MIRAMICHI — Annica Collette is many things. She’s a 16-year-old student at Miramichi Valley High School who holds down a part-time job, a former counsellor at Camp Rotary and a rugby player. She has a passion for social and educational equality and spends much of her time in pursuit of it, an effort recently recognized on a national scale. Last Thursday, Collette received an Inclusive Education Awards certificate for starting a campaign called Spread the Word to End the Word. The presentation was made by Education Minister Jody Carr and Lt.-Gov. Graydon Nicholas at a ceremony at Government House in Fredericton. The campaign’s message is that words can hurt. And among the most hurtful is what Collette calls the “R-word,” for “retard.” “It has such a negative connotation to it, because it’s used to replace words like stupid and idiot and that could be associated with people with disabilities, which definitely isn’t true,” she said. As a child, Collette, who has Type 1 diabetes, attended Camp Rotary during Diabetes Week. In the summer of 2012, she was a counsellor when the camp hosted a week for people with disabilities. That’s when she came up with the idea for Spread the Word to End the Word. Collette remembers with awe her campers with disabilities, and how she learned from the experience. “It’s so important to think before you speak.” She said she used to hear people at school say the “R-word” without thinking, usually in frustration when something wasn’t going their way. In fact, Collette herself used the word in the past. But she’s pledged never to use it again, and she’s gotten the signatures of more than 300 staff and students at her high school pledging the same. “That’s so retarded,” is an expression she hopes she’ll never hear again. Collette’s other activities include serving as vice-president of the student council and taking part in a variety of school clubs. She has also started a Best Buddies program at her school, as part of the national charitable organization Best Buddies Canada. Best Buddies pairs students with fellow students who have disabilities as a means of fostering better understanding and encouraging inclusion. Twelve Miramichi High School Valley students are partnered with special needs students. “We actually did a dance with the special needs students in the variety show and won third place,” said Collette. “They were so excited,” No matter how busy she is, Collette said she makes time for issues that are important. Working with people with disabilities is rewarding, she said, and they appreciate her efforts to get them involved. Collette said she doesn’t understand why some students consider mental disability a barrier to interaction. “They see these labels and that’s all they really focus on. There’s so much more than that. We are more alike than different.” Her father, Terry Collette, said he and his wife, Sherry Mountain-Collette, are proud of their daughter’s achievements and goals. When she graduates, Collette wants to become an early interventionist, which would include going into people’s homes where there is a child with a disability, teaching the parents coping techniques and preparing them and the child for the school years ahead. It seems Collette already has an extensive resume in the works. “They might look a little different or speak differently because of a speech impediment or something, but what’s on the inside is the same.” Each year the New Brunswick Association for Community Living organizes the National Inclusive Education Awards Ceremony on behalf of the Canadian Association for Community Living as the cornerstone celebration of National Inclusive Education Month, said a news release. Each year the New Brunswick Association for Community Living organizes the National Inclusive Education Awards Ceremony on behalf of the Canadian Association for Community Living as the cornerstone celebration of National Inclusive Education Month, said a news release.