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Last night, Peace Wapiti Academy (PWA), Peace Wapiti Public School Division’s Grande Prairie-based high school, hosted its annual Academy Awards event in recognition of excellence achieved during the 2013-2014 school year. The ceremony celebrated Grades 9-12 honours students, star athletes, and excellence in the areas of French, art, band and drama. Community members and corporations were acknowledged for their contributions to the school, and ten scholarships totaling more than $14,000 were awarded to recent graduates.

In addition to the scholarships handed out in previous years, ConocoPhillips generously provided two new $1,500 awards for graduates of the Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) and Career and Technology Studies (CTS) pathways. Award recipients were Tristen Anderson and Brody Gillett.

Shell Education Scholarships, valued at $2,000 each, were awarded to Praise Adekojo, Ryan Ingraham and Twyla Rief. Dustin Dobransky was the recipient of the $300 Merit Contractors Association Award, Cassandra Gourlay was awarded the PWA Cosmetology Bursary in the amount of $500, and Grande Prairie Minor Hockey’s $250 scholarship was presented to Ashtin Peterson.

The Rotary Club of Grande Prairie presented its ‘Service Above Self’ Scholarships, valued at $2,000 each, to graduates Hannah Plant and Derek Repka. Miss Plant was recognized for volunteerism, while Mr. Repka was recognized for leadership of PWA’s Interact Club.

Derek Repka was also named PWA’s Schulich Leader Nominee for academic excellence, and the recipient of the Premier's Citizenship Award. Mr. Repka received plaques and will be entered into scholarship competitions for both awards.

“Members of our learning community joined with us to celebrate excellence,” says Wanda Gerard, Principal of PWA. “Our Academy Awards event is not just a time for our students to celebrate their achievements; it’s also an opportunity for us as a school to acknowledge the contributions of our parents, community members and business partners.”

Presentation of the school’s Titan awards are a highlight of the annual event. Titans of Today awards recognize parents, community coaches, guest speakers, mentors and adult volunteers who have made a significant contribution to PWA’s learning community. Titans of Tomorrow awards acknowledge students who display qualities of diligence, proficiency, citizenship, leadership or sportsmanship. Titans Incorporated awards celebrate local businesses who support PWA’s learning community through financial gifts, donations and mentorship.

“This year, our Titans Incorporated awards included recognition of ConocoPhillips for supporting our students with two new annual $1,500 scholarships; Weyerhaeuser for mentoring PWA’s Fourth Class Power Engineering students through the Dual Crediting Strategy; Roofmart for donating building supplies to our construction class; Happy Trails RV for sponsoring Prometheus, our custom-built barbecue unit which we use for school-based fundraisers; and Strongco for supporting our new mechanics programs by being a lead site for the trades tours,” says Principal Gerard.

A detailed list of scholarships is included below.

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Peace Wapiti Academy: ‘The Academy Awards’ 2013-2014
 
Grade 9 Honors
Lisa Badry
Mackenzie Delaney
Tristin Evans
Chelsey Furlong
Jessica Gomery
Chiara Gorgichuk
Colten Hodak
Hannah Hube
Dell Huls
Serena Isley
Chloe Keay
Mikaela Lemon
Ethan Little
Brandon Lyons
Conall Muir
Amanda Pelster
Ryan Schwindt
Madison Shields
Amanda Terceros
Charlene Wirth

Highest Academic Grade 9
Amanda Terceros

Grade 10 Honors
Madi Binks
Alexa Brehmer
Lindsey Comeau
Brittney Commet
Katrina Dawe
Dakota Dreger
Mathew Dwyer
Larissa Fehr
Emma Fletcher
Joshua Froese
Nicholas George
Kiana Gerard
Kelsey Gitzel
Victoria Gorgichuk
Sierra Grose
Scott Ingraham
Brittney Judd
Jordan Dewitt
Alyssa LaValley
Angela Maki
Riley McLandress
Joshua McNeill
Taylor Murray
Allison Pilgrim
Monique Reimer
Kendall Saunders
Christina Shantz
Sydney Steinke
Simon Thon
Samuel Waayenberg
Janine Willier
Mckenna Wolstenholme

