Langley Township council honoured 80-year-old Inta Schorcht Monday night, after she was awarded the Fraser Valley’s “Champion of Diversity” award at the Fraser Valley Cultural Diversity awards ceremony in Abbotsford on Friday.
The awards, organized by Abbotsford Community Services and the Fraser Valley Regional Library, are presented to individuals and organizations who show excellent practices in community diversity.
“It’s nice to be recognized. But I’ve been quite active in the community for many years and I just wish it will encourage other people to do the same,” said Schorcht.
Born in Northern Germany, Schorcht left her parents’ home for the first time in 1947, and lived in nine different countries before coming to Canada in 1978.
When she first arrived, she had to teach her children English, and her love for it blossomed into an ESL teaching career which she continuestoday.
Schorcht says the most enjoyable part of teaching is all of the different people she gets to meet.
“Having lived in so many countries I know how tough it is,” she said. “And we don’t all have the same traditions, which is really difficult for someone who comes over here in their middle ages.”
Also contributing to her Champion of Diversity award was her work in organizing a display of artwork from 14 different immigrant artists at the Langley Centennial Museum.
“It was my idea and I tried very, very hard and was really pleased when they accepted it,” she said. “They were all newcomers to Canada who had chosen B.C. as their home, and they were all very accomplished artists in their own countries.”
