Daniel T'seleie
Northern News Services

Pelly Bay (May 30/05) - Donna Rodnunsky did not just take home a bronze medal from the territorial NWT/NU Skills Canada competition in April, she won against competitors upwards of seven years older than her from both the NWT and Nunavut.

Donna Rodnunsky won a bronze medal in the Workplace Safety competition for senior high school students at the NWT/NU Skill Canada competition in Yellowknife recently.

"It was a little bit challenging," said 12-year-old Rodnunsky, who opted to compete in the senior high school division of the Workplace Safety competition instead of the junior high division.

"Of all 110 people that competed, in all different (categories), she was the youngest," said Guy Barnable, executive director of NWT/NU Skills Canada.

It is rare for any competitor to request they be bumped up to a higher division Barnable said.

Rodnunsky felt comfortable competing against the older students.

"I thought, that's where I should be," she said.

Rodnunsky realized she had a knack for the subject after scoring 100 per cent on both exams in her high school workplace safety class.

At the competition in Yellowknife, the Grade 9 Kugaaruk student had to give a speech and examine three different mock worksites for potential hazards. Each site represented a different type of environment with different hazards.

"You probably wouldn't use ergonomics in, for example, a construction site," Rodnunsky said.

She hopes to compete again at next year's competition.

With the experience of one competition under her belt, "she seems to be a shoe-in for the future," Barnable said.