As a 17-year-old St. Theresa Catholic High School student in Midland, Elizabeth Perron knows what is important to her peers.
Perron and her friend used their knowledge of what young people want to create the Equity Club in their high school as a place where all students can feel accepted and welcome.
The pair approached their principal with the idea to make people feel more welcome at school.
“We wanted to create a space that was comfortable, calming, and welcoming for students,” explains Perron. “In high school, things can get really crazy, and mental health is really important when you are working so hard on your studies.”
The Equity Club has subsections and gatherings for people of colour, for people that identify as LGBTQ+, for disabled students, for Indigenous people and for menstrual equity. The group organizes awareness days around Orange Shirt Day (Sept. 30), International Women’s Day (March 8) and Red Dress Day (May 5).
The group also brings in speakers to share information with students about everything from mental health to Black History Month and beyond.
Perron and the Equity Club members are currently hard at work making plans for Pride Month in June.
“The first thing we did was create an open space where students can relax or do homework or somewhere they can go when they’re having a difficult day,” says Perron.
The space needs to be supervised, and there is always a teacher present so students can reach out if they need help or have any questions.
One of the busiest times is during lunch-hour in the equity space, says Perron. That’s when grade 9s and 10s enjoy the room.
“As a junior, high school can be very daunting and intimidating, and I’ve had a couple of juniors approach me and say they’re happy the space is open.”
Perron says she’s heard more positive feedback from parents of Grade 7s and 8s when they come to tour the school.
“Parents say they’re so glad that someone is taking care of these students,” explains the St. Theresa’s senior. “People are very supportive.”
Perron is looking towards a future in business and marketing, and put some of her skills in the field to use to help out the owner of the business where she completed her co-op.
While working at her co-op Canadian Yachting, her supervisor said marinas were having trouble attracting young people to work there.
Perron filled in the gaps and wrote about what makes working at a marina attractive by accessing the things that drew her to apply and get hired at a local marina.
“Being outside, learning something new, being with people that are my age," says Perron of what she likes about the job. "It’s a very social job. The article kind of flew out of me...the stars kind of aligned for me.”
Perron penned an article for Boating Industry Canada all about how to hire young people.
Her co-op teacher tells her that she’s paving the way for future co-op students to think creatively about where and how to complete their co-op for school.
The driven young woman says she inspired by her generation and the generations that will follow.
“I love to see how many opportunities young people are getting these days,” says Perron.
Referring to her co-op being more in a business vein, Perron explains that a lot of people choose to do their co-ops in the trades.
“I want to make sure that youth know they can be — they are the future. Stay inspired and you can create anything you want for the future. I love knowing the things I do can make an impact in the future and inspire others.”
