It is not every day a person is singled out for their accomplishments or efforts, never mind being named the student of the month.
According to Barrhead and District Chamber of Commerce President Dave Sawatzky, Janaye Wierenga deserved the recognition, and was nominated as November’s Student-of-the-Month.
On Dec. 23, Wierenga accepted a gift card from Barrhead Pembina West Co-op employee Tracy Grabler, on behalf of the co-op.
“Members of the Chamber who employ students can nominate those students that go above and beyond their responsibilities, show strong work ethic, excels in customer service and works exceptionally well with their co-workers,” Sawatzky said, adding that the Chamber executive chooses candidates for the student of the month program based on the information provided to them by employers.
The Student-of-the-Month program was started in June 2015 as a means of encouragement for town and county businesses to retain more of the community’s younger generations.
Coen De Herdt, owner of De Herdt Gardens, said Wierenga was an easy choice for the nomination.
“We heard about this program and we thought, we have to get Janaye involved,” De Herdt said, adding that Wierenga is the only student currently working at De Herdt Gardens and has been doing so since April 2015.
“She was responsible for watering all of the plants in town this past summer, which we [De Herdt’s] do for the Town of Barrhead,” he said, adding that Wierenga is great with customer service and that she even painted his house.
“I do basically anything that the De Herdt’s ask me to,” Wierenga said. “Before De Herdt’s, I worked at my cousin’s welding shop and I was taking a welding course at school.”
Wierenga added she has decided she is not going to pursue a career in welding and has instead chosen to enter a new field: Interior Design.
“I applied to NAIT and got accepted, so I will be attending in 2016,” she said.
According to Inge De Herdt, the family-owned business will be sponsoring the next student of the month.
For more information about the initiative, the committee that formed it and the requirements for candidacy, please contact the Barrhead and District Chamber of Commerce.
