English hike for student thanks to award
Yelyzaveta (Elizabeth) Bielaia lived in Ukraine and then Israel before moving to Canada with her family when she was 10 years old.
Learning the language was the first step to settling in, as she didn’t know a word of English when she arrived.
After adjusting to the culture differences, Bielaia quickly became involved in her community.
“I enjoyed that there were so many opportunities here,” she said. She became involved in school sports and took dance lessons.
“I’d never imagined there would be so many things I could do and pursue.”
Her many extracurricular activities helped her become a part of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award program, an international program aimed at getting youth to develop their skills and prepare them for life. Bielaia first heard about the program through her school at the end of Grade 10.
Now the 17-year-old Grade 11 student at Harvest City Christian Academy has the opportunity to go to England on a five-day hiking trip after winning the Do the Duke in the U.K. competition put on by the Saskatchewan Division of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award.
The Saskatchewan branch partners with an English division every year to make the trip to England possible. U.K. participants will also be on the hike.
On Monday afternoon, Bielaia received her roundtrip ticket to London. She will leave on July 2, with the hiking trip taking place from July 5 to 9.
“I’ve been wanting to go (to England) for the longest time and it’s very exciting,” said Bielaia. “This is not an opportunity that I was even expecting at all.”
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award program has four different sections a youth must fulfil: volunteer service, physical recreation, developing a skill and going on a five-day journey in nature. Different levels of participation lead to bronze, silver and gold award levels.
Bielaia is pursuing her gold award, and this hike gives her the chance to check the five-day journey off her to-do list.
To check off the other criteria, she chose to learn piano as her skill, and volleyball as her physical recreation. Checking off the volunteer service box hasn’t been difficult for her either, as she was already volunteering before joining the program.
“I’m already so involved in my school, involved in SLC (Student Leadership Council), and involved in church,” she said.
Bielaia has also volunteered with CityKidz, a ministry working in Regina’s north central community.