Grade 12 PCI Student Haley Bedard's been nominated for the YMCA/YWCA Manitoba's Young Woman of Distinction Award for 2016.

Bedard won the Women in Business' Young Woman of Excellence Award at their Ungala in March, and says it's a real whirlwind of excitement between the two awards.

"It's kind of like a roller coaster. You find out you're chosen for one, and then you get all the spotlight for a little bit, all the congratulations and that's awesome. Then right after you get the news that you've been chosen to be acknowledged at the Provincial level, and that's pretty awesome. Just knowing there's so many hard working people in the area, and they want to acknowledge."

Bedard's explains why she feels she was nominated.

"I've always just kind of had a love for work abroad, especially after my trip to Kenya. It's clearly going to touch your heart in some way when you travel across the world and connect with people there and see that there's a real need for help internationally. Then also locally, one of the big things I got involved with was the Lifeskills class at PCI. There's a lot of things that I do that are in my spare moments in between those things."

She adds the best part is getting together with other like-minded individuals.

"That's the really amazing part, just hearing other peoples stories, and you feed off that energy and you get new ideas for yourself. It's really amazing."

Bedard has to attend the YMCA/YWCA's Banquet in May to find out if she won the award.