Clear goals and a loving family help youth succeed

Achievement Page 3

Sixteen-year-old 'Alika LaFontaine seems to have it all together for his age: a close and loving family, a solid record of academic achievement, a career goal, community and peer support for just about everything he does, and to top it all off, he is recognized this year as the Youth recipient of the National Aboriginal Achievement Award.

You might think the first-year, pre-med student from Regina would be a little full of himself, with people telling him how good he is a lot. But nothing could be further from the truth. He is self-effacing and gives his family and professors most of the credit for his motivation and the success he has gained so far. In fact, LaFontaine says he was "quite surprised" to receive recognition from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation for his community service and all-around sterling attributes when "so many other outstanding people" were nominated.

Della Anaquod, dean of students at Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, nominated LaFontaine, whom she describes as "fantastic . . . very mature, very giving, very considerate." She attributes his well-rounded personality and multiple gifts in large part to "great parents," and the dedication they put into his upbringing and home schooling.

LaFontaine currently is earning marks in the high 80s in the department of science at SIFC where chemistry is his best subject. Following two years of pre-med, he plans to attend the University of Saskatchewan for four years to earn his MD, then become a cardiac surgeon.

LaFontaine says his family is the reason he tries hard.

"Everything that they do affects me positively . . . makes you want to give something back," he explains.

Life wasn't always quite so rosy. Around Grade 4, the public school system labeled him "developmentally delayed," because his speech was slurred. A strange label for someone who could already read when he started school.

"It was really a hearing problem," LaFontaine says, "not even permanent." It was a couple of years before school authorities figured that out, and in the meantime he received speech therapy and was put in a class for students with difficulties. Asked why it took so long to have his problem properly diagnosed, LaFontaine responded in his typically serious and measured way.

"Teachers are taught behavioral modification," he said. "If a kid has a problem, they work on changing his behavior; they don't look at any other cause (for what they perceive to be) a behavior problem."

A lack of confidence in public education was the result, so LaFontaine was home schooled from Grades 8 to 10. Except for science, he completed Grades 11 and 12 by correspondence.

The hard work paid off - LaFontaine graduated with an 88 per cent average, earning several "community service-related" scholarships. One was a 1998 Canada Youth Award for service to his school and his community. Others he received last year were the Rotary Club Service Award for academics and the Sherwood Co-operative Service Award.

LaFontaine regularly volunteers to help elderly people in Regina; he's involved with the North of 55 Senior Citizen's group there, and he assists older Aboriginal women by shovelling snow, shopping for them and generally helping out.

His leisure activities reflect the same self-discipline and focus that he brings to his academic subjects. LaFontaine plays piano to the Grade 7 Royal Conservatory standard, and according to Anaquod he "could have a singing career" if he wanted that too. He's also been playing the organ at his church for four years and teaches music sometimes.

He likes a variety of music, he says, including hip hop, R & B, and classical, but does not like heavy metal, which he describes as "too harsh."

LaFontaine says peer pressure to do harmful things such as smoking and drinking alcohol just isn't an issue for him. He says his friends respect his boundaries.

"You need to decide something before it actually happens - how you will act in asituation," he says.

Every member of the LaFontaine family practises tae kwon do, an activity they often participate in together. 'Alika, along with his father, his sister Kalea and brother Leemai, has a first-degree black belt in that sport. Here too, he has received honors, notably in the Canadian national championships and the Pan-American International Championships. If all this isn't enough to keep him busy, LaFontaine says he does sometimes just "hang out" with his friends and play basketball.

When asked how he identifies with his Native culture, which is Cree/ Saulteaux on his father's side, the young man preferred to stay away from ethnic or nationalistic labels. He says he is part French and Polynesian and he appreciates all aspects of his mixed heritage. He says he has studied the history of Aboriginal people.

"Culture," LaFontaine says, "has more to do with the way we live our life - that is, we are taught to respect our bodies and minds, alcohol is not used, and we learn respect for Elders. [Culture], lived in its purest form, means you can identify with anyone."

LaFontaine adds that his father has taught him a holistic approach to achieving a physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual balance. He says this kind of training "gives you an edge" that can be applied, in his case, to the rigors of medical school.

He adds there are five main rules for life he learned from his father:

· To do more than participate - to belong. That is, you must feel commited to any activity you undertake and make it personal.

· To do more than dream - to work.

· To do more than be polite - to respect.

· To be more than honest - be trustworthy.

· To do more than give - you must serve.

That is the standard LaFontaine has set for himself.