Local woman finds her ship of dreams

FERGUS – It’s been a few months since Nathalie Alaves set sail on what has turned out to be an adventure of a lifetime.

And while she learned a lot of new information, it also fortified what she already knew – that people are basically good and interesting no matter where they are from; and that despite differences, there’s an underlying “sameness” across humanity.

That’s a lot to take from a month-long trip, Alaves acknowledged in a phone interview.

But it was big.

Alaves was selected to take part in this year’s Ship for World Youth, an initiative of the Japanese government, that invites youth delegates from 12 countries for a cross-cultural exchange.

The eight Canadian delegates left Feb. 13 and returned March 13. They spent a night in Thailand, and ended the trip at a hostel in Tokyo.

In between they were on a ship, the MS Nippon Maru, when they made various ports of call. On the ship there were workshops, intensive leadership training, seminars, and opportunities for community building.

Each country selects its own delegates aged 18 to 30 – in all about 200 delegates from around the world and 80 from Japan made the trip.

In Canada they were chosen based on their educational and life experience backgrounds.

They came from Vancouver, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Nunavut and Ontario and from engineering, the private sector and non-profit organizations.

“There was so much representation of Canada,” Alaves said. “I loved getting to know the other Canadian delegates.”

The experience also introduced her to delegates from other parts of the world, “and I’m still in contact with some of them,” she said.

“It was incredible to learn  about the different jobs they are doing. No pathway is linear and it was fascinating comparing their experiencewith my own.”

At age 24, Alaves already has a broad employment and volunteer experience.

She was a student trustee with with the Upper Grand District School Board and a student senator at her Guelph high school. She was also involved in student government at university.

She’s been a tutor for Fergus Educational Services and now is a settlement worker working with students in the Wellington Catholic District School Board through Immigrant Services Guelph-Wellington.

“My mother was an ESL (English as a second language) teacher at night school and I saw her helping people,” Alaves said.

Her parents are immigrants to Canada and Alaves grew up in a Spanish-speaking household. When she learned Immigrant Services offers programs to high school students, “I jumped at the opportunity,” she said. “I adore working with high school students; you can really see the impact with them.”

She also joined Volunteers in Action – CW Rotary Club as a Rotaractor (youth member) and recently won the club’s Community Hero Award.

“Through her involvement in Rotaract and dedication to service, Nathalie exemplifies the values of Rotary and the spirit of community leadership. Her passion for making a meaningful impact and building connections across cultures reflects the qualities of a future changemaker,” officials state.

“It was quite a surprise and very humbling,” she said, still processing her experience abroad and the recognition close to home.

“It’s been very valuable and meaningful.”