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10 years after Evan Grykuliak's death, other children carry on his legacy

If there was a fight on the soccer field, Evan Grykuliak was likely right in the middle trying to stop it.

It's been 15 years since Tara Jones taught Grykuliak when he was in Grade 6 at Rideau Park School, but that memory, and others like it, are fresh in her mind.

"If you've ever met 12-year-old kids … there's always a conflict. The girls, there's always a conflict. Even with the girls, Evan would step in," Jones said, with a little laugh as tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.

"Any time there was conflict, Evan was there to make it better.

"It's not cool to stand up and Evan didn't worry about being cool. Evan just stood up because it was the right thing to do."

Grykuliak was stabbed 10 years ago this fall at his 17th birthday party, during a confrontation with another teenager.

The Evan Grykuliak Memorial Society was founded in his honour.

For a second year, the society been the main sponsor of an event called The Power in Me, which brought together about 3,000 children from across northern Alberta at the Expo Centre in Edmonton earlier this week.

Jones co-ordinates the event, which is aimed at students in Grade 6 to 9.

"Times are tough in those junior years. We wanted kids to be able to come and have an opportunity to hear about some of the obstacles kids their own age and adults have gone through and how they didn't let it hold them back," she said.

The Power in Me showcased the courage of speakers, such as 16-year-old Nicholas Mudryk.

After surgery to stop a bleed in his brain, he was comatose. When he awoke, he had to learn to walk and talk again. That was just two years ago.

Now, he's back at Strathcona Christian Academy, where he's completing Grade 11. He's driving and even playing hockey again.

He hopes sharing his rocky road to recovery with other kids will inspire them.

"They can relate to me," Mudryk said. "This can happen to kids too and kids can recover just as well.

"It gives them courage and it gives me courage, too."

The tragedy of Grykuliak's death is shaping a legacy Jones hopes Grykuliak would be proud of.

"I think he'd see that kids are leading. Kids are standing up. Kids are making a difference with making other kids feel good and that's what Evan was all about," Jones said.

roberta.bell@cbc.ca

trevor.wilson@cbc.ca