A Mark R. Isfeld Secondary graduate has been recognized by the province for her extraordinary scholastic achievements.
The Governor General’s Academic Medal is the highest award offered to a high school student, and is based on all Grade 11 and 12 courses.
The calculation is done only after all provincial exams have been marked, so schools will not know the final result until late August. By this time, the recipient is often off to university, and the presentation of the award must wait until a break from studies.
This year, Kristen Bystrom placed first in Mark R. Isfeld Secondary based on her academic average of 95.84 per cent!
The Governor-General Award is always a close competition, and a gap of half a percentage point is considered a decisive margin. In this year, there was a tie for second place to the hundredth decimal, with many others close behind.
However, Kristen’s average was 1.5 per cent higher than second place, which is an almost unprecedented lead over what has always been a tight field. Remarkably, the bulk of Kristen’s studies were in sciences and mathematics, where marks are not always easy to earn. Add to this the fact that Kristen was active in the fine arts, including a lead role in The Wizard of Oz, and in leadership activities, managing her own Destination Imagination Team as a Grade 12 student.
Considering all that Kristen was able to jam into her grad year, for her to maintain this academic average is a stellar achievement and a testament to her organizational skills and personal drive.
Kristen is presently studying Actuarial Science at Simon Fraser University, and is looking into co-op education opportunities. She has continued her academic excellence at SFU, earning a high enough grade point average to qualify for continued scholarship funding.
The staff of Mark R. Isfeld Secondary congratulate Kristen Bystrom on winning this distinguished award and applaud her continued academic success at the post-secondary level.