COMOX – Sophia Vaillant, a young local changemaker, was presented with the King Charles III Coronation Medal by local MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard over the weekend.

“Every one of us is born with our own gifts to give the world. This is an opportunity to not only recognize Sophia’s accomplishments with this medal, but it is a moment to reflect on the fact that each of us can contribute in our own way to a stronger Canada, a stronger future,” said Ronna-Rae Leonard, MLA for Courtenay-Comox.

The Coronation Medal, a Canadian honour created to mark the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III, was launched by Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, and recognizes people who have made significant contributions to Canada and their home province and communities.

Sophia, now a second-year UVic student, created a 3D printed hospital training tool called the CRIC while she was still in high school, saving the Comox Valley hospital $12,000. She has also constructed the Zenius Lab, a collaborative of STEM student inventors, dominated by girls and gender diverse students to remedy the traditional male-dominated robotics environments she’d experienced. During COVID-19 pandemic, she sewed hundreds of masks to fit people of all ages.

More recently, while home for the summer Sophia has begun planning another community project to support the Lake Trail Community Education Society (LTCES).

“My hope with this is to unlock more possibilities for LTCES so that they can bring community support and leadership programming to as many students as possible,” she says.

In appreciation for the many volunteers and staff of LTCES, she is involved in a Taylor Swift themed charity event on November 13th and is donating two Taylor Swift concert tickets for a raffle prize.

In a ceremony over the weekend at the Comox Marina Park, MLA Leonard presented Sophia with the medal while surrounded by her extended family, close friends and Physics and Math teacher/mentor from Highland Senior Secondary School. Sophia recognized their support as key to achieving success with her projects, with Sophia and her family emphasizing “it takes a village” to help young people like her reach their potential.

The medal will be awarded to 30,000 deserving individuals across the country and is the first Canadian honour to mark a coronation.