Four youth in the Yukon have received the Outstanding Youth Achievement Award “in recognition for their remarkable service and contribution to their communities.”

According to a Yukon Government press release, the award “recognizes Yukon youth who are involved in their communities in constructive and positive ways such as volunteering, fundraising, helping seniors and Elders and being a positive role model for others.”

Youth between the ages of 15 and 20 are eligible for the award.

Recipients will receive a cash prize of $250 from the Youth Directorate, a certificate and medallion of recognition from the Commissioner’s office and will be featured on posters in their communities.

The 2021 recipients are Cadence Milford, Jenna Colwell, Heather Mislang and Sammy Demchuk.

According to the press release, Demchuk is being recognized “for her enthusiasm in all of her community volunteering efforts.” She has been a trainee with the Golden Horn Volunteer Fire Department, and has played basketball, volleyball and soccer. The young ‘energizer bunny’ has also coached young basketball and volleyball players.

Demchuk is currently in General Studies at Lethbridge College, and is planning on taking Nursing next year.

She is thrilled with her award.

“It’s awesome. I love it. I was very surprised by it. So a lot of my co-workers at the volunteer fire hall, they put my name up for this award. And then they called me saying that I got it … they called me in the morning and I woke up to this news. It was a great day.”

Her involvement in sports is a big part of winning this award.

“I work hard in sports ‘cause you have to work hard to improve and to be the best you can be. It helped.”

“I’ve been coaching the girls and boys Wolf Pack basketball club with Tim Brady. I also helped out with some SubZero volleyball coaching.”

Coach Tim Brady has many accolades, including a spot in the Sport Yukon Hall of Fame. Wolf Pack Basketball has been teaching basketball skills to youth between the ages of 5 to 18 since 2015.

“I help coach – and play with – some of the younger boys, and I also play with the oldest group,” explains Demchuk.

SubZero is a club team in Whitehorse which coaches youth from U13 to U17.

As far as influences on her life, “my friends at the fire hall, definitely … my parents and my sister. My sister also plays at the collegiate level … she’s been playing soccer and basketball, but this year it’s just basketball … she goes to Grand Prairie College.”

The reasons why she joined the Golden Horn Volunteer Fire Department underscore why she won the award.

“I really value, like, helping people out and I just like doing stuff for the community. When I did the Ember program … it’s for females that are looking to possibly join the fire department. When I did that program it was just a great experience overall. All the instructors were amazing and just like getting that sense of friendship and like a good work environment was just great, so I wanted to keep being a part of that.

“My cousin showed me the ad for the Ember program. She works at the Career Hall … I really look up to her as well,” adds Demchuk.

According to Demchuk, the Ember Fire Academy is kind of a week-long boot camp. She participated in it in late July/early August of 2020. It is described on a Yukon Government web page as a “free, intensive program for women 16+ years of age.

“You will experience the most challenging and exciting tasks in firefighting and first response in a safe and supportive environment.

“The hands-on curriculum lets you explore a career in firefighting, jump start your physical fitness and learn new skills you can use anywhere.”

Demchuk has been with the Golden Horn Volunteer Fire Department for over a year now. She has definitely enjoyed her time there. So what has she learned?

“A lot of things,” says Demchuk. “I was only able to respond to one call before I left to college. That was for a motor vehicle accident. It was pretty small. Everything was good. It was a good first call for me at least.”

The Golden Horn Volunteer Fire Department trains young firefighter trainees like Demchuk to hook up and use hoses, do auto extractions, physical fitness testing, PPE training, car fire extinguishment skills, and victim search skills, among others.

On their Facebook Page, they have a post which reads, “Congratulations to all the winners of this year’s Outstanding Youth Achievement Awards! We are especially proud of our very own Sammy Demchuk.”

As for her future plans, Demchuk definitely wants to keep busy.

“I’m going to be playing … hopefully basketball and soccer … for my five years of eligibility (of college). I’m hoping to stay with the fire department and I’m also working with Yukon First Nations Wildfire over the summers as well.

“I plan on being a nurse, but since it’s both shift work, like, if I could go and get my like, proper training to become a career firefighter as well, that would be great.”

That would mean Demchuk would be working a lot of hours.

“I like working, honestly. It keeps me busy, but it’s fun to me.”