteered to teach it, took a crash course on teaching the program, reviewed all of the materials, and then proceeded to rent movies, book speakers, and spent two hours every week during April and May teaching the course.

At her church, Lauren was an altar server for several years and then moved on to assume the responsibility of head server which involves training younger servers.

Projects which she has been involved in are too numerous to describe in detail. These include participating in Youth in Philanthropy, raising funds for a Mission Trip to Peru, being on the stage crew for school dramatic productions, and helping to organize various school, church and community events. Her fundraising efforts for the mission trip to Peru were in the form of two entrepreneurial efforts started with a close friend. One was a jewellery business and the other, a birthday party business.

Asked why she does so much, Lauren explained, “These have all been quite rewarding experiences, and each project provides me with valuable experience and leadership skills that will allow me to continue to give something back to my school, my church and my community.” For making such a difference in the lives of countless people Lauren was a very deserving recipient of a Manitoba Youth Leadership Scholarship and now attends the University of Manitoba.