Photo: Graduating student, Jessica Lavallee
WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg congratulates four inner city teenagers who graduated on Wednesday, May 8 from our Model School. The University of Winnipeg Collegiate Model School is an initiative on campus that began in September 2008 for students from Grade 9 to Grade 12 who show potential and could benefit from a supportive learning environment. Graduating student Jessica Lavallee is now 17 years old and has been with the Collegiate Model School since its inception in 2008.
“I have been able to get lots of extra help with subjects like math and science, and it has helped me see that I can go to university,” said Lavallee, who is the first person in her family to graduate from high school. “My mom is really happy and it gives my two younger sisters hope that they can do this as well.”
Lavallee has been fully supported with a scholarship through UWinnipeg’s innovative Opportunity Fund, specifically established through private fundraising to provide support to under-represented youth who face financial barriers.
Lavallee, who plans to pursue her studies at The University of Winnipeg in Indigenous Governance, hopes to work with Aboriginal youth. She is also applying for a new summer internship program.
The Civil Service Commission, in partnership with Employment Manitoba, is offering up to seven paid summer internships for students or graduates of UWinnipeg’s Model School and Tuition Waiver Program. This will provide invaluable “real life” employment experience within the Government of Manitoba for youth who have faced multiple barriers to achieving education and employment. These placements start on June 3, 2013 and continue up to August 30, 2013.
Left to right: Felisha Hartig, Jessica Lavallee, Shae-Lynn Sais (absent: Nichole Swan), MaY 8, 2013
Lavallee was joined at her graduation ceremony by three other Model School students. Two more students will complete their studies at the end of June for a total of six graduates this year.
Model School students are referred by inner-city schools and community organizations. They receive individualized learning plans so they can reach their full potential. Model School students are part of the Collegiate, UWinnipeg’s high school on campus. Approximately 30 students attend the Model School annually.
To date, the Model School has resulted in 29 high school graduates. Of those, 10 are attending post-secondary institutions (six at The University of Winnipeg), 10 more have applied to attend UWinnipeg for Sept 2013, and 9 are employed.
MEDIA CONTACT
Diane Poulin, Communications Officer, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
