Yellowknife (Dec 24/04) - A former St. Patrick high school student can count herself among the ranks of distinguished scholars, like astronomer Edwin Hubble, this week.

Erin Freeland Ballantyne was named a Rhodes Scholar recently, an honour that will take her to Oxford University in England next year. She recently completed a degree in international development at McGill University in Montreal. Reached on the phone as she packed up and prepared to leave Montreal last week, Freeland Ballantyne was pleased about the scholarship.

"I was very surprised and felt blessed," she said from Montreal.

Freeland Ballantyne's strong connection to the North, despite leaving after her Grade 10 year, was a big part of the selection committee's decision to choose her, according to Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins, with McGill University. She continues to work with the Arctic Indigenous Youth Alliance (AIYA), is a documentary filmmaker and is a constant advocate for human rights. The 23-year-old calls her work on Northern issues and educating youth with AIYA the most important volunteer work she does.

"Your community is what fosters you and to put back into that is to keep it strong," she said.

Her pursuit of a masters degree in philosophy at Oxford won't start until next fall, leaving Freeland Ballantyne with time to reunite with her Northern roots. She'll be doing community tours across the NWT visiting schools in the spring to talk about environmental issues, including the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline.

"Educating our youth about what's going on in the territories is important.

"The youth can create such tremendous change," she said.

Eleven Rhodes scholarships are handed out in Canada each year, with almost 100 given out worldwide.

Freeland Ballantyne's character and intellect, as well as her experience as a competitive cross-country skier, snagged her the elite award, which will pay for her travel and studies at Oxford.

Scholarship recipients are chosen under guidelines decided by British diamond magnate Cecil John Rhodes and are expected to improve mankind.