“I am Elijah Zimmerman and I am of seventeen years of age as of July 26, 2001. I am the fourth and youngest child of Rosanne and Bernie Zimmerman. I grew up on the family farm outside of Emo Ontario and worked on it throughout my childhood and through elementary to high school. I am currently applied and accepted in a history program at The University of Trent. My community involvement has been mostly of advisement and counsel for other youths within the area, I enjoy history and am intrigued by the legal system and it is what I plan to study, and I plan to enter criminal law as a prosecutor or defence lawyer. My life goals for an education and career as a defence lawyer or a prosecutor are reasonable aspirations because of my abilities and experiences that favour those goals, but the Helping Hands Scholarship would also be instrumental in allowing me to pursue them.

I have a long history of community involvement. Even before high school I was involved in numerous fundraisers for my church, my school, and charities such as the Salvation Army and Development and Peace. Entering high school, I was a member of the Fort Frances Junior Band and Intermediate Band for three years, as well as an actor playing Wes for “Footloose The Musical.” Beyond local art, I was also a junior counselor for Discovery Camp for two years, amounting to well over one hundred hours volunteered there. Discovery Camp is a local bible camp that tries to initiate a sense of community, a sense of belonging, and tries to strengthen education about Christianity. Just this year I was involved in a school fundraiser for the school’s “Chem Free Grad” which provides a safe environment for highschool graduates a safe place to celebrate were they will not abuse drugs or alcohol. The fundraising was split into various events throughout the year and the one I worked on, the bake sale and barbeque, had the largest revenue in school history, raising in excess of fifteen thousand dollars. I also was academically inclined throughout high school and was in the Advanced Placement English program which carries with it the possibility of counting for a first year university credit. This culminated into the school approaching me and asking if I would like to join their tutoring program where I would be helping other students in their classes, to which I accepted. I spent about forty hours volunteering to tutor in my grade twelve year. My volunteering has mostly been about helping youths and helping them realize their own potential, and that is also the part of my volunteering that I am most proud of.

I have not always been interested in law, but I have almost always been interested in history. Even in kindergarten you could find me reading, or at least looking at the pictures in history books, specifically the second world war, a passion still present and securely with me today. I took grade twelve history in grade eleven, skipping grade eleven history. During my late middle school and early highschool grades, I was interested in programming and game design taking a few classes in it. But in grade eleven I changed my focus to law as I became interested in it and as it had a more promising future if I follow it. I became increasingly interested in law as I took a law class and I followed current cases as they were released to the public on my own. I started following the history of law from the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, to Mosaic Law, Roman Law, and British Common Law which is the basis for our modern Canadian law. Along with this I looked over the contents, evidence, and the results of many older and newer cases in Canada and the United States, blending the pre-existing and long-lasting interest of History with the new interest of law. This allowed me to understand the law more intimately and I became increasingly interested in pursuing the many careers of law, from lawyer and lawmaker to police officer. I always sought justice for others throughout my life, which is most likely one reason why I took a quick liking to it. I would often come to the defence of classmates if they became the targets of teasing or harassment and would make a conscious effort to treat everyone with respect. Another reason I have taken a quick liking to the study of law is that I like to debate, whether it be philosophy or politics, I often engaged in debates with those around me if they had formed an opinion of their own on the matter. The idea of debating and finding the truth for a career thus became appealing to me for that reason as well. After I became so enthralled and moderately proficient in law, I decided I would pursue a career in being a lawyer. History is one of the most common undergraduate degrees among lawyers and is considered to promote critical and sequential reasoning which is why it is so common. My love of law and history is sure to propel my journey through post secondary school.

Even before I was interested in law, I always sought justice in the world. As a child I wanted to make sure everyone was treated fairly and I often took it upon myself to do so. I would be sure that everyone was included in activities and would often make friends with those described as more troublesome and help them through their difficulties and disadvantages in school. This led me to be highly revered in my classes and schools among both the teachers and students. This regard by my peers led to my winning of the student council class representative. Although the class representative role meant I had to give up many breaks for council meetings, for there was at least one a week, I took the position and my responsibility to my class seriously and was not deterred. Knowing that the other classmates were able to go on break while I participated in a meeting at an age most people would choose the break did not bother me for two reasons: Firstly, I had a duty to my class and school to represent my class to the student council. Secondly, I did not become disinterested in the face of it; I found as much pride and joy in my service as someone my age possibly could. I developed these values of justice, duty, and initiative throughout my childhood and they are something I brought through highschool and I bring with me as I leave. As a defence lawyer or prosecutor in criminal law, these values are important not just for the job and pay, but to make considerable contributions to society. I was always disheartened by societal injustice, by those left behind unfairly, and by those who escape punishment for their actions. Because of this I always attempted to make a more just community. I would form friendships with people in all groups and help people through school or life. I helped people get over problems and helped people mend relationships. In a few distinct cases I was able to talk with someone who was struggling with severe mental health, someone who thought that they could give up on life, thankfully they did not and I was able to refer them to resources that could help them. It is not always fun to help people, people in desperate situations can express many different emotions. Anger, sadness, depression, dread, and fear all come from those who need help. In criminal law, it is no different. There are people from all places and positions in society, in all sorts of situations and circumstances. But despite it being hard sometimes I try to help anyone I am able. In my career, I want to aid people, including people overlooked or dismissed by society; victims and the wrongly accused alike. A defence lawyer or a prosecutor is in a primary position to help these individuals. As a defence lawyer or a prosecutor, I can argue for justice, for those who cannot speak for themselves, and for a better society for all those who need it, regardless of race, religion, or any other label placed upon a person. That is what I hope to achieve in my career.

Therefore, I would appreciate and be thankful for the help offered by HollisWealth’s Helping Hands Scholarship in fuelling my life goals of achieving an undergraduate in history, going to law school, and becoming a defence lawyer or a prosecutor, which I intend to follow dutifully. I hope my community involvement with the youths, my investment into history and law, and my aspirations of being a prosecutor or defence lawyer are evident of that. My trip from Emo to Oshawa and into adulthood to study history and law is not going to be easy for me, but it is important.”

-Elijah Zimmerman