Focus on Youth: With no sports teams, OTHS student finding other outlets
By Phill Potter
Name: Eden Brander-Whittingham
Age: 17
School: Osgoode Township High
Grade: 12
Parents: Mom: Patricia Brander, Dad: Miles Whittingham
Sister: Avery (20), second year student at Carleton University
Pet Peeve: “When people read birthday cards out loud.”
Part-time Work: Deli department at Greely Foodland.
Favourite Subjects: “My favourite subjects this year have been biology and english class. I love both of them because they pertain to the field of study that I wish to go into post-secondary.”
What do you enjoy reading for pleasure? “When I have downtime, I enjoy reading motivational books about the lives of professional athletes. I am really interested in the fitness world, so learning more about it is naturally something that I gravitate towards.”
Who is your favourite author? “My favourite author of all time is Jen Sincero. She has written many motivational books that I have learnt from, and applied to my everyday mindset.”
What is your greatest accomplishment? “Every summer I clean up garbage around the school grounds with my friend Lauren Thomas. When I do my part to clean up the environment, I feel I’m contributing to the community in a positive way.”
School Activities: “In a regular school year my favourite school activities would be taking part in the school sports teams. I took part in soccer, cross country and volleyball for the bulk of my high school years. Starting this year was certainly an interesting adjustment with all of the sports being cancelled. Instead, I took all of that energy and put it into my school work for my last year of high school. I found an interest in joining after school help sessions with my teachers, and getting extra help in my subjects, while also getting to know them a little bit better. I also had to find a way to socialize with my friends that went to school in the other cohort, so we started to set up daily google meet calls to study together, and try and make this situation feel as normal as any other school year.”
Other Activities/Interests: “When I’m not doing school work, I really enjoy going to the gym and doing activity around my neighbourhood. I have realized, especially during the pandemic, how important it is to move my body and honour it for all it’s hard work in keeping me healthy. Not only does it help with my physical help, but I’ve found that it helps a lot with my mental health in releasing any built up stress that I might have been feeling.”
Career Goals: “Next year I’m going off to university to study Health Sciences. I want to learn about the way that the human body works, both mentally and physically. After I finish my degree, I wish to go to either chiropractic or dental school to finish off my schooling years, before fulfilling a career in either field.”
Shout Outs: “I would like to shout out Ms. Bancej, Mr. Ward, and Mr. McEwen. They take time out of their evenings to help me and my classmates during these tough times of pandemic learning. They have been especially helpful in accommodating us.”
