[music plays throughout]
I nominated Miss Haber
for the Greatest High School Teacher contest
because she took matters into her own hands
when she found out what happened to me.
- I nominated David Braun
because he made such an impact on my life.
- I nominated Jenny because she was just always there
supporting me whenever I thought I couldn't do it.
[Jenny Strange] When I met Jeannette, she was quite quiet.
We were complete opposites.
She liked dark colours, and I like bright colours.
But I just saw something fantastic in Jeannette,
sh- because she's so creative and insightful.
And Jeannette had so much ambition when it came to her studies.
And she applied the same work ethic to her counselling.
[Bev Mackillop] Youville Centre is, it's, it's more than a school,
and sometimes out in the community,
we get, "Oh, that's the school for young moms."
And we are a school, but primarily, we are a mental health treatment centre.
We find that when our moms come to us,
they have experienced a variety of trauma in their lives.
The student who nominated her,
uh, really believed that Jenny changed her life.
That mom moved on to Toronto by herself.
She never would have left Ottawa without Jenny helping her.
And she's doing so, so well at Humber.
[Jeannette Genge] I think my biggest memory of Jenny
is, uh, just her very positive optimistic, uh, personality.
And, like, if it was bright and sunny out,
she was wearing yellow or bright pink.
She just always ran around school in her little heels.
You could hear clack, clack, clack, clack, clack.
I have a three-year-old daughter named Celine,
and she's a big sweetheart.
I think Jenny inspired me just because being a teen mom,
a lot of us don't really have that support.
And I was one of those people.
[David Braun] Nicola Gordon was a special student.
All the way back when she was in grade nine,
in that first week, on the first day,
she was probably the most shy student in a circle of vocal music students.
By the time Nicola got to grade eleven and twelve,
she made it into one of our, uh, premier vocal performing ensembles.
[Nigel Evans] Mr. Braun's teaching style,
I think is, is best seen as he has the individual in mind.
Students are never fooled.
They always know what's at the heart of a teacher.
And Mr. Braun has a good heart
and he cares deeply about all of his students.
[Nicola Gordon] My most memorable part of high school
was walking into the music room every day.
Mr. Braun inspired me by just his example overall.
His love for music is very contagious.
He gave me opportunities
that wouldn't have been possible without him.
I got the chance to sing with the Niagara Symphony Orchestra.
I think that he needs to be recognized for everything that he,
uh, puts into his teaching.
[Jaclyn Haber] Alana Gledhill is a very gentle,
kind hearted, positive student.
She's very academic and very hardworking.
Uh, she's one of those people that you can trust
and just enjoy having her in the classroom.
Little did I know, until she had the accident,
just how determined she can be
and how much she can work to persevere for something that she really wanted.
[Sue Fried] Jaclyn is probably one of the most involved teachers in the school.
She has a huge heart for kids.
She works really hard to make sure that she has every resource she can
to make a kid's life better.
I think if you ask many of her students,
they would choose her for an award like this.
[Alana Gledhill] I enjoyed high school
mainly for the reason that I got to see my friends every day.
I was actually somebody who was trying to maintain honour roll status,
but, unfortunately, due to a motor vehicle accident,
I had serious injuries.
I ended up breaking my neck.
And I actually felt like I lost everything after that.
I couldn't go and get my school work. I didn't know how to do it.
Jaclyn Haber took time out of her day to tutor me and home school me.
So she actually went and tutored me in, like, seven classes.
Any of the written exams, and things like that,
she came to my house and supervised them so I could actually write them.
It's been a very long time that I've been trying to figure out
how to thank Miss Haber for everything that she did.
[Jenny] As a counsellor, you know that my profession is to help people.
So then to have this opportunity
with a scholarship from Humber, it's amazing.
It just feels great to know that I can help someone
not only succeed in overcoming mental health issues,
but to help them with their future by attending Humber College.
[Jaclyn] When I found I was gonna be able to choose a student
to give a scholarship to Humber,
I think that's when I was just, I lost, I was beside myself.
'Cause I know what it's like to have student fees
and not know how you're gonna pay for them.
I was thinking, you know, if I choose the right student,
this could change their life.
[Alana] Miss Haber is the living definition
of selflessness to me.
Because she is someone who not only extends her arms without being told,
but also goes beyond that to turn a simple gesture
into a permanent positive memory.
[Nicola] Mr. Braun did not just teach me how to sing.
He showed me who I am, helped me to believe in myself,
and gave me confidence to do anything that my heart desired.
[Jeannette] Jenny Strange is a brilliant woman
and deserves the credit.
Everybody deserves a Jenny at least once in a lifetime,
and I'm, hope to be somebody's Jenny in my own career.
[music ends]