A Skeetchestn Community School student is one of 20 students from across Canada set to receive a TD Scholarship for Community Service, which will cover up to $70,000 of his tuition and living expenses for post-secondary education.
Da'von Ekering is a Grade 12 student at the school, which is located in the Deadman River Valley near Savona.
After graduating this summer, he will head to Vancouver to study at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, choosing to first focus on illustration.
Ekering said he may also study 2D animation, but his past work in art spans a variety of media.
"I've done textiles, I do a little bit of woodwork, I've done laser cut, 3D printing, digital, traditional, acrylic painting,” he told KTW.
“Basically, I wouldn't say I've tried everything, definitely no, but anything that I've had access to.”
A prolific artist in his own right, Ekering's community service is what he has done for other artists. He founded an art club collective at his school and became a mentor, building up the club to what it is today and participating in fundraisers for a future youth centre at Skeetchestn.
"The art club has grown. We have a laser cutter now, a Cricut machine, a 3D printer. We're getting into like a little bit of coding. And it's just grown so much more than what it was originally," he said.
Ekering said it feels good to know he has made a difference at his school.
"I didn't think it was too big of a deal until I took a step back and saw the bigger picture of how much it just offered to the community,” he said. “Because I was only seeing it from my perspective, which was just a bunch of kids doing art, but having a good time with it.”
While Ekering is excited about the post-secondary phase of his life, he said graduation is a bittersweet moment.
"I'm excited to start the next chapter in my life and just get to university, be in a new city and just have that life experience,” he said. “But also, I've been at Skeetchestn Community School for years. I've made a lot of connections with some of the students, even some of the younger ones and the staff. And it's going to be definitely a bittersweet moment.”
