Young people often get a bum rap, but Curtis Custer is proof they should not all be painted with the same brush.
The Creighton Community School student is this year’s winner of the Healthy Youth Role Model Award sponsored by CADAC and the Community Youth Resource Centre.
“I was surprised,” Curtis, a Grade 11 student, said Wednesday after accepting the honour.
Curtis, 16, met all of the criteria for the award, and then some, starting with the fact that he leads a drug- and alcohol-free lifestyle.
“It’s important to recognize youth for the healthy choices that they’re making,” said Tiffany Ealey, an addictions counsellor with CADAC who helped present the award. “It’s not always the easy or the popular choice to make, but it’s important that we do recognize the youth that are making those (choices).”
Curtis was among 16 nominees for the award, presented annually to a deserving teen in Flin Flon, Creighton, Cranberry Portage or surrounding area.
“Curtis works very hard to achieve his goals and he’s proof that what you get out of life depends a lot on how hard you work,” Ealey said.
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Stacy Lair, acting principal of Creighton Community School, called Curtis a deserving recipient.
“Curtis is a really great role model,” said Lair, who nominated Curtis for the honour. “He goes above and beyond to make good lifestyle choices and be that role model for younger students. I’ve seen this now all year and most of last year. He has went from being a student who wasn’t a great attender to fantastic attendance at school and (has) made a big change in his academics as well and is doing really well academically.”
Curtis’ award consists of a personalized plaque, a cash prize and a box of gifts that includes a board game and a blanket.
Creighton Community School will for the next year house a traveling plaque that lists Custer as well as previous winners dating back to the award’s inception in 2002.
Curtis accepted his award during an assembly in the school gymnasium, earning a hearty round of applause from his classmates.
After graduating from high school, the Denare Beach resident plans to join the military.
The presentation of the award coincided with National Addictions Awareness Week.
Honourable mentions for the award went to Natasha McDermott and Alex Bighetty, both of Hapnot Collegiate.
The other nominees were Kelsey Farkus, Sarah Morrison, Evan Linnick, Roxann Mousseau, Taylor Kryschuk, Katlynn Schaitel, Jordan Panagabko and Riley Reynolds of Creighton Community School; Teaneaka Bruner, Shawn Francois. Mavrick Bryson and Taylor Oliynyk of Hapnot; and Gregory Bighetty of Frontier Collegiate Institute in Cranberry Portage.
