WELLINGTON – April 6, 2022 – RDÉE Prince Edward Island has hired Alecia Arsenault from Summerside to take on the coordination of two of its main initiatives: the PERCÉ internship program and the Francophone Ignition Contest. She says she is excited to be part of this dynamic team and looks forward to contributing her fair share to both projects.

Arsenault, who graduated from Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside (with honors in French Immersion) in June 2020, immediately set to work helping to match 35 post-secondary students from the PERCÉ program with employers all over the Island for summer internships lasting 10-12 seeks. She will then prepare their employment contracts and will soon be coordinating their training and orientation week. At the end of the summer, she will be compiling evaluations from the interns and employers and writing reports for the funders. This work normally runs from April to the end of September.

As coordinator of the Francophone Ignition Francophone Contest, from October to the end of March, she will be recruiting participants, organizing an intense weekend of training, preparing a pre-selection session, preparing the final competition and writing reports.

Some of the two programs’ duties overlap somewhat – such as recruiting for PERCÉ, which usually runs from early winter to late March, plus preparing funding applications.

Arsenault replaces former coordinator Julie Gallant, the RDÉE’s new youth economic development officer, who becomes her supervisor.

LEADERSHIP SKILLS

« In her first days on the job, Alecia has already shown us that she is not afraid to learn and to get to work. Her leadership skills, which are very evident, will serve her well in her new job, » said Gallant.

In fact, despite her young age, Arsenault is no stranger to the world of employment. She was a cashier at the Atlantic Superstore in Summerside from 2016 to 2021. Then from April to September 2021, she was a waitress at Sunny’s Dairy Bar, also in Summerside.

Born in Wellington, Arsenault has been developing her talents as a performer since childhood, taking classes in acting, dancing, singing and improvisation at the Spotlight School of Arts; she has performed in many shows and competitions, especially as a singer. She has volunteered extensively with the school of arts, has taught children’s dance classes and has acted for children’s birthday parties.

Alecia was part of her school’s Leadership Club, organizing many school events and officiating many sporting events. She was a member of her school’s orchestra, which even won gold at the National Music Festival in Ottawa in 2019. In fact, she was the lead singer of the orchestra’s rhythm and blues group. For several years, she was also a volunteer youth group leader at Summerside Community Church and helped out for a few months with the children’s group at St. Paul’s Parish.