The Rotary Club of Guelph has great pleasure in announcing Reese French as the winner of the 2025 Turtle Island Heritage Youth Award. The Award Certificate was accompanied by a cash prize from Rotary to help Reese further her education.
Applicants must demonstrate leadership qualities in the community and in the promotion of Indigenous culture. The Indigenous Education Department at the UGDSB receives applications and selects a student of Indigenous ancestry to receive Rotary’s annual Turtle Island Heritage Indigenous Youth Award.
Reese is a Grade 11 honour student at Norwell District Secondary School. Reese has been on the Indigenous Youth Council as well as being a student representative on the First Nation, Metis, Inuit Education Council for the past two years. She participates in and promotes Indigenous events in the UGDSB and the larger community. Learning the Mohawk language has also been a priority for Reese.
The Rotary Club of Guelph is proud to honour exceptional students such as Reese and sincerely hopes she will continue her path of Indigenous Learning and perhaps one day become a Rotarian herself as she continues to live up to Rotary’s global motto of “Service Above Self”.
Contact: rcog.iacomm@gmail.com