Two graduates of the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board (RCCDSB) recently received Catholic Student Awards from the Catholic Education Foundation of Ontario (CEFO) at an awards dinner in Toronto.
Mitchel Schroeder, who graduated from Bishop Smith Catholic High School last June, and Sarah McGrath, a graduate of St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in Renfrew, each received the CEFO’s 2014 award at the 31st annual Father Patrick Fogarty Awards Dinner held on October 25 at the Toronto Airport Marriott Hotel.
The Catholic Student Awards were created by the CEFO to recognize and celebrate the excellence and accomplishments of young Catholic men and women. The awards also pay tribute to the positive influence, inspiration and works of Catholic teachers, chaplains, school administrators and parents. Award selection is based on a student’s scholarship, volunteer work and community involvement, as well as for conduct that models Catholic values.
Schroeder, who now attends Algonquin College in Pembroke, as well as running a lawn-care business, says that BSCHS taught him to be thankful for many things, including his Catholic education and the teachers at BSCHS. “What I learned from my time at BSCHS is that I will never stop being grateful for my life. I love my life. I think that I do have a purpose. I do make a difference. My many Pro-Life trips to Ottawa reminded me that I am thankful to be here,” he added.
BSCHS Principal Clint Young says that Schroeder was a pleasure to have as a student at BSCHS and an excellent choice for the Catholic Student Award. “Mitchel is a great model of a Catholic young man. He is a polite, kind, caring, humble, respectful, and compassionate young man who leads through example. While at BSCHS, Mitchel was active in many groups—Pastoral, Social Justice, Anti-bullying and Student Leadership—and he worked hard to promote his Catholic faith and teaching in his everyday life.”
Sarah McGrath, who now attends Algonquin in Ottawa, gets similar praise from St. Joseph’s Principal Brennan Trainor. “Sarah was active on the St. Joseph’s High School pastoral team as well as on the Dominican Republic Experience Team of 2013,” Trainor says. “She is a kind and caring student who recognized that all students have their own special gifts to share with each other. She was never judgmental of other students and was considered to be a role model by many staff members.”
“Accepting an award as prestigious as this is such an honour, and I am very humbled by the fact that St. Joseph’s Catholic High School chose me to be its recipient,” said McGrath. “All through my high school career I worked hard, and participated in as many ways as I was able to help my school,” she added. She noted that meeting the other recipients of the award in Toronto was also an honour. “Among them was my fellow Dominican Republic Experience team member, Mitchel Schroeder, and it was great to see another recipient as deserving as he is.”
Board Chair Bob Michaud congratulated both Schroeder and McGrath on their awards. “These two young people exemplify the goals of RCCDSB. We work to instill Catholic values in our students and foster a world view shaped by the Catholic conversation about life’s meaning and purpose. We teach our students to respect the dignity of others, to share their gifts with the community, and to cherish the environment and all life in it. We are all proud of these graduates of our Board.”
November 18, 2014
For further information, please contact:
Michele Arbour, Director of Education
Renfrew County Catholic District School Board
499 Pembroke Street West
Pembroke, ON K8A 5P1
Phone: 613-735-1031 or 1-800-267-019l
