Prior to her passing last August, Arabelle Gola travelled to Greece last spring with the Prince Albert Youth Travel Club. (Facebook)

By Nigel Maxwell

Legacy

Legacy of Prince Albert high school student lives on through special scholarship

Sep 15, 2023 | 5:00 PM

A young woman who was passionate about volleyball, 80s music, travelling and dreamed of moving to New York City with her small dog, will forever be remembered through a scholarship created in her name.

Arabelle Gola passed away on Aug. 10 at the age of 16. Her aunt Michelle Gola came up with the idea of creating the scholarship at Carlton Comprehensive High School.

“She touched so many lives. The scholarship at Carlton will keep her memory alive and continue to touch other lives,” she said.

Arabelle lived with her grandparents and her grandmother Valerie MacDougall told paNOW the girls at the school have gone above and beyond with support.

“They come to our house for lunch then come here and spend time in Arabelle’s room til 10 at night. Everyone’s healing and they are coming together to support one another,” she said.

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Arabelle’s celebration of life was held at the Art Hauser Centre, and MacDougall recalled the countless friends who shared stories. (Submitted/ Michelle Gola)

Following nine years of dance, Arabelle found a new passion in volleyball and played for Ecole Vickers and later Carlton High School. She also played for the Prince Albert Optimist Toppers and her team went to the national competition in Edmonton. Arabelle received the Most Improved Player award.

In addition to a raffle draw, proceeds from a 5A girls’ volleyball tournament this weekend at Carlton will go towards the scholarship. As of Friday, over $1,000 had been raised for the scholarship.

With respect to the cause of Arabelle’s death, the family still does not know and MacDougall recalled they went to the hospital around 11 p.m. and about five hours later, Arabelle passed away.

“We stayed awake for 40 hours after that and the first month was like a blur,” she said.

Arabelle Gola had a great sense of humor and loved to make people laugh. (Submitted/ Michelle Gola)

Kwyn Tournier, who had classes with Arabelle, has been organizing the fundraising effort at the school and also plays on the volleyball team.

“I just wanna help. It’s obviously very hard for their family and I think this is a way of showing them we all support them,” she said.

The home team’s first game is a 9 a.m. on Saturday and everyone coming out to the tournament this weekend is encouraged to wear pink for Arabelle.

“We’re probably gonna have more fans than usual because of the support I think and it makes our whole team feel great,” she said

Last summer, Gola was employed by the Rural Municipality of Prince Albert as a summer student and to show their appreciation and support for her family, the RM council passed a resolution to name a road after her.

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nigel.maxwell.pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell