On October 12, I was honoured to receive the Governor's International Student Award for community engagement from the Governor of South Australia. Out of the over 31,000 international students in South Australia, I was chosen for the award, which is something that I’m still trying to process!
The function at which the award was presented was held at Government House, which is this incredible mansion in the heart of the city surrounded by beautiful gardens. It’s quite a unique venue and it was a lovely event. We had the best weather all week on the day of the event and it made for beautiful scenery! Many thanks have to go to StudyAdelaide for preparing such a wonderful function!
I won the award for my work in the community and it was a wonderful honour to receive it. I obviously didn’t do this work in the community in order to win awards, but nevertheless it is an accomplishment that I’m very proud of.
For those of you who have read this blog in the past, you know my heart and what I’ve been doing in the community. In case you need a refresher however, while here in Adelaide I’ve been working with Edge Kids, the Edge Assist Street Care Team and the Childhood Cancer Association of South Australia. I strongly encourage you to read my earlier blogs for more information about those organizations, as they are all very important to me and they are doing amazing works in the lives of many. It’s going to be so difficult parting ways with them when I return to Canada!
I just wanted to take a few moments to thank those around me for helping me get to this place of victory, so if you can bear with me, I would certainly appreciate it!
Firstly, I have to thank my wonderful family for all that they’ve done for me. I could not have even made it to Australia in the first place without your support and it’s meant so much to have you backing me all this way. My Mom and Dad have been so supportive of me and helped me through many trials along the way. I love you guys and I can never thank you enough for making all this possible.
I also need to thank everyone from home for their support both before leaving for Adelaide and once I arrived. The entire Milobar family was there supporting me through the darkest nights of depression, and I have to thank them for their influence on me. I also have to thank John and Kirby; my good friends who stood by my side always, and helped inspire me to greater heights. You are all the greatest friends anyone could ever ask for!
Thank you to Ian, James,and Sally for meeting me in Sydney and making sure I was looked after during my first few days. Your generosity showed me what it’s like to help others with no agenda of your own and I want you all to know how thankful I am for the amazing treatment that you gave me.
Next, I have to thank the Scriver family for welcoming me into their lives here in Adelaide, helping me to get settled and comfortable when I first arrived, as well as being constant supporters through this entire exchange. I’m really going to miss our weekly get-togethers and sharing my life with you guys. Please don’t ever underestimate the impact that you’ve made on me.
I also need to thank James and Kathryn from Edge, as well as everyone else at Edge, for welcoming me so wonderfully and giving me a family atmosphere that I needed while so far away from home. For all of you who took to the time to get to know me and who welcomed me into your homes for home-cooked meals and friendship, I felt truly blessed to be in your company and your friendship means the world to me. You all showed me kindness and generosity far beyond what was required and it truly did influence me in wonderful ways.
I won’t drone on forever, but there are so many more people I could thank! I just hope that everyone who reads this knows what a support they’ve been to me and I hope that everyone knows that they played a part in my winning this award. This is for everyone who believed in me and motivated me to get here. I can’t thank you enough.