By Mark Squibb
The City of Mount Pearl hosted its 35th annual Focus on Youth awards this May, shining the spotlight on local youth and their many achievements.
The Mount Pearl Senior High Student Council was named the Youth Group of The Year. The council is known for hosting a “Stuff the Bus” fundraiser, as well as cultural events for international students, staff appreciation events, trivia nights, and coffee houses.
The Sports Team of the Year went to the Mount Pearl-Paradise Skating Club Gold Starlites Synchronized Skating Team. This year, the team placed at the Sake Canada Cup competition, a feat even more impressive when you consider that this is their inaugural season.
Mount Pearl Senior High received the Performing Arts Recognition Award for a student group’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Students not only performed but worked behind the scenes to bring the drama to life.
O’Donel High School student Ian Cole received the Youth S.T.E.M. Award. Cole heads up his school’s robotics club and maintains near-perfect averages in maths and science courses.
O’Donel High School student Rachel Spurrell was awarded the Literary Arts Award. Spurrell has earned several accolades. She won first place in both the Writers NL “Space and Time” Youth Contest and the O’Donel Holiday Writing Contest and placed second in the 2024 Kiwanis Short Story Competition.
O’Donel High’s Varvara Korotnyska, known for her murals and stage props, was awarded the Youth Visual Arts Award.
Alex Taylor was awarded the Performing Arts Recognition Award (Individual), Youth In-Service Award, and Youth Opportunity Fund Youth Volunteer of the Year. A talented musician who performs at many community events and fundraisers, Taylor is best known for organizing the Merry & Bright Christmas Fundraiser, through which he has raised funds for numerous charities.
Jordan Flynn was named the Male Athlete of the Year. Flynn plays for the Mount Pearl Senior High Huskies and East Coast Blizzard U18 team, and also captained the gold-winning Team Canada’s U16 Ball Hockey Team.
O’Donel High School student Falon McLoughlan was named both Female Athlete of the Year and one of two Rossiter Memorial Youths of the Year. McLoughlan boasts a 99 percent GPA and, at 14, is the youngest female from the province ever named to the Canadian National Deaf Women’s Volleyball Team. She has earned numerous accolades across six different volleyball teams. She also volunteers with the Pisces Swim Club, teaching children with disabilities to learn how to swim.
Emma Neville was also named a Rossiter Youth of the Year. The Mount Pearl Senior High student boasts a 97.1 percent GPA, is co-president of the student council, and performs in a number of choirs and productions. She also works as a camp counselor.
This year’s banquet was hosted by the 2024 Youths of the Year Eamon Fogwill and Courtney Abbott, and featured performances by Mackenzie Critch, Alex Taylor, Imani Dacres, Hannah Connolly, the Mount Pearl Senior High Cinderella cast, and Daughters of the Rock.