Ladner teen Asha Mior got an up close look at Parliament last month in Ottawa.
"It was a real eye-opener for me as a Canadian," she said.
The 15-year-old got a trip to the nation's capital thanks to being a finalist in her age group in the Speakers'Speech Writing Contest.
Mior went to Rideau Hall, the Museum of History as well as the East Block and Centre Block portions of Parliament. She attended question period and was publicly recognized along with the other finalists by the speaker of the house. There was a special reception afterwards where Speaker Geoff Regan read portions of the finalists' speeches.
The contest, open to 12-to 17-year-olds, had a topic of: "What does Parliament mean to you?" Mior said she focused her speech on how her grandparents on both sides of her family immigrated to Canada and how Parliament made that possible.
Mior was also recently recognized as one of the country's top 25 environmentalists under 25 by The Starfish Canada, an organization that celebrates environmental, solutions-based stories across the nation, with a focus on youth-based initiatives.
It was definitely an honour to be recognized, she said.
Mior is an environmentalist, blogger and filmmaker. Her blog, Asha for the World, can be found at www.aftw.net.
