{"id":374508851,"date":"2016-04-04T12:03:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T17:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/metro\/2016\/04\/04\/vimy-ridge-up-close-and-personal"},"modified":"2016-04-04T12:06:04","modified_gmt":"2016-04-04T17:06:04","slug":"vimy-ridge-up-close-and-personal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/metro\/2016\/04\/04\/vimy-ridge-up-close-and-personal","title":{"rendered":"Vimy Ridge up close and personal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nathan Dueck was born with a duty to serve his community. <\/p>\n

Now, the 17-year-old, Grade 11 Westgate Mennonite Collegiate (86 West Gate) student has been recognized for his exceptional efforts with a prestigious Vimy Pilgrimage Award and will be travelling to France and Belgium to learn about Canada’s role in the First World War, particularly the Battle of Vimy Ridge.<\/p>\n

“My parents volunteered in Vietnam with an international development group called Mennonite Central Committee right before I was born, so ever since I was born they’ve instilled in me a sense of, ‘What can I do to help others?’” Dueck said. “At this point in my life I’ve found it difficult to do what they do and go overseas, but I’ve realized that there’s a real need in the community for help as well, so I try to do what I can to help out.”<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Supplied\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Supplied photo\nNathan Dueck, 17, as a leader in training last summer at Manitoba Pioneer Camp. Dueck is the recipient of the Vimy Pilgrimage Award and will be travelling to France and Belgium to learn more about Canada\u2019s role in the First World War.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n

Dueck is the only student chosen from Manitoba to go on the weeklong trip from April 3 to 11, out of 20 Canadian high school students. The Wolseley resident said he applied with a letter outlining his work in the community as well as why he wants to attend the tour. <\/p>\n

“I really stressed that a few months ago I work with my school to raise money for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and that raised just under $15,000, so I think that really helped,” Dueck said. He is also an active volunteer with his church, with his riding’s Member of Parliament (Robert-Falcon Ouellette) and with Siloam Mission. <\/p>\n

“History is an interest. I think it’s very interesting how these sociological trends play into history and make the world that we live in today,” he said. “When I was younger I had an interest in the specifics, the battle techniques and such, and while that’s still interesting to me, I hope to go into this tour looking at why these events occurred, why the battle happened, what political and economic factors forced Canada’s involvement in the war.”<\/p>\n

For Dueck, it will be a chance to put himself in the shoes of those who went to battle so many years ago and learn about history from their perspective. <\/p>\n

“The men who died in Vimy Ridge and WWI were not terribly different from me, a lot of them were young adults from Manitoba, some were even 17 like me,” Dueck said. “But when I try to imagine if I lived in that time and I was called up to fight, I couldn’t imagine laying down my life, fighting for my country. I mean, I’d like to think I would but it seems incomprehensible to me how they could have found the bravery to do so.<\/p>\n

“I hope by travelling to the site and experiencing what they did at least in a geographical sense, I could start to comprehend what it took to lay down their lives for their country.”<\/p>\n

Dueck said he hopes to study foreign affairs and international development once he graduates high school, with plans of applying for a law degree in human rights. <\/p>

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