91原创 Township council honoured 80-year-old Inta Schorcht Monday night, after she was awarded the Fraser Valley鈥檚 鈥淐hampion of Diversity鈥� 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.

鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to be recognized. But I鈥檝e been quite active in the community for many years and I just wish it will encourage other people to do the same,鈥� said Schorcht.

Born in Northern Germany, Schorcht left her parents鈥� 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.

鈥淗aving lived in so many countries I know how tough it is,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd we don鈥檛 all have the same traditions, which is really difficult for someone who comes over here in their middle ages.鈥�

Also contributing to her Champion of Diversity award was her work in organizing a display of artwork from 14 different immigrant artists at the 91原创 Centennial Museum.

鈥淚t was my idea and I tried very, very hard and was really pleased when they accepted it,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey were all newcomers to Canada who had chosen B.C. as their home, and they were all very accomplished artists in their own countries.鈥