William McGonigle (right) with Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty. (Submitted Photo/Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan)

By Derek Craddock

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

Île-à-la-Crosse student among several in northern Sask. honoured with Award of Excellence

Oct 8, 2023 | 5:00 PM

A student from Île-à-la-Crosse finally got to meet Saskatchewan’s Lieutenant Governor as he presented a number of Awards of Excellence to students in northern Saskatchewan.

Russ Mirasty attended several schools last week including Rossignol High School in the village two hours north of Meadow Lake.

There, he presented an Award of Excellence to Grade 11 student William McGonigal. This was actually the second time McGonigal won this award but the last time, the Lieutenant Governor couldn’t attend because of COVID-19.

He told meadowlakeNOW that he was excited but nervous to finally meet Russ Mirasty.

“It was really formal, and I’ve never really been in that situation before. We had to be really formal in the presentation at the start and then we had a lunch afterwards and he just kind of opened up and we talked about cross-country skiing a little bit.”

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The Lieutenant Governor’s Award of Excellence recognizes one student at each grade level from grades 7 to 12 in areas of academic standing, school attendance, and involvement in cultural activities.

“I really focused all year on excelling in my education at school and trying my best in every test, every exam mostly to try and get that award,” he said.

For McGonigle, winning the award was not only special for himself but his entire school community as others from Rossignol have received the Award of Excellence in the past.

“We’ve had a lot of successful students in the past. Somebody who mentored me a little bit, who taught me fiddle, who I skied with a little bit, she won it as well a couple of years ago. One of my friends won it last year.”

READ MORE: Northern Saskatchewan’s future recognized by Lieutenant Governor

While high school graduation is still more than a year away for McGonigle, he’s already begun to look at the future as he hopes to pursue the sciences in post-secondary and eventually a career in the medical field.

He said he has looked at programs at schools in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and the Okanagan. Wherever he goes, he hopes to also grow his athletic passions.

“A couple of running coaches at universities have reached out to me about running for them,” he said. “I’m also looking at pursuing my cross-country skiing journey a little bit more and going to university in Western Canada.”

Other students that were recognized with the Award of Excellence were Talissa Alexander from Creighton Community School; Myles McCallum from Hector Thiboutot Community School in Sandy Bay; Caleb Herman from Dene High School in La Loche; Connor Clarke from Twin Lakes Community School in Buffalo Narrows, and Samantha Unahan from Churchill Community High School in La Ronge.

His Honour Russ Mirasty and Samantha Unahan at Churchill Community High School. (Submitted Photo/Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan)

Unfortunately, His Honour Russ Mirasty was not able to attend the ceremony in Buffalo Narrows due to fog, so the presentation has been postponed to a future date.

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com