Three teachers in Guelph are among the 26 recipients of the Loran Teachers Building Leaders Award for their exceptional leadership in the past year.
The Loran Scholars Foundation’s Teachers Building Leaders Award recognizes primary, secondary and cégep teachers for inspiring students across Canada based on evidence of character, commitment to service, and leadership potential, guiding and helping students grow.
In Guelph, Nancy Sanvido and Deborah Costa were nominated by Adri Vanos, a Loran Scholar who attended St. James Catholic High School in 2017.
Louisa Cassolato was nominated by Allison Harrod. She teaches at John F. Ross.
“The award is administered by our organization, the Loran Scholars Foundation. To receive it, a teacher must be nominated by a former student who has become a Loran Scholar - a young person selected for Canada's most comprehensive undergraduate award from a pool of over 5,000 applicants, on the basis of character, service, and leadership,” said Danielle Sanders, spokesperson at the Loran Scholars Foundation, in a press release.
“While we are unable to gather at the present for an award ceremony, we still want to celebrate the teachers receiving this award and are doing so in a weekly series on Loran's social media,” said Sanders adding that the foundation plans on holding a ceremony when it is able to.
Founded in 1988, the Loran Scholars Foundation is a national charity that works in partnership with Canadian universities, donors and volunteers throughout the country to invest in young people who demonstrate character, commitment to service and leadership potential. As of 2020, the foundation had granted $53.6 million in undergraduate awards to over 3,000 students from across Canada.
Each year, graduating Loran Scholars are invited to show gratitude to the teachers who impacted their lives by nominating them for a Loran Teachers Building Leaders Award. To date, 108 Loran Scholars recognized 154 teachers across Canada with the award.
Up to 36 Loran Scholars are selected annually from a pool of over 6,000 candidates. The selection process involves up to 12 different interviews with community leaders, and each Loran Scholar receives an undergraduate award valued at up to $100,000 over four years.
“Exceptional teachers introduce their students to new ideas, inspire them with a desire to learn and encourage students to see and reach their full potential. Loran Scholars have had these exceptional teachers in their lives, and the Loran Scholars Foundation is pleased to present an award recognizing these early influencers,” said Sanders.
Each teacher recipient is recognized by the nominating Loran Scholar at a local certificate presentation. The teacher is also presented with a congratulatory letter from John McCall MacBain, co-founder of the McCall MacBain Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland in 2007.