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Campus Bulletin

June 08, 2007

Canada's Top Youth Coming to U of G

Two of the young people named among the Top 20 Under 20 by the Globe and Mail have chosen to pursue their post-secondary education at U of G.

The national newspaper published the list of names and profiles of the chosen young stars in Thursday’s edition.

Samantha Whiteside and Yvonne Su, both 17, are winners of the prestigious title and will be attending the University in the fall.

Whiteside is the second-youngest person to swim Lake Ontario, missing the world record by just over a minute. She swam the lake in August 2006 after a year of training and is the 38th swimmer to accomplish this feat.

Whiteside finished the 52-kilometre swim in 15 hours, 11 minutes and 11 seconds – just 71 seconds shy of the record for women. Her swim raised $25,000 for research into juvenile arthritis, which she suffers from. She has vowed to return to the water not only to raise more money for the Arthritis Society but also to become the faster swimmer to make the crossing.

Whiteside will be attending U of G in the fall to study microbiology, which is the first step in her goal of becoming a doctor of infectious disease.

Su was recognized for setting up a hugely successful student-run recycling program at her school, Dr. John M. Denison Secondary School in Newmarket, Ont. Since it began three years ago, the Denison Environmental Club has expanded through a variety of events and programs to raise students’ environmental awareness. Su and club colleagues have also raised money to take part in meetings and conferences across Canada, performing skits to spread the eco-message.

She plans to study environmental science at the U of G.

The Top 20 Under 20 winners were selected by judges who are all members of the Order of Canada. Winners will be honoured at an awards banquet in Toronto this week and will receive a bursary worth up to $2,000 to be applied toward an educational experience.