Three for three isn’t too bad for a small town.
That’s the number of students from Clearwater Secondary School who have been accepted into the prestigious International Baccalaureate program in the United World College system.
Value of the scholarship for the two-year program is $80,000 each.
Two years ago Robson Beaudry was accepted into the two-year program and went to Hong Kong to study. After finishing there he has been accepted into New York University in Abu Dhabi with a full scholarship.
One year ago it was Jordie Akers’s turn. He has finished his first year at Lester Pearson College on Vancouver Island and is getting ready for his second.
Kiera Stel has been accepted into the program this year and plans to spend the next two years at Lester Pearson College.
The International Baccalaureate program is very academically challenging, said Akers.
“It takes a lot of work, but it’s recognized all around the World,” he said.
The program is roughly equivalent to Grade 12 and first year university in Canada.
Akers was in Clearwater completing 80 hours of volunteer work needed for the program by tutoring math students at CSS and helping out in physical education classes.
Only three other students from B.C. will be in her class at Lester Pearson and just 20 from Canada, said Stel. All the rest are from countries around the World such as Madagascar, Peru, Ukraine, China and the U.S.
“The whole idea is to promote peace, equality, and learning about other people through education,” Stel said.