Between the ages of seventeen and nineteen, Brenda Tom was left fully responsible for all of her brothers and sisters ranging in age from six to fourteen. Given that workload, her schoolwork began to suffer and soon she dropped out three courses short of her High School Dogwood Diploma, a shortfall that left a nagging emptiness deep in her being.

Brenda was living on the Opitsaht Reserve on Meares Island during this time, but when her father returned with his new wife, she immediately left home to work as a bartender in Tofino for the next eight years. When she was twenty-two, she had her daughter, Melissa.

Brenda moved from Tofino to Victoria in her mid/late twenties and became a fulltime, stay-at-home mother while she had her three boys, Len, Leroy, and Ricky.

When the family moved to Parksville some years later, Brenda got a good job working with the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Band in Port Alberni. She worked as a receptionist in the Noninsured Health Benefits department.

Life was good, her family grew strong and healthy but all that time that nagging emptiness, the lack of a Dogwood Diploma, ate away at her soul.

When the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Band hired a new administrator, Brenda found good reason for that "nagging emptiness". One after another those that did not have a high school diploma were laid off. Soon it was Brenda's turn.

During the next several months of job hunting, her "nagging emptiness" gained even more meaning when, time after time, even for the lowest of entry-level jobs, she wasn't even considered for an interview. Something had to be done to correct her educational shortfall.

In November of 2004, Brenda registered in both the Legal Secretary and Administrative Assistant programs at Sprott-Shaw Community College.

Shortly after she started those two programs, she registered on line to complete her Grade Twelve Diploma, and I'm sure the "nagging emptiness" is, or soon will be, a thing of the past.

A month or so after she started back to school, Brenda and her husband, George, discovered that her oldest son, Len,had been suspended for skipping classes; suspended in his Grade 12 year, the year Brenda dropped out, and the year her daughter, Melissa, dropped out too (I wonder when Melissa will be back in school?).

After a lengthy meeting with the principal, and an even longer "chat" with his mom, Len was back in school and Brenda's exceptional role modeling took over from there.

Len's mom is a dedicated student. Her homework and other assignments are always done on time. Even those times when she has a good excuse to avoid her work, she finds a way to do it, and do it well.

This consistent effort did not go unnoticed by Len and his younger brothers.

In mid April, when Len went to rent a tuxedo for his graduation, his younger brothers, Leroy and Ricky, went with him and his mom. The boys spent more than a little energy discussing what they would wear and what they would do when they graduate - By the way they did much better in school this year as well.

"When Len was handed his diploma," Brenda told me, "the principal was all smiles and I had a feeling of accomplishment for both him and me. It was overwhelming."

Len is going to take a year off and then pursue some kind of postsecondary computer program.

"I want him to make a difference for his people and show others it can be done," Brenda smiled proudly."

Brenda Tom, Neighbourhood Hero, another example of the fact that when you do something positive in your own life, it tends to radiate out and affect others in your family, your neighbourhood, and beyond. And then those people affect others, who in turn affect others, who ... Neighbourhood Heroes all.