A volunteer of Olympic proportions
If Mélissa Brunet has a minute, chances are she is using it to help others.
The 19-year old biomedical sciences student has a history of volunteering with so many organisations that it almost seems impossible given her age: Ottawa Public Health's smoke-free youth initiative Exposé, the Special Olympics, Roger's House and the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation–not to mention her work as a counselor at a camp for children with autism and tutoring high school students.
"I enjoy it all, so I make time for it," says Brunet, who also practices JiuJitsu in what little free time she has. "It started when I was in high school and had to do 40 hours of volunteering in order to graduate, I had such a good time I finished in the first semester."
In May, the Orléans resident was awarded the Citizen of the Year Youth Award in recognition of her extensive volunteer work and this November she was chosen as one of Ottawa's official Olympic torch bearers.
"I was thinking of my family when I was holding the torch, they've always been so supportive," she says. "I was just really happy up there and busy concentrating on not tripping while I was running!"
By David Weatherall
Published: December 2010