Joanne Cave - another Best of the Best!

I feel so happy when I realize how many students that I taught have done so much good in life, are so accomplished. I've written about some of my students earlier, and I think I'll make a post every so often about another one, because lots of them have done so so much. Here is a student that goes above and beyond every dream child. I love Joanne, and I hope she continues on her quest.

I taught her Math and Science in grade 6 and 7 and she was awesome back then too. We kept in contact throughout the last few years and I just wanted to celebrate her great achievement. I'm sure I didn't play too much of a role in her endevours, but I am honoured to know her, someone so full of passion, full of ideas.

She started an organization to empower girls, called Ophelia's Voice. Read the article from the Edmonton Journal to find out more...

When Joanne Cave was 12, she read a book that scared her.

Reviving Ophelia, a 1994 bestseller, argues that girls come of age in a "girl-poisoning culture" that forces them to stay within a narrow definition of female or risk being shunned. It's named for the character in Shakespeare's Hamlet who drowns herself.

"She was very passive and always trying to please other people," says Joanne, an incredibly confident, articulate and mature 17-year-old.

The book describes the eating disorders, family issues and body image struggles many young girls endure, she explains.

"It gave a sense that girls really didn't have the most promising future."

It spurred Joanne to start an organization to empower girls, called Ophelia's Voice. Few people took her seriously at first.

On her mother's advice, she sought help by e-mailing a few graduate students at the faculty of psychology at the University of Alberta. They were interested until they met her and realized she wasn't a junior-high teacher. But they listened and agreed to help.

Joanne poured herself into the project. She wrote a 250-page manual, and looked for a partner organization to help with funding and space.

"It took us two long years to actually see the first group get together because it took a lot of persuading for me to be taken seriously and my vision to be accepted by other people," says Joanne.

"We were lucky that we got a lot of media attention, but many people were really hesitant about the idea of a young person leading this group and there was discomfort about the sensitive topics that might be addressed."

In 2006, when she was 14, Joanne finally registered Ophelia's Voice as a non-profit organization. She put a board together and wrote her first government grant application, which yielded the organization's first cheque.

Each week, Cave met at the local health centre with girls aged 12 to 14 to discuss issues such as body image, sexuality, media literacy and making choices which can lead to success. She spends as much as 30 hours a week planning their activities and bringing in speakers such as health nurses.

Last September, with a $10,000 grant from Alberta Children's Services, she launched a

program focused on leadership development, with ongoing activities, workshops and monthly events. Girls aged 12 to 15 register for a year-long membership with a goal to plan their own small-scale projects to raise awareness about a community issue they are passionate about.

"It's about self-esteem and the personal power behind these issues," Joanne says.

"Girls are bombarded with messages every day. Looking at how advertisements use sexuality to sell a product, for example, gives them a chance to say, 'This really isn't supporting a healthy image

of women. This is not an image I identify with.' Then they see the world with a whole new kind of lens

and they're really savvy about what's real and what's not."

What started out as a grassroots girls program is now building into a movement, Joanne says, with the focus shifting from individual girls to advocacy about girls' issues.

"It's about society and how it perceives girls and their leadership potential. ... We're kind of shaking the ground. Girls really have power and confidence and valid opinions that need to be shared and we're giving them the venue to do that."

Joanne is also spreading the message of girl empowerment across Canada. Last year, she presented to the World Youth Congress in Quebec City. Then, she and four girls in her program were invited to participate at the United Nations Association of Canada Roundtable in Ottawa with Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean.

"That was the girls' first taste of being able to influence policy and really get involved in government issues.

"It was exciting for them to interact with policy makers and know their voices were being heard on some level."

A little less than two weeks ago, Joanne found out she had won a Loran Award, a $75,000 scholarship that covers four years of university along with room and board, residence and summer internships. She was one of 30 students chosen out of 3,000 applicants and it means she has her pick of any university in Canada.

It also means changes for Ophelia's Voice. While Joanne will continue to be involved, she is hoping someone else will take over the leadership, with the passion to take the organization to the next level.

"When there's a generation of young women who grow up to be CEOs and politicians and we have a female prime minister who can garner a lot of respect for young women, that's what's driving me: To see girls not being held back; to see them have the opportunities that everyone else has; to just see them follow their passion like I try to."