Quebec City teen who created black history teaching materials wins $100K scholarship

Laura DoylePanwas a 16-year-old high school student in Quebec City when they learned acousin had been shot by an off-duty police officer in Dallas, Texas.

"He survived, luckily, but he was in a coma for a few weeks.I felt really powerless when I heard the news," DoylePantold CBC's Breakawaylast week.

DoylePan, whose father is originally from Haiti,joined the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the shooting.

Nowa 19-year-old communications and cinema student atQubecCity's CEGEPLimoilou, DoylePan helps organize events for Black History Month.

"As a biracial person, I've grown up being concerned by these issues because I was seeing my dad get stopped in his daily life and at the airport," said DoylePan, who uses they instead of gender-specific pronouns.

"I really, really hate feeling helpless and feeling like I can't act on issues that are dear to my heart."

This is part of a pattern inDoylePan'slife.Whenever an important issue crosses their path, they act, whether it's raising money to sponsor refugeesor creating tools for teachers to help teach black history.

That drive to take action was recognized recently when DoylePan became one of only fourQuebecers to win a prestigious $100,000 scholarship.

'An intense moment'

The Loran Scholars Foundation gives out 35 suchscholarshipsacross Canada each year to students about to begin their undergraduate studies, andwho demonstrate integrity, courage, compassion, determination and leadership. More than 5,000 apply each year.

On the train ride homefrom the final interview,DoylePan'sfriendandseatmateGalleMvel learned she had won a Loran for her own activist work.

Five minutes,DoylePan'sphone also rang. It was the Loran foundation with more good news to share.

"I wanted to scream. It was really an intense moment," said DoylePan.

DoylePanishoping to go straight into law school atMcGillUniversity next year.

"I am not sure if I want to be a lawyer, but I see law as a tool that can help me to bring projects to have a deeper impact and bring my engagements to a more global impact," said DoylePan.

Black history teaching guide

DoylePan's inspiration for creatingblack-history teaching guides came from the feelingthat Quebec's current high school curriculum had little to say on the topic.

The curriculum DoylePan createdtackles six topics,ranging from the origins of Black Lives Matterto profiles ofTrayvonMartin and mass incarceration. There is alsoa list of project suggestions for teachers in different disciplines.

"I hope that black history is understood as part of the general history," said DoylePan.

"I think it's really important for young kids to be able to see themselves in the history they're studying and to see that they're part of the country, to see that they matter."

After graduating from high school and enteringCEGEP, DoylePangot involved withWorld University Service of Canada (WUSC), an international development agency that, among other initiatives,raises money to sponsor refugees and helps them settle in Canada.

DoylePan is the spokesperson for CEGEPLimoilou's WUSC committee, whichraised enough funds to sponsor a Congolese student.

He came to Quebec City from a refugee camp in Malawi andhas already started tutoring math at theCEGEP.

"It's amazing seeing him being able to study, which he wanted to do for so many years,"DoylePansaid.

Along with activism,DoylePanis also an avid writer, having compiled a collection of poems,entitled ValoirlaPeine,which deals with heartbreak, insecurity and self-worth.

After getting DoylePan'sfather, a journalist,to read the collection, they decided to sendit out to publishers.The second publisher responded enthusiastically, offering to publish it.

DoylePan doesn't take these opportunities for granted.

"I want to use all of those privileges to help people" said DoylePan."I feel like I've been really lucky in life."