Heaven Augustine from Elsipogtog, New Brunswick Accepted into the 2015 SEVEC Youth Advisory Committee
“On both of my exchanges with SEVEC, my school had the opportunity to travel to British Columbia. Coming from a small town in New Brunswick, it was quite the experience. Not only did it help me connect with people across the country, but it helped me come out of my shell and connect with people from my own school. I applied to be a part of the YAC because I want to continue taking part in an amazing program like SEVEC.” –Heaven Augustine
OTTAWA, ON – Monday, July 6, 2015 – a handful of youth from across Canada received some exciting news last week when they were accepted to be part of SEVEC’s Youth Advisory Committee. This year marked the most applications SEVEC has received for the Youth Advisory Committee and the decision to choose the new members was not easy! Marketing and Development Coordinator Tom Kingdon was involved in the process of choosing this year’s new members as he recalls, “we received around 30 applications from across the country for the 8 open positions. Most of the applications were exceptional and narrowing it down to just a handful of successful candidates was quite a challenge! It’s the kind of problem that is good to have, though, and we hope to hear from many of this year’s applicants again next May when it is time to choose the 2016-17 Committee.”
The Youth Advisory Committee, or YAC, provides SEVEC with feedback on exchange programs and practices from the absolutely invaluable youth perspective. It is a great way for SEVEC alumni to extend their exchange experience by sharing their stories while developing their leadership and communications skills. SEVEC wishes to congratulate new members: Astrid Krueger from Edmonton Alberta, Guillaume Chassé from St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Québec, Lise Charles from Charlottetown, P.E.I, Heaven Augustine from Elsipogtog, New Brunswick, Nicolas Ouellette from Langley, BC, Owen Chambers from Brandon, Manitoba , Pierre-Luc Haché from Bathurst, New Brunswick, and Rainen Oates from Fergus, Ontario.
Every November, the YAC meets in Ottawa for SEVEC’s Annual General Meeting in which they participate in workshops, visit Ottawa landmarks, shop at the Rideau Center Mall, and make an important presentation to the Board of Directors. Being a member of the Youth Advisory Committee is a significant volunteer position and an opportunity to give back to SEVEC. Those selected for the Committee can serve for two years and may serve an extra year if they are elected to the Executive. Members meet once in Ottawa and participate in four telephone conferences each year. To be eligible, a youth must be aged 15-17, have at least one year of high school left and have participated in a SEVEC exchange within the last three years. This year’s Youth Advisory Committee is off to a great start as SEVEC gears up for its 80th anniversary. For more information about the YAC please visit: http://www.sevec.ca/about-us/youth-committee-advisory/
For more information about SEVEC and exchange opportunities please visit: www.sevec.ca/info
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The Society for Educational Visits and Exchanges in Canada (SEVEC) is a national charitable organization that has been providing educational exchanges, trips, and forums for Canadian youth for over 79 years. Over 360,000 youth have benefitted from our programming. For more information about the exchange program, visit www.sevec.ca.
For more information, please contact:
Ashley Montgomery
Communications Coordinator, SEVEC
amontgomery@sevec.ca
613-727-3832 ext. 208
www.sevec.ca
