Madison Helm is a Leadership student at Pen Hi who is full of energy. She was nominated for the Student of the Month Award primarily for her work in co-organizing the We for She conference. This is a Women’s empowerment program that help give young women knowledge and confidence to tackle the world and overcoming gender biases.
She worked on the program for three years, including 2019 to 2021. The 2020 conference was fully organized and ready to go when it had to be cancelled because of COVID-19. Madison and her co-organizer pivoted for 2021 to make it a virtual event. Going virtual allowed them to bring in some big name speakers from far away as distance became a non-issue.
On the fundraising side, she’s worked with Dry Grad and the succesful Spaghetti Dinners fundraiser.
On the leadership side, she’s been a leader in the Wild Life Ministry, working with youth in Grades 6 to 8. She has also worked with Toys for Tots and Teens.
Madison has been involved in musical theater at Pen Hi in productions such as Guys and Dolls and Little Shop of Horrors where she played Audrey, the female lead.
In sports, she has played volleyball and field hockey in past years excepting the current graduation year where finalizing her school work took priority to get good grades. She plans to enroll in UVIC in the sciences with the goal of becoming a chiropractor and setting up a clinic of her own.
Madison is well spoken, confident and smart and will go far.
The Rotary Club of Penticton Sunrise understands the importance of our community’s youth and wishes to recognize outstanding students for unique combinations of achievement in scholastics, extracurricular activities, community involvement, leadership and service to others. While academic and athletic achievements are often recognized in the school, these other areas also deserve recognition and are the focus of this initiative.
The Student of the Month Program is meant to promote success in and out of the classroom. For a student to be a well-respected citizen, they must be able to balance many different areas of life. The Rotary Club of Penticton Sunrise is partnering with Penticton Secondary School and Princess Margaret Secondary School to select those students who have overcome problems, made significant gains in their lives, and are examples for others to follow.