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Seventeen-year-old Sarah Bowers鈥檚 list of community involvement reads like that of a citizen twice her age.
In elementary school, she organized a Pajama Day that raised more than $400 for Free the Children鈥檚 fresh water projects in Africa. Now in Grade 11 at Howe Sound Secondary School, Bowers is one of the forces behind everything from organizing the school鈥檚 Vow of Silence to raising awareness about child slaves, to planning Pennies for Polio, a fundraiser to eradicate the infectious disease.听
In between volunteering, Bowers finds time to pursue her passion 鈥� ballet.听
鈥淟ots of ballet these days are very contemporary. I like traditional ballet,鈥� Bowers said.听
Since she was three, Bowers has been slipping into her ballet shoes. She practices and is an assistant instructor of ballet with the Howe Sound Dance Academy. And for the past three years, Bowers has dashed around North America to attend intensive ballet summer schools.听
Last week Bowers received news that will again help her make her dream come true. Bowers beat out 19 finalists in the Canadian Club鈥檚 2014 Maple Leaf Youth Awards to win a $1,500 scholarship she will put toward another summer program at New York鈥檚 Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet.听
Bowers鈥檚 essay on problem solving in Canada won her the grant. She delved into the nation鈥檚 increasingly complex social and environmental challenges and how schools can equip youth with creative thinking and fundraising skills to tackle the issues head-on.听
鈥淪ome of it was from my own experience of trying to find ways to fund my dancing,鈥� Bowers said.听
Bowers heads to New York on July 14. For five weeks she will stay in residence and attend dance class six days a week. Bowers aims to attend the school full-time upon graduation. But Bowers said the high tuition and living costs in the United States won鈥檛 make it easy, noting last year she was forced to turn down an ongoing student position.听
For now, Bowers is focused on this summer. She鈥檚 ready to immerse herself in the dancing culture, adding the Russian Bolshoi Ballet will be performing while she鈥檚 in New York.听
鈥淚 am really excited,鈥� she said, adding her board is close to the Brooklyn Bridge.
