Caring for her classmates isn’t restricted to Pink Day for a Holy Trinity Academy student.
Spreading love and care in the halls of the Okotoks school is something Kathleen Durrer does every day.
“There is so much love in this school – you can just tell when you walk in this building,” the Grade 12 student said. “You feel so accepted. Love is such a huge word. It means you are accepting of others and you appreciate them for what they are.”
Durrer was a recipient of the Love portion of the Knight of the Month Award on Friday. Spreading love takes a supreme effort – love don’t come easy, it’s a game of give and take.
“It’s a chain reaction,” she said. “If you are nice to one person, that person is going to be nice to the next person – kind of like that pass it along rule.
“I definitely try to float around the school to different areas – to the popular students, to the not-so-popular students – let them know that I am a person they can talk to and if they need someone I will be there… A great way to spread love is through establishing friendships.”
It can be tough because it has to come from the heart.
“I don’t want to spread fake love or anything,” she said. “You have to be truthful, be open to everyone because people want to be treated with real love not fake love.
“You have to build that relationship with that person.”
She knows what it is like to be bullied and not loved at school. While at junior high – not in Okotoks – she experienced bullying.
“I think every individual experiences some kind of bullying — whether it’s extremes measures or a rude comment — you just don’t feel loved and I have experienced that,” she said. “I definitely learned to be a bigger person and not let it affect me.
“I’ve learned to realize there is a bigger picture. Maybe that person has been bullied. There’s something behind why they did what they did or said what they said.”
If Durrer has trouble building a relationship with a student, she can do the next best thing — build the student a book case, table or something.
She is a top student – and the lone girl – in HTA’s Construction 30 class.
“I took Construction since I was in Grade 8 and when I got to high school I thought: ‘Oh no, I can’t take Construction because I am going to be the only girl in the class,’’’ she said with a laugh. “I love it because it is so much fun.”
She can handle her own with both a hammer and a barb. She admits there is some gentle teasing with her male classmates.
“It is so funny – all in good humour,” she said.
Construction teacher Jason Krueger said Durrer more than fits in with her classmates.
“She doesn’t shy away from challenges, she’s got a great work-ethic and she’s smart,” he said. “She helps others if necessary.”
(While Durrer is the lone girl in Construction 30, there are girls in the other classes).
She will continue to spread love at HTA. It’s a school that fits the old theme song from a 1970s TV show in which a late great actress through her hat in the air in Minneapolis — Love is all around, no need to waste it, you can never tell, why don’t you take it…
“It is such a great feeling at this school, knowing that you are loved,” Durrer said. “The teachers exemplify that as well by showing each individual is so important.”
She said she was surprised to receive the award because there are plenty of loving Knights.
“I am so thankful I was chosen for Love,” Durrer said. “It’s sad to see that everyone can’t be picked – I don’t know why I got picked.”
As for Pink Day festivities, Durrer will be discarding her Hawaiian word-working shirt for something more stylish.
“I will dig in my closet for a pink shirt,” she said. “It’s a special day to acknowledge that bullying still happens today and we have to find a way to minimize it.”
The other recipients for the Knight of the Month Awards were Rachel Hoven, Faith and Conor McGee, Hope.
