Cool and classy

Andrea Roberts
Times Intern

 

“A quality and classy student.”
Those are the qualifications required for the Strathmore Times Class Act award, and this year’s winner Matt Cool fits the bill.
The Grade 12 student from Strathmore High School (SHS) had originally received the Spartan Award due to a mix-up during the SHS awards night, but he was pleasantly surprised when he was informed the next day of his real award.
“It was interesting to get this,” said Cool. “It is an honour to win the award either way, but with the Class Act I know some of the previous winners so it is highly regarded. So I am pretty happy to receive it.”
Cool is a well-rounded student spending time volunteering, playing sports and dedicating time to his studies. For the past five years he has played club volleyball in Calgary and has played for SHS, too. He also plays badminton, where he helped represent the school at provincials.
“Matt is a real leader in our building,” said Kyle Larsen, associate principal at SHS. “He is a real strong academic student but he is committed to his studies and to his extracurricular events.”
Larsen further described Cool as a great ambassador for the school as he is always the first to help when it is needed.
When he is not busy with sports and schoolwork, Cool likes to volunteer alongside his family in his community of Carseland as well as in Strathmore. His grandfather is part of the Carseland Lions Club and so would often help him during events that the club is part of, such as Carseland Aggie Days, which commemorates the founding of the hamlet. During the Aggie Days event, Cool assists his mom in educating people about agriculture.
During the busy Christmas period last year, he volunteered at the food bank, putting together food boxes for less-fortunate families.
Next year Cool is set to attend the University of Calgary to study international business, but he ultimately would like to one day go to law school.
The Strathmore Times Class Act award also contains a $500 bursary, which will go towards his dream of practicing law.
“I just want to thank whoever chose me for this award, it is quite an honour,” said Cool.