Jessica Harris is a graduating student at St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School in Cobourg. She’s also the proud recipient of this year’s PVNC Catholic Leadership Award which was delivered to her in a ceremony held at Peterborough’s Holy Cross School.
Jessica was a member of St. Mary’s student council and helped plan this year’s Terry Fox Run festivities which included a “Thunderdome” and mini-games to keep everyone engaged during the event. She’s also been active helping others in the school as a Link Leader, partnering with students from feeder schools to answer questions and tour students around St. Mary’s CSS.
When asked what she saw as one of the challenges facing youth today, Jessica said she wasn’t sure if it was a mix of the pandemic combined with how things are going these days, but she’s seen people struggling with mental health. “A lot of people have struggled with mental health, and do every day, and I think that’s definitely one of the biggest challenges, especially for our youth”.
Jessica has a healthy and very pragmatic approach to facing life’s challenges.
“Look ahead right? I try to set goals for myself and I find that plays a part”.
“And ask as many questions as you can”.
What’s next for Jessica includes pursuing further education in mathematics and statistics. She’s hoping when she graduates to start her own business, but she’s not too fixated on a specific outcome. “I don’t even know what yet, it might not even be a product. It might be a service and who knows things could change in my University experience”.
To hear more about Jessica Harris one of Northumberland’s Future Leaders, click on the audio link below to hear our full interview.
