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White speaker radio network community. The White Speaker Radio Network recognizes and celebrate and commitment to enhancing their communities.

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Hello everyone. My name is Megan Lair, and I am coming from the JF Beyond School, Grade 5-6 teacher.

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So Megan, you've been selected and you've been actually you're going to get recognized by the Alberta School Boards Association. You're getting an award called the Edwin Parr Teacher Award. What was that like when you got the ring?

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Oh goodness. So when I was nominated, I was very humbled by my students and colleagues who nominated me and to be the person to advocate for Northland School Division. It's very exciting. I was very excited and nervous to do my interview. And when they announced the winner, I was actually like in shock because I was there thinking like we're all winners. Like just to be nominated is a gr like a grand gesture of you know what we're doing in our classrooms and in our communities. But you know, to to take the win, I was I was uh shocked and um I just felt um an immense um sense of pride.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

So Megan, you made an impact in your community. Uh what is it that you love about teaching?

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Oh, well, um this has been um something that I've been wanting to do for a long time. Um this was the third time that the education kind of knocked on my door and I jumped. It was the beginning of COVID, and I was the community resource director and school liaison for our community. So I was working with students already at the time, and I thought, you know what, now or never, right? And I I jumped and I um became part of the Aboriginal Teacher Education Program with the University of Alberta, and I knew that um I wanted to teach in my community. I wanted to teach in the school that I grew up in. I wanted to show the students and the community children that dream big, you know. If if I can I if I can do it, they can do it. And so I wanted to be that that role model, somebody who might have inspired them, you know. We've all have those stories about how teachers inspire students, and I just wanted to be a part of that legacy and make make a difference where it it matters the most, and that's our future, that's the children uh in our community.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Megan, and who do you owe your success to?

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Oh, I I would say that this is uh a community win for for all of us. I um knew right from the get-go that um any type of hard work um put in was going to pay off um uh with with the community. I had um community support from the administration office where I previously worked. I had immense support from my family and friends of sacrificing time with them and they, you know, and they they they all knew that it was for a greater purpose, a bigger purpose, and so um they were patient with me and allowed me to do my studies and celebrate with me on my on my ups and um support me on my downs. So I would definitely say that this is community supported for sure.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

This has been the Windspeaker Radio Network Community Champion of the Week.