General Diploma Grade 10
Top Student
Kelsy Olydam

Highest Academic Grade 10
Christina Shantz

Grade 11 Honors
Natasha Bergeron
Skylar Brebrich
Meagan Brown
Shane Cote
Justin Cowie
Jeffrey Deurloo
Spencer Diederich
Alexandria Friesen
Kyla Gallant
Kacie Haire
Zackary Hemmingway
Dustin Kaufmann
Brielle Herzog
Nolan Jacob
Emma Keddy
Aleesha Khan Afridi
Maira Khan Afridi
Rochelle Kriewaldt
Kallum McDonald
Jenkins McKim
Talisa Nellis
Kylie Nielsen
Karissa Rempel
Megan Renner
Kirsten Rodacker
Kurtis Sarkonak
Hanna Schmakeit
Shauna Schwindt
Amanda Tonne
Cailyn Wendland
Sydney Williams
Jocelyn Wright

General Diploma Grade 11
Brandon Berg
Ryan Thibeault

General Diploma Grade 11
Top Student
Brandon Berg

Highest Academic Grade 11
Aleesha Khan Afridi
Hanna Schmakeit

Grade 12 Honors
Baylee Adams
Tristen Anderson
Paige Commet
Hannah Desmarais
Carter Diederich
Zachary Dzuba
Rayna Gilfillan
Delray Granger
Martina Grose
Samantha Harder
Ryan Ingraham
Dania Khan Afridi
Tia Penner
Katie Peters
Hannah Plant
Derek Repka
Twyla Rief
Rachael Rode
Jessie Rudachyk
Terran Trepanier
James Scarth
Nathaniel Shantz
Shanae Simard

General Diploma Grade 12
Jaeden Birnie-Browne
Brooke James
Brittani Perry
Jessie Rudachyk
Shealyn Stewart
Zackery Thompson

General Diploma Grade 12
Top Student
Jessie Rudachyk

Highest Academic Grade 12
Second Runner Up - Derek Repka
First Runner Up - Tia Penner
Top Student - Rachael Rode

Art
April Wyant

Band
Nolan Jacob

Drama
Austin Bean

DELF Certification
A1
Brittney Commet
Justin Cowie
Victoria Gorgichuk
Taylor Murray
Simon Thon
A2
Becky Morrison
Kamaria Parragh
Derek Repka
B2
Natasha Bergeron

Athletic Awards
Badminton
Girls - Katrina Dawe
Boys - Bradley Lawrence

Basketball
Jr. Girls - Chiara Gorgichuk
Jr. Boys - Brandon Lyons
Sr. Girls - McKenzie Marple
Sr. Boys - Ryan Pelster

Football
Ryan Pelster

Rugby
Girls - Justin Mayne
Boys - Spencer Diederich

Track
Girls - Mckenna Wolstenholme
Boys - Ryan Schwindt

Volleyball
Jr. Girls - Chloe Keay
Jr. Boys - Tristin Evans
Sr. Girls - Martina Grose
Sr. Boys - Jason Smith

Athlete of the Year
Jr. Girls - Chloe Keay
Jr. Boys - Ryan Schwindt
Sr. Girls - Katrina Dawe
Sr. Boys - Ryan Pelster

Titans of Tomorrow
Nicholas Bailey
Kiana Gerard
Michael Jabs
Brandon Lyons
Logan Martins
Kallum McDonald
Tia Penner
Megan Renner
Jocelyn Wright

Titans of Today
Sylvia Advent
Shannon Davis
Tina Finch
Rhonda & Neil Little
Lenka Rahova
Tyla Savard

Titans Incorporated
Happy Trails RV
ConocoPhillips
Roofmart
Strongco
Weyerhaeuser

Scholarships
Merit Contractors Association Award
Dustin Dobransky

PWA Cosmetology Bursary
Cassandra Gourlay

Grande Prairie Minor Hockey
Ashtin Peterson

Rotary (Service Above Self) Scholarship
Hannah Plant
Derek Repka

ConocoPhillips RAP/CTS Scholarship
Tristen Anderson
Brody Gillett

Shell Education Scholarship
Praise Adekojo
Ryan Ingraham
Twyla Rief

Schulich Leader Nominee
Derek Repka

Premier's Citizenship Award
Derek Repka