Turnaround Awards celebrate 30 years and 21 hard-working students

It's been 30 years since Kingswood Ventures Inc. first introduced the Turnaround Achievement Awards.

Over the last three decades, the awards program has awarded 1,067 students in New Brunswick with $563,000 in scholarships.

This year, 21 students will be awarded a total of more than $55,000 and recognized for their commitment to improving their lives.

Here are two of their stories.

Marley-Rae Kennedy, Fredericton

It was when 15-year-old Marley-Rae Kennedy was told she wouldn't graduate high school on time that she realized she needed to turn her life around.

Kennedy had endured a traumatic series of events several years prior and subsequently asked her mother, Melissa Harvey, if they could move from Bathurst to Fredericton.

"I moved here hoping for a fresh start and a better change… I wanted to leave that past behind me and pick up a new life," said Kennedy.

The day she first walked through the front doors of Leo Hayes High School was one of the scariest and most nerve-racking of her life.

Kennedy said groups of friends were already formed and she didn't know where she belonged.

"It was my first day and it was the middle of the pandemic, so I had no other way to communicate with people and when I tried to I felt so low," she said.

Melissa Harvey says she is very proud of her daughter for how much she has overcome. (Submitted by Marley-Rae Kennedy)

That year, her past trauma caught up to her and she was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, PTSD and oppositional defiant disorder.

"I let that take over me really quickly, I didn't know how to navigate it at first," she said, "I was feeling very lost, tired, upset, sad… and I was going to school at the same time."

In denial about her mental state, Kennedy refused medication and therapy.

Her grades began to slip and by Grade 10, guidance counselor Tracy Gatto told her she wouldn't graduate on time.

Before that, Kennedy had always excelled in the classroom.

"I didn't recognize myself anymore having low 60s, my average was a 71 and that's just not who I was… I had let my mental health take over."

She said she was experiencing paranoia, manic episodes and struggled to eat more than one meal per day.

"I was really struggling and I resorted to suicide… I attempted suicide several times."

Kennedy said she spent her second year in high school in and out of the psych ward, receiving diagnosis and getting therapy. This was her lowest point.

She said finding out she wouldn't graduate on time and the thought of leaving her mother behind through a successful suicide attempt were the two reasons she knew she needed to change.

It started with little changes that happened largely due to her mother and guidance counselor's support.

At the time, Kennedy didn't want school officials to know about her trauma and mental health issues, so her mother had arranged a secret meeting with Gatto.

"We talked about how do I save my little girl? How do we keep her in school? And Tracy came up with the modified plan."

Gatto allowed Kennedy to do her first two periods from home and her last three at school.

"It helped me a lot because I had my own time to focus on myself, but I also had the time to focus on school," said Kennedy.

She said that accommodation encouraged her to put in the effort when she was doing school work from home.

Eventually, Kennedy felt empowered to challenge herself more and took classes like biology and foundations.

"I did do it all on my own, but without her guidance I wouldn't be where I am."

Kennedy will graduate from high school on time this year. She's going into nursing at NBCC with a plan to be a medical esthetician.

"I never thought I would be in the medical field, but I really pushed myself to do things I couldn't do."

Kennedy said she has changed drastically since Grade 9 and is now advocating for the support she needed at the time.

She wrote a student handbook for students in their first year of high school, with tips on how to survive.

"My biggest advice is to absolutely be yourself and to not migrate into somebody else who you're not," said Kennedy. "I lost myself doing that."

Harvey said she couldn't be more proud of her daughter and all that she has overcome and accomplished.

"She's so incredibly strong and resilient it blows my mind," said Harvey.

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:

Hayden Kranendonk, Stanley  

Hayden Kranendonk struggled to concentrate in classes he didn't find interesting.

"I just didn't really do it at all … in Grade 9 and 10 I just kind of sat there and failed," he said.

During his first two years at Stanley Consolidated School, Kranendonk was unmotivated to learn and follow school rules.

"He was having a hard time," said principal Katherine Loughrey, "He was very argumentative with pretty much all of the teachers and just thought school in general was just a waste of his time."

Loughrey said Kranendonk knew early on that he wanted to be a mechanic and couldn't understand how classes like math and science would help with his desired career.

Hayden Kranendonk will graduate from Stanely Consolidated School this year. His principal nominated him for the Turnaround Award because he went from being unmotivated in class to supporting the school in any way possible. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)

"It took quite a few conversations around the idea that mechanics still need to be able to fill out paperwork and make budgets and price parts," she said.

Kranendonk admits today that fractions are helpful when working with certain tools, "it's handy to know."

WATCH | Building cars and cabinets is where this year's recipient of the Kingswood Turnaround Achievement Award found passion for learning:

Loughrey said once Kranendonk was in Grade 11 and was able to take a mechanics course and joined the school's auto club, his behaviour started to change.

"He completely changed, it was amazing," said Loughrey, "The way he treated people in the building and the way he responded to everything at the school just changed completely."

Kranendonk said hands-on learning is just more fun and he's able to focus on tedious tasks, like rewiring an entire car, more efficiently than when he's sitting in a classroom.

Loughrey said Kranendonk became helpful, offering to complete tasks around the school and be of help wherever possible.

Kranendonk got a car donated to the school and won the annual Miramichi Dragway High School Challenge with it. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)

Kranendonk began to propose projects and initiatives to support both the school and the auto club.

Eventually, he took on a leadership role at the school's auto club and began organizing fundraiser events for the club including show and shines, car shows and car washes.

"Anything we need done around the school he's like, 'oh I'll do that for you'," said Loughrey, "Just last week he changed my tires."

He and some classmates recently built a recycling bin for the school and Kranendonk even organized the donation of a new car for the school. He went on to drive that car to a first-place finish at the annual Miramichi Dragway High School Challenge.

Loughrey said he is also excelling in class now, with no grades below 90 per cent.

Kranendonk said he believes he's receiving the turnaround award because of his new found drive.

"I actually had a goal to work toward… I don't know why it happened, it just did."