A $100 scholarship, the Angie Kenny award, was set up to acknowledge the accomplishments of single parents and what is often a struggle to graduate from Grade 12.

"I'm just hoping that it will give the person the feeling that someone appreciates what they've done and give them a feeling of confidence," said Kenny.

With limited financial help available to single parents, Kenny said that the scholarship is a small token meant to assist with the expenses of being a young mom or dad.

"I know it's not much, but it's something," she said.

She remembers trying to pay for babysitting costs with her child-care subsidy, the only government assistance available to young parents.

"When I did it, I had the child-care subsidy, but I found it difficult," she said. "Your babysitter was waiting to get paid because you only got it once a month. The process of paying for the sitter is so slow."

Kenny credits her mom with helping her graduate from high school in 1995. And it was her mother, Mary, who had the idea to start the scholarship in 1996.

"She stood by me from day 1," she said. "She helped me get my education -- my mom doesn't believe in not being able to succeed."

Now Kenny wants to help those young parents who she said need all the support they can get to stay in school.

"When I see young girls 16 or 17 years old walking down the street, I know they're not going to school," she said. "In this day in age, you're not going anywhere without an education."

Presenting the award to Phoebe Rabesca, the first graduating student at St. Pat's to receive it, was an important moment for Kenny.

"When they announced the girl's name, Phoebe Rabesca, I gave Shelby the envelope to hand to her," she said. "I wanted Shelby involved because if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have been standing there then."