By Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Local high school student heading overseas as part of winning Vimy Pilgrimage Award

Apr 2, 2019 | 8:00 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A high school student from Lethbridge is one of 20 winners of the prestigious national Vimy Pilgrimage Award heading out on an eight-day trip this week.

Out of hundreds of applicants from across the country, 17-year-old Declan Sander was selected to participate in the Vimy Foundation program, which recognizes the actions of young people aged 14-17 who demonstrate outstanding service, positive contributions, and leadership in their communities.

Sander says he was first made aware of the award by his social studies teacher at school.

“He brought awareness to us about it, and it was posted around the school on the bulletin boards,” Sander continued. “It was just something I applied for, and I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the winners.”

As a youth mentor at the First Nations Safe Home, a teen mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and as a representative on student council and the City of Lethbridge Youth Advisory Council, Sander serves his community, particularly with vulnerable, underrepresented and marginalized populations.

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His volunteer work played a central role in his application, as well as his research about a couple of soldiers from the First World War.

“I had the opportunity to research a soldier for the project, and so I picked Private Leopold John Creasy who had some similarities to me. He liked playing chess and was a pretty social guy, and he often went to the social club in British Columbia to play chess there. I found that interesting because I love playing chess too, so I kind of based my application around chess.”

Sander wrote a chess-inspired poem, a 500-word essay and also had to get references from different community members as part of the application as well.

He sees his volunteer work experience as crucial to being able to build healthy, stable relationships where there is respect for diversity and appreciation of the contributions of all people.

Growing up in Lethbridge, a city with many ties to the First World War and military sacrifice in general, also played a role for Sander.

“Lethbridge is just such a historic spot and that kind of led up to my application, though how I actually heard about the award was through school. I took a liking to social studies over the past two years, and that had a role in actually applying. I wanted to see the different points of views and meet with the 19 other candidates that are going on this trip with me.”

The Vimy Pilgrimage Award consists of a fully funded educational program in France and Belgium from April 2-10 to study Canada’s tremendous First World War effort.

Sander and the other students will be undertaking packed days over the week-long experience, which will include visits to the First World War sites, historical battlefields, as well as museums and cemeteries.

Sander says they’ve seen some of the things they’re going to see, and what he’s looking forward to the most is going to the grave of one of the soldiers he researched.

“Not only did I research Private Creasy, but I also researched Private Kichimatsu Sugimoto who lived in Raymond. I think he embodied diversity because he was a Japanese soldier who fought in the First World War for Canada and ended up sacrificing his life for the country. That was moving to see someone from Japan who represented Canada’s diversity was able to fight and sacrifice for a country he had only lived in for a short amount of time.”