Erica Zantinge says she was overcome with emotion when she first read the nomination form recognizing her as a candidate for the 2009 Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year awards.
“I cried, actually – I’m not going to lie,” Zantinge said last week.
That’s not surprising, considering the form filed by Donna Hirtle describes the 17-year old Drayton resident as “a remarkable young woman” who “serves and leads with enthusiasm that inspires others” to achieve.
“For years she has turned my head in her abilities and graciousness in a very active life,” Hirtle said in the nomination form.
“She continually gives of her time and talents, raising the bar with cheerful enthusiasm wherever she goes.”
Zantinge, a grade 12 student at Norwell District Secondary School, is among 130 nominees across the province for the Junior Citizen of the Year awards, which are organized annually by the OCNA?(Ontario Community Newspaper Association) to recognize outstanding youths.
On Jan. 22, the OCNA will announce 12 finalists; and while Zantinge downplayed her achievements, she is clearly deserving of the honour.
She continues to maintain her honour roll standing at?Norwell and is involved with an overwhelming number of extra curricular activities there.
Last year, in recognition of her proficiency in French, she was given a bursary to take part in an exchange program in France through International Student Exchange Ontario.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Zantinge. “It was a really interesting experience.”
An active member of the Norwell drama department, she will act in two plays this year, in addition to her roles in the school’s concert band and on the Interact Club – the first of its kind in the area – which already completed a winter coat and clothing drive prior to Christmas, and will soon be taking part in a global project.
When the Norwell robotics club, which had only male members, needed a treasurer, Zantinge volunteered without hesitation.
She also pursues athletic opportunities at the school, having been a member of the varsity girls’ field hockey team as well as the badminton team, in addition to helping out every year with school soccer tryouts.
Her school contributions would be more than enough to keep most students busy, but Zantinge is also very involved in the community outside of Norwell.
In the summer, when she is not working full time at the Conestogo Lake Conservation Area, she plays local league soccer, as she has every year for more than a decade. And in the winter she is heavily involved in figure skating, as both a competitor and an instructor. In fact, she was recently named program assistant of the year for the area.
“She is an excellent program assistant,” Maureen TenHoopen, president of the Drayton and District Skating Club, said in her supporting nomination for Zantinge. “She really loves helping children learn to skate.”
But the accolades for Zantinge don’t stop there.
She’s been known to babysit and tutor younger kids from time to time, and for the last seven years or so – she’s won so often she honestly can’t recall – Zantinge has been named a local winner in the Royal Canadian Legion’s annual poetry and essay contest.
And at a time when most local fairs are struggling to retain executive members, she also volunteered to serve on the Drayton Fair Board. She is the youngest member of the board and specializes in the “preserves” department.
“I really enjoy it,” she said of her work on the fair board.
She has so much going on, one wonders how she makes time for it all.
“Very carefully,” she said with smile. “Scheduling is very tight.” Next year, Zantinge plans to attend Lakehead University in?Thunder Bay, where she has been conditionally accepted into the five-year French concurrent education program. Her goal is to become a French teacher.
“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher … I’ve always known I wanted to work with kids ” she said.
She explained her roles as a tutor and a skating coach reaffirmed her career choice, while it was the exchange trip to France that led her to choose French as her area of expertise.
If the comments on her Junior Citizen of the Year nomination form are any indication, there’s little doubt she will succeed in her chosen field.
“She stands head and shoulders above her peers without appearing aloof,” Hirtle said of Zantinge. “She shines without domination or intrusion.”
