Alberta youths earn Queen Elizabeth II awards
Emily Vilcsak wasn’t therein accept her Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Citizenship Medal from Lt.-Gov. Lois Mitchell. She was away volunteering in Mexico, helping connect villages with clean water and bringing food to hospitals, but her dad, Chris, beamed her into Government House over FaceTime on his smartphone on Tuesday.
Chris also accepted the medal for his daughter, alongside five other high-achieving Alberta youth.
Vilcsak, 19, is a graduate of St. Albert Catholic High School where she served on the student council. She kick-started a coding club and is a member of St. Albert Children’s Theatre.
Born with mild cerebral palsy after suffering a stroke before birth, Vilcsak is now working on a book partially about her life overcoming the disability.
“I’ve grown up thinking I would do anything,” she said over FaceTime, explaining a memory of when she wanted to play baseball as a kid, teaching herself to catch and throw with the same hand, having weakened motor skills in her left hand.
“That was when I realized I was going to be able to do anything I want to, it was just going to look a bit different.”
The award came as a surprise to Vilcsak. After winning the Premier’s Citizenship Award, which she was nominated for by her principal, no one told her the application was then sent in for the Golden Jubilee medal.
“I thought it was a prank email,” said Vilcsak, who has been in Mexico since mid-May and returns to St. Albert at the end of August.
Eight Alberta youth were awarded the medal, though some others were also unable to attend the ceremony on Tuesday. Among the recipients was Brandon Bosma, 20, of Sherwood Park.
Bosma has won a number of youth leadership awards while living with Trisomy 18, a condition labelled “incompatible with life,” a label Bosma’s working to change.
He’s also a regular actor in local theatre productions.
Mitchell and Culture and Tourism Minister Ricardo Miranda each congratulated the recipients in attendance before a reception and photos.
“Effective and caring leaders come in all ages,” said Mitchell, noting some of her mentors are much younger than herself. “You’ve each made a commitment to what you believe in.”
There were also four medal recipients from Calgary, one from Red Deer and one from Grand Prairie.