Shane Outridge and Emily Ross
A pair of Grade 12 students at WDSS are thrilled to represent their school as nominees for the prestigious Dr. Jack Parry Award.
Emily Ross and Shane Outridge were named as the representatives from Wallaceburg District Secondary School, as they will go up against student athletes from all across Chatham-Kent for the award.
Ross said it is a huge honour to be nominated.
“I’ve worked worked so hard for four years just to help out… it’s not even just about you, it’s about the school,” she said. “It’s a big honour to be recognized as someone that is involved in the community, in the school and sports.”
Ross is involved with basketball, swimming and rugby at the school, and hopes to go to the University of Western Ontario to become an audiologist.
Outridge said he is honoured to follow in the footsteps of the many Tartans before him who were nominated and captured the Jack Parry Award.
“Ever since Grade 9 I’ve been hearing about all these people that win the Jack Parry, especially the legacy our school has built between Shauney Fisher, Alicia Baertson, all these great people,” he said. “To even be in the same sentence and to represent WD, it’s a huge deal. I feel really excited.”
Outridge participated in swimming, volleyball, track and field and cross-country during his years as a Tartan.
Outridge said he has aspirations to become a doctor someday and is debating whether to study health or medical science at McMaster in Hamilton or the University of Western Ontario in London.
Janine Day, the head of the WDSS athletic department, said the criteria for the Jack Parry Awards combines community involvement, academic achievement and athletic prowess.
Day added WDSS has done well at the awards ceremony in the past.
“We pride ourselves in the success we’ve had,” she said. “The candidates that we’ve put forth, we think are good representatives and always have a chance to win. It shows the amount of talented and dedicated young student athletes that we have in our building that we’re able to send to a competition that includes all the school in Chatham-Kent.”
The awards ceremony takes place on June 12 at the UCC Theatre in Chatham.
