A Coldstream teacher was named the winner of a prestigious award for his lasting impression on a student.
Kalamalka Secondary School teacher Ian Busfield was named the recipient of the Loran Scholars Foundation’s Teachers Building Leaders Award after being nominated by former student Cheyenne Brown.
To be considered for the prize, a former student who has become a Loran Scholar must put forward a nomination. Brown was a 2017 McCall MacBain Loran Scholar,
This means they, the Loran Scholar, must be a young person selected from a pool of more than 5,000 applicants for the country’s most comprehensive undergraduate award based on character, service and leadership.
“It’s very humbling to be nominated and to get this,” Busfield said.
“This is a team award,” he said. “All teaching staff have an impact on students and I was just lucky to be connected with a really great student and be able to help them realize their potential.”
Busfield recalled his Grade 7 teacher and a former rugby coach as two teaching staff he really looked up to when he was in school, and he said some of the lessons learned from them reflect in his work as a teacher and a coach today.
“It’s important that people understand that teachers have such a huge role in a student’s life and they’re always trying their best to make their students’ experience the most worthwhile and positive, period.”
While a celebration or ceremony couldn’t take place, the Loran Scholars Foundation will mark Busfield’s success on their social media platforms.
“Overall in Vernon, we’ve got a pretty great teaching staff across the board,” he said. “We’re lucky to be where we live and work we do.”
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