鈥淗aving my design on a coin would definitely be an incredible, once-in-a-life-time opportunity,鈥� says Al-lie Smorodin of Buchanan, who is currently studying at the University of Saskatchewan.
She entered a national contest to design a coin for the celebration of Canada鈥檚 150th anniversary in 2017. She is currently among the 25 finalists, which includes two from Saskatchewan, Smorodin and Andrew Meredith of Moose Jaw.
The final stage of the competition is public voting, where the design with the top votes from each category will have that design in the circulating Canada 150th Anniversary collection in 2017.
In order to receive votes, finalists need the help of the public by ask-ing people to vote for their design, said Smorodin. Online voting can be done by visiting: . Voting started on September 1 and closes October 9 at 5 p.m. Anyone can vote and there are no restrictions on how many times one can vote.
鈥淚t is amazing how much support I have already received from family and friends, as well as the community, and thank you to everyone who has supported me on this exciting opportunity,鈥� Smorodin said. 鈥淚 really appreciate every single vote and I hope you take a minute to check out the Canadian talent represented by the coin designs.鈥�
She has entitled her coin 鈥淭o Sea of Blue from Sea of Gold鈥� and it is one of the top five in the 鈥淥ur Achievements鈥� category.
鈥淭he design has a train and railway down the centre, with a lighthouse on one side and a grain elevator on the other, with mountains in the back-ground,鈥� Smorodin said. 鈥淢y design, featuring the Canadian Pacific Railway, symbolizes the link between the prairies and the coast in the shipment of grain. It incorporates many elements that are seen from the railway as the trains cross the country, with an engine and a railway as the connecting links. The building of the railway was one of both struggle and accomplishment, and yet it is something that people take for granted. Not only do the trains help our farmers, but they help feed the world.
鈥淚 have always loved creating art and thank my grandpa for passing on the artistic gene to me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 also collect coins and have toured the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa to see how coins are made, so when this opportunity arose, I really wanted to submit a design.听 Since my dad is a farmer, I wanted to connect my home in the prairies with the rest of Canada, and the railway seemed like the perfect way to represent this.鈥�
Background
The Royal Canadian Mint asked for submissions from the public in the spring to design coins in five categories 鈥� Our Wonders, Our Character, Our Achievements, Our Passions, and Our Future - to celebrate Canada鈥檚 150th Anniversary in 2017.
鈥淚t is truly an honour to have made it this far in the competition, through three rounds of judges, including a panel of notable Canadians, such as Paralympic and advocate Rick Hansen, former Governor-General Adrienne Clark-son, and Free the Children co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger,鈥� Smorodin said.
She graduated from Canora Composite School in 2010 and is in her practicum year of the nutrition program at U of S.
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