Publish at October 11 2023 Updated October 11 2023
Béatrice Turcotte Ouellet has always loved team sports. At 18, she was coaching basketball teams and had ambitions to study social work at university.
As she assembled the members of the high school teams where she coached, an inter-school league, not at all "elite", she noticed that the ages of the young people who wanted to be part of the teams didn't correlate with their academic level. The school, located in a working-class neighborhood, had students from no fewer than 30 nationalities, and not only did it have one of the highest drop-out rates in the province, but the language barrier was holding back academic progress for many.
When asked if they wanted to form teams according to their grade level (which is more convenient for scheduling training sessions) or according to the level they should be at, 50% of the students indicated "according to the level they should be at"... 50%! A majority of young people were behind in their studies, for 1000 reasons, in as many individual stories.
When you're in a situation of failure, it's harder to believe in your abilities and invest in them. Even less so when you don't know anyone who could do something about it, when you have few resources or don't even know that such people or services exist. Why waste your time? You stay isolated.
In a stroke of genius, partly inspired by the film "Coach Carter", Béatrice decided that participation in the team would not depend on academic results, but rather on efforts to participate in school support activities.
Since most of the students had never used such services or simply didn't believe in them (erk!, extra time at school), the pressure had to be on that side. We don't know many cases that don't progress with help; they had to put in the work. Seeking help, accepting help, there's nothing embarrassing about it; for many, it was an idea that needed to be changed. "We're not alone.
All that remained was to recruit a few competent volunteers to provide this support, which she wanted above all to be human and close, people who believe that everyone can succeed. And they did.
Given the obvious results, the school renewed the program the following year and began to invest more directly in it. D.A.M. - Diplôme avant médaille (Diploma before medal) - was born. Sponsors joined in, and today, after 11 years in operation, there are over 150 coaches and nearly 700 volunteer tutors helping over 1100 youngsters in 5 schools.
98% of DAM-supported student-athletes either graduate from high school or continue their studies toward graduation - who can beat that? Student testimonials are clear: if you put your mind to it, you'll succeed.
This video shows D.A.M.'s philosophy and modus operandi.
Béatrice Turcotte Ouellette, founder of Diplôme avant la médaille, embodies the philosophy herself. Although social service attracted her, she knew it wasn't enough to operate a project on the scale she envisioned. During her university studies, she took the "Entrepreneurship" option to acquire the necessary grounding. She also knows exactly when and where to ask for help.
Today, she runs a thriving social economy enterprise that employs nearly 20 permanent staff and is supported by a quality board of directors. Above all, she does what she loves best: help.
D.A.M. - Website
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