A Manitoulin Island teen has received a couple of accolades, recently.
Jocelyn Kuntsi of Manitowaning has been awarded a Youth Achievement Award by Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell.
The Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards were awarded Feb. 23. They are annual, juried awards administered by the Ontario Heritage Trust to recognize remarkable achievements in heritage conservation across the province.
Kuntsi, a student at Manitoulin Secondary School, has also been named a finalist for the 2023 Loran Awards, ranking in the top two per cent of all applicants from across Canada.
The foundation provides 36 awards valued at over $100,000 to students entering university.
Loran Scholars receive the country's largest undergraduate merit award on the basis of character, commitment to service, and leadership potential.
In terms of the Youth Achievement Award presented by the Lieutenant Governors, a press release issued by the awards program said Kuntsi has transformed conservation practices on her robotics team, in her school and in the community to focus on environmental stewardship in every activity.
She is a leader in promoting environmental sustainability and stewardship through building awareness in her broader community, organizing collaborative activities, and building partnerships. This work includes her advocacy to raise awareness around water issues through a 64-km (40-mile) Water Walk, working with M’Chigeeng First Nation for shoreline restoration, and participating in bee revitalization.
Kuntsi has also sent sustainable action plans to businesses and event hosts, advocating for reduced carbon footprints. As a Rainbow District School Board student trustee, she sits on the Board Strategic Planning Committee and has used her unique position and voice to advocate for issues of conservation and sustainability.
On a provincial scale, Kuntsi is the Chair of the Ontario Student Trustees Association Working Group on Environmental Sustainability.
On her evenings and weekends, Kuntsi promotes and participates in community clean-ups and can often be seen along the side of the road in her rubber boots cleaning ditches and shorelines.
Most recently, she developed a carbon calculator and shared it with robotics teams globally and hosted a provincial science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and sustainability conference.
Kuntsi’s impact on conservation is wide and measurable, said the press release. In the school and community, she is the face of sustainability, and is helping to inspire a shift in STEM culture to focus on technological innovation and environmental conservation alike.
Other 2023 recipients of the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards from Northern Ontario include Shirley Horn of Sault Ste. Marie and the Historic Sault Ste. Marie Métis Council for the Sault Ste. Marie Métis Cultural Centre.
The Rainbow District School Board offered its congratulations to Kuntsi for receiving the Lieutenant Governor’s award.
"Jocelyn Kuntsi is most deserving of this provincial recognition," said Rainbow District School Board Chair Bob Clement, in a written statement. "Jocelyn understands and appreciates how individual action at the local level has a huge impact globally. More importantly, she has the ability to engage others to share her vision and contribute to change. A natural leader, Student Trustee Kuntsi continues to make us proud."
