Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Nov 18/02) - An Inuvik teen will be heading to the Antarctica on Dec. 16.

Angela Storr, 16, was one of five students at Samuel Hearne secondary school who entered an essay contest organized by school principal Carson Atkinson.

Storr will head way down south with Students on Ice, a program that takes youth to the polar regions on educational tours.

Atkinson submitted Storr's essay and application to Students on Ice, and in June, Storr learned she was among 25 students selected to go to Antarctica this year.

"I was just so excited I didn't know what to say," Storr said. "The farthest I've ever been is Toronto."

Active on the school's peer mediation team, Storr is also a volunteer with the Inuvik Youth Justice Committee and has plans to become a pediatrician.

Most of the other students on the tour are also from Canada, but there are also four from the United States and one from Ireland. From the NWT, two other students are going from Tulita, and Nunavut and Labrador are sending two students each.

Students will meet in Toronto Dec. 15 and embark on their cruise ship journey from Argentina. The two-week tour will include penguin and whale watching, lectures by a team of scientists and artists, a hike up an ice cap and a chance to try things like drilling for ice cores.

Storr will be back in Inuvik Dec. 30.

This is the first year Samuel Hearne has sent a student on the program. Principal Atkinson says he wants to use the program to recognize students for academic achievement, community involvement and leadership.

"We've got a whole bunch of great kids and this is one way of recognizing it," Atkinson said.

Atkinson took care of fundraising for Storr's trip by requesting grants from the Carpenter-Stallworthy Account and the NWT Youth Secretariat, which together provided $6,800. Atkinson says he will be approaching the Department of Indian and Northern Development for the remaining $1,000 needed to send Storr on her way.

Last week, DIAND provided $22,000 for the two students and one teacher from Tulita to join the Antarctica trip.