Winston Churchill student honoured as a Loran Scholar

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on March 24, 2023.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Grade 12 student Steven Yang speaks to reporters about being named one of 35 Loran Scholars for 2023 on Thursday at Winston Churchill High School.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

A Winston Churchill High School student has been named one of 35 Loran Scholars from a pool of nearly 4,800 applicants who demonstrated their drive to step up in the face of challenges and make positive change in their communities across the country.

Grade 12 student Steven Yang spoke to the media Thursday and said the last three weeks have been a rollercoaster, but he is extremely grateful to receive such honour.

“I think more than anything it shows how strong Lethbridge is as a community, because I feel like I wouldn’t be here without the support of a lot of people and organizations in my life,” said Yang.

 He said among the organizations that have helped get to where he is now as a Loran Scholar are the City of Lethbridge, Downtown BRZ, the Lethbridge School Division and the teachers at the school among many others.

The Loran Scholars Foundation is committed to identifying and supporting young people to realize their full potential. To find these young people, the Foundation administers the most thorough scholarship selection process in the country. As such, selection supersedes grades and is based on strength of character, a deep commitment to service, evidence of courage, compassion and an entrepreneurial spirit.

“The first application sheet was so long I just said OK this is too much, I might just not do it. I’d put my whole life on there it felt like. They were very in-depth, they asked a lot of deep questions, really throughout the process,” said Yang.

 He said the foundation is trying to find out who applicants are, what motivates them and what they are passionate about.

 “After the initial application process, I got called a month later to go to the semifinals, a Zoom interview with all the regional people, then after that I got a call to go to Toronto for the finals,” said Yang.

 He said during the finals at the end of February he met with 90 finalists from all over the country and he learned a lot from that experience.

 The only award of its kind in the country, the Loran Award is a four-year leadership enrichment program consisting of summer work experiences, mentorship, scholar gatherings, an annual living stipend and a tuition waiver at one of 25 university partners.

Loran Scholars are provided with the opportunity to build critical skills and capacity for leadership, to expand horizons by taking on new challenges and exploring diverse experiences, and to join a community of purpose-driven peers who are committed to leaving the world better than they found it.

 Yang founded a city-integrated environmental initiative that disposes of cigarette litter sustainably. It was inspired by his time volunteering with Environment Lethbridge doing coulee cleanups.

He said that during COVID, he had the opportunity to take part in the Community Foundation’s Youth In Action where he started the initiative.

“Basically we collect cigarette butts from the downtown area, we ship them to Toronto and they get recycled and get made into new materials,” said Yang.

He said it was a fun learning experience.

Yang also created Math Club at WCHS, which is grounded on the principles of mentorship and inclusivity. He is an Interact Club executive and a leader in his iGEM team.

Yang competes in provincial speech and piano competitions, his paintings are displayed in city galleries and he programs software for his sports-fantasy community.

He said he wanted to be a software engineer, but after his experience with the other Loran Scholars, he realized he needed to keep his options open.

“I want to keep my doors open and be open to a lot more things, because going there the one thing that made me realize I was kind of closed off to a lot of opportunities, I was kind of zoned in on computer science and the kids there maybe realize that there’s so many more options out there that I never even considered, so moving forward I’ll be somewhere east but definitely keeping my options open to new ideas and careers and such,” said Yang.

He said one thing he would tell others is to get out of their comfort zone because that’s what helped him.

“I think that’s what changed me, being open to new ideas, making sure to always try new things and being open to new things, so I think that’s the most important thing to do for yourself, that’s the only way you can grow,” said Yang.

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