Tom Henihan
Express Staff
@SmokyRiverExprs
Former Ecole Routhier student, Ariana Papineau, who now lives in the Calgary, returned to the region to speak to local students at G. P. Vanier and Ecole Providence in her capacity as Miss Canada Globe Productions, (MCGP) Canadian Scholarship Ambassador 2017 – 2018.
Among Papineau’s responsibilities as MCGP Canadian Scholarship Ambassador is to visit schools around the country to promote education.
“I go to schools across Canada to speak with students and teachers about the journey that I went through getting my high school diploma and about the importance of education,” says Papineau.
She also speaks on the important subject of contending with learning disabilities of which she has firsthand experience, having had her own challenges with dyslexia and Asperger’s when pursuing her high school diploma.”
“I bring awareness to learning disabilities, which I call learning differences. I talk about there being other ways to learn, that they are not disabilities but abilities so you just have to go about them in a different way.”
She also points out that while one in five kids are tested by the government for learning disabilities one in three kids have the condition unrecognized so it is reasonable to assume that a great many students struggle with some kind of learning difficulty without being properly identified.
“There is not just one way of teaching to gain students attention. You have to go and work alongside the student though they might not be tested,” she says.
Nineteen-year-old Papineau, who recently graduated from high school, is now studying for a Bachelor’s Degree in Education at Ambrose University, and says that she would like to become a teacher to encourage students who have learning disabilities to enjoy learning and to pursue their dreams.
The Miss Canada Globe Productions is a national beauty pageant where girls from every region of Canada can compete for numerous titles.
As part of competing, the girls are required to write an essay representing their platform and Papineau chose to write on learning disabilities and homelessness in Canada.
“Miss Canada Globe is about promoting education, charities and reaching out into the community,” she says.
During her presentations at G. P. Vanier and Ecole Providence schools, she listened to the kids concerns and answered questions from both teachers and students.
Papineau says when she gives a talk such as the ones she gave locally that she likes to keep the format very conversational and that she makes a special effort to directly address the student or teacher who asks the question.
“I make sure it is a conversation between the person who asked the question and me.”
Having competed with approximately sixty contestants ranging in age from 13 to 25 years, Papineau received the MCGP, Canadian Scholarship Ambassador for 2017 to 2018 last August.
The MCGP Scholarship Ambassador title also provides winning contestants with a scholarship to any university of their choice and Papineau chose Ambrose University.
“That was the main reason that I competed because I wanted a scholarship and having won that scholarship covers my first year of university.”