École secondaire catholique de Hearst student Émily Thibodeau is one of the two recipients of a $5,000 bursary from Caisse Alliance.
The bursaries aimed to support and recognize two students in the communities served by Caisse who showed significant contribution and commitment to sustainable development, according to the news release.
The first bursary was meant for a high school graduate planning to enroll in a post-secondary institution and the second award was offered to a college or university student.
Thibodeau, who will be pursuing biochemistry at the University of Ottawa next fall, was on a humanitarian trip in Ghana last December where she helped patients in a hospital and also children with their English and math homework at the Dream Africa Care Foundation orphanage.
The second recipient, Michel Gervais, is a current cinema program student at Ryerson University and a former student at École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité in Sturgeon Falls. He organized a rainbow-themed day during the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in 2017 to promote gender equality.
To receive the award, applicants were asked to answer two questions demonstrating how their involvement in a project met sustainable development goals.
"The mission and values of our financial cooperative are highly aligned with the major sustainable development goals of the United Nations," Caisse Alliance's president and CEO Pierre Dorval said in a statement. "In order to achieve these goals successfully, we need young advocates who are committed to our communities. We are very proud to recognize the efforts and initiatives of two of them today."
