The 2009 award recipients are Krystle Nazareth and Natasha Santos. Each recipient will be awarded $300.00 at our annual Night in Goa Dinner Dance. We are proud to recognize and spotlight these two exceptional youths for their exemplary academic achievement and their active commitment to the betterment of our community.

Krystle has placed in the honour role every year since Grade 8 and Krystle’s teachers state that in addition to her academic successes, she “uses her gift of intelligence to help others” – tutoring in Math and other subjects. She is involved in various community activities through her school’s service club and was part of a group that helped build homes in the Philippines. She also competed in swimming at the BC Winter Games in 2006. She plans to attend a challenging Bachelor of Science program at SFU.

Natasha has demonstrated academic excellence by being on the Principal’s honour role every year during High School. She embodies the grace of true caring by helping regularly at her church, in the community and at GOA events and homeless lunches. Her compassion extends internationally too and she was part of a group that helped build a school in Paraguay. She demonstrates her leadership and organizational skills as a manager of the Richmond High Tennis Team. She plans to continue her education in the Social Science field at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

GOA would like to congratulate Natasha and Krystle and wish them both all the best in their future academic and life endeavours. The demand for scholarships has grown significantly this year and there is a need for additional funding. If you or your company are interested in donating to this wonderful worthwhile program please contact any member of the GOA Executive. We also want to encourage potential students to take full advantage of this opportunity by checking our website at goavancouver.com for eligibility criteria and deadlines.

Submitted by Villa Pinto

Krystle Nazareth	Natasha Santos