Terry Fox Humanitarian Award Winner – Hayley Pipher
My name is Hayley Pipher and I am a first year student studying at UBC and was recently inspired by both Matt and Steph’s story as they spoke at a conference that I attended.
Just like Matt and Steph, I always admired Terry Fox for what he stood for and his outlook on life. It was people like Terry Fox who helped me get through a difficult time in my life after I had gone missing during the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami. I constantly looked up to motivating people, such as Terry Fox, to inspire and guide me during that time as I searched for my deeper role in society.
This past June I was honored to receive the chance to personally speak to Betty Fox, Terry’s mother, as she informed me that I had won the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award for my athletic, service, and academic achievements. This has been the greatest honour of my life, not so much for receiving the award, but rather to have had the opportunity to talk to someone who has made such a substantial and positive impact in society.
Betty has tirelessly devoted much of her time and energy to ensure that her son’s dream will forever live on, and it certainly will. There are so many people in society, such as Terry and Betty Fox as well as Matt Hill and Steph Tait, who touch and inspire countless people each and every day.
It’s moving to see how each of us will leave our own footprint on this world as we make this journey through our lives, “one step at a time.”
All the best,
Hayley