Zoe Paton's '20 Quest for Gold

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is a global program with the goal of challenging, empowering and recognizing young people between the ages of 14 and 24. The Award challenges young Canadians to develop skills and tools to improve themselves and their communities by encouraging them to go beyond their comfort zones.

Participants have the opportunity to strive for a bronze, silver or gold award based on personal development. Generally, a participant will go through each level before getting the gold award, but Zoe Paton ‘20 made it her goal to go straight for gold. 

In order to receive this award, Zoe had to complete the following requirements:
  • Voluntary Service: Obtain volunteer hours every week for 52 weeks 
  • Skills: Enhance a personal skill over the course of 52 weeks
  • Physical Recreation: Improve overall health and fitness in 52 weeks
  • Adventurous Journey: To encourage a spirit of adventure and discovery while undertaking a journey in a group. Participants must partake in a 2 day/1 night practice journey and then partake in a 5 day/4 night qualifying journey 
  • Residential Project: A requirement for gold participants to broaden their experience through involvement with others unknown to them in a residential setting

In 2018 and 2019, Zoe volunteered with many local organizations including The Denise House, Nelson Mandela Reading Buddies, Global Pathways School and Project Impact. These volunteer hours allowed her to further understand the importance of giving to others.

In her quest to develop a personal skill, Zoe took it upon herself to learn more about her Greek heritage. “My family on my mother's side is Greek. I have been going to Greece each summer for about 10 years and I want to continue to improve my Greek skills so that I can communicate better with my grandparents and with the people in the village,” said Zoe. “I also want to read and write more fluently so that I can communicate with my friends in Greece when I am not there.” Zoe spent a total of 52 hours learning Greek language over the course of a year.

In order to obtain her requirements in the physical recreation category, Zoe played on Greenwood’s Rugby team and participated in all games and practices. Outside of school she tried different activities to maintain physical fitness, including Crossfit. Overall, Zoe earned more than 156 hours of physical activity.

One of the most exciting aspects of completing the Duke of Ed is participating in an adventurous journey. Zoe chose to do an “Adventurous Exploration” for her trip. “An exploration is a ‘purpose with a journey’ in which the primary focus is to observe and collect information relevant to the purpose. More time is spent on this, and less time is devoted to getting from one place to another,” said Zoe. The goal of her journey was to learn more about the geography in Kyuquot, B.C. She analyzed land formations, wildlife, sea life and plants and learned more about the people who live in the area. She spent eight days completing her exploration.

For the Residential Project, Zoe attended the International Summers Program at Blyth Academy in which she traveled to Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao and San Sebastian. On this trip she learned about the culture of Spain and explored important historic areas while stepping out of her comfort zone. “I learned Advanced Functions with a group of students I had not met before all while being in an environment that was unfamiliar. I had to learn to study with so many distractions and make new friends,” she said. 

After a year's worth of hard work and determination, Zoe completed all requirements to achieve her gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. We are excited to formally present Zoe with her gold pin in-person in the near future. Way to go, Zoe!
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  • Maria Makris
    We’re sooo proud Zoe reach for the ?? the best is yet to come!!!!!??

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