The recipient of the 2012 Junior Citizen of the Year blushed ever-so-slightly when she heard the news.
"It's a huge honour," said Paige Crozon, "and I'm really excited about it."
Now the Grade 12 Humboldt Collegiate Institute student can add that credit to the list of achievements she has been steadily building for herself.
Crozon is well known throughout the community because of her involvement with sports.
She is a well-rounded athlete who excels at volleyball, track, speed swimming, hockey and basketball, her chosen sport for a career path.
In basketball, Crozon earned a spot on Team Saskatchewan for three years and had the honour of playing for Team Canada on four separate occasions. Most recently, she was one of four Canadian youths chosen to play in the first 3x3 World Championship in Rimini, Italy.
As well as playing internationally, Crozon has always continued to play with her school's teams, and has used her talent to help younger teens and children through coaching and serving as a role model.
"I have been so incredibly gifted with good coaching and being able to play at a high level," she said. "I had exposures to the camps when I was little, so it just seems natural to pass on my knowledge of what I've learned and the experiences I received to younger children."
Crozon has helped with coaching the girls' volleyball and basketball teams at St. Augustine School for several years. Through Grades 9 to 12 she has been a volunteer referee for games at both St. Augustine and St. Dominc schools as well as at HCI. For the past two years, she ran sessions for elementary school children who attended volleyball and basketball camps offered at HCI in the summer.
"As a young person, you don't really have that much of a voice," Crozon explained. "Coaching and helping out at camps is something I could do to give back within the community that would benefit others."
Besides her involvement with sports, this year the Humboldt native is co-president of the Student Representative Council at HCI after being the Grade 11 Rep for the previous school year. She also attends city council meetings on behalf of the SRC as a Youth Councillor.
And Crozon seems to be able to manage it all as well as keeping up with her regular schoolwork, but she was fortunate to have seen it all done by her older sister, Taylor, who won the same award two years ago.
"My sister has been my role model, she was always involved with City Council," said Crozon. "Everything she did, I actually ended up doing, I credit a lot to her, and to my parents, Gary and Leanne Crozon, for getting her involved."
Next year, Crozon will be leaving Humboldt to attend university in the United States at the University of Utah. Crozon was one of three female Grade 12 basketball players the team signed to National Letters of Intent. The other two were American players.
