In February, 90 students dedicated to making the world a better place will convene in Toronto as Loran Finalists for our National Selections. These outstanding young people were selected from more than 6,000 others who applied for the 2025 Loran Award. Only 36 of these students will be named as the newest Loran Scholars in March.
The Loran Scholars Foundation believes the key to building a brighter future is empowering values-driven youth ready to embrace the challenge of leaving the world better than they found it. To find these young people, we look beyond marks to identify students with a guiding sense of purpose: those who demonstrate strength of character, a deep commitment to service, and exceptional leadership potential.
This year, finalists are travelling to Toronto from every corner of the country, from Black Creek, BC, to Whitehorse, YT, to Clarenville, NL, some of them leaving their community or getting on a plane solo for the first time. Over the course of the National Selections weekend, taking place Feb. 21-23, finalists will participate in a rigorous schedule of back-to-back interviews, seminars, and workshops. The process is challenging, but also highly rewarding—a chance for students to grow, reflect, and build connections with other community-engaged students.
No two candidates are the same, but united in their desire to create positive change, here are a few ways finalists have already uplifted and continue to uplift their communities:
- Secured a grant to build a prototype inspired by virtual-reality technology to support people living with epilepsy.
- Founded a provincial Islamic Relief Collegial team, and expanded it to six post-secondary institutions within the year, with three more joining soon.
- Organized and led advocacy and fundraising campaigns for orphans, raising $70,000, and sponsoring more than 100 orphans.
- Started an Instagram business at 13, making embroidered hats, canvases, patches, etc.
- Representing Team Ontario in Wheelchair Racing, and aspires to represent Canada internationally in the future.
- Founded an organization connecting students with the elderly population through performing arts in senior’s homes.
Naming only 36 Loran Scholars from a large pool of candidates with such incredible potential requires dedication and diligence. Nationals weekend is the final phase in Loran’s in-depth and nationwide selections process, which is carried out through the work of hundreds of volunteer assessors and interviewers, all of whom also embody the qualities of character, service, and leadership we look for in candidates.
Offered in partnership with 25 Canadian universities, the Loran Award is the only award of its kind in Canada. Those selected as Loran Scholars benefit from a four-year leadership-enrichment program, financial support for undergraduate studies in the form of a tuition waiver and living stipend, diverse opportunities for experiential learning, one-on-one mentorship from a business or community leader, scholar gatherings, and a long-term community of peers, alumni, and supporters from coast to coast to coast.
Finalists not selected as Loran Scholars are eligible to receive a one-time $6,000 Loran Finalist Award tenable at any Canadian university. At the conclusion of our semi-final interviews, 70 students who distinguished themselves at that level received one-time $3,000 Loran Provincial & Territorial Awards. Overall, we will be investing close to $4M in 160 students across Canada this year.
Together, more than 680 Loran alumni form a diverse ecosystem of purpose-driven leaders pushing boundaries across an array of fields, such as technology, the arts, law, science, education, and finance. Moreover, eight Loran Scholars have gone on to clerk for the Supreme Court and 25 have been selected as Rhodes Scholars. Though their work spans a multitude of sectors and disciplines, Loran alumni share and continue to be guided by Loran’s core values of character, service, and leadership. Wherever their paths lead them, Loran Scholars share a lifelong commitment to leaving things better than they found them. Read more about the impact Loran alumni are making here and here.
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Media Contact
Lisa Paul, Manager, Community Engagement & Communications
lisa.paul@loranscholar.ca
2025 Loran Finalists
Sohaib Abdillahi
École Secondaire Publique Gisèle-Lalonde
Ottawa, ON
Carly Akoto
James M. Hill Memorial High School
Redmondville, NB
Hamid Ali
Edmonton Islamic Academy
Edmonton, AB
Ziyana Amershi
Kitsilano Secondary School
Vancouver, BC
Madison Anstey
Prince of Wales Collegiate
Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, NL
Daisy Bains
École Kwantlen Park Secondary
Surrey, BC
Ella Bertelsen
Brentwood College School
Yellowknife, NT
Geneviève Bertrand Nadon
Collège catholique Samuel-Genest
Ottawa, ON
Himani Bhatt
Dakota Collegiate Institute
Winnipeg, MB
Una Bilcar
École secondaire catholique Pierre-Savard
Ottawa, ON
Cole Blakeway
Samuel Robertson Technical Secondary School
Maple Ridge, BC
Charlotte Bolduc
Aldershot School
Oakville, ON
Ethan Bui
St. Theresa of Lisieux Catholic High School
Richmond Hill, ON
Ayesha Bukhari
Ernestown Secondary School
Amherstview, ON
Jaider Cabarcas
Cégep de Sainte-Foy
Québec, QC
Clara Calosi
Cégep de Rimouski
Rimouski, QC
Akram Tahar Chaouch
Collège André-Grasset
Montréal, QC
Ryder Cheeptham Dobson
South Kamloops Secondary School
Kamloops, BC
Jocelyn Coates
Clarenville High School
Clarenville, NL
Audrey Debgorski
Ecole Saint Patrick High School
Yellowknife, NT
Viktoria Dermendzhiyska
Monarch Park Collegiate Institute
Toronto, ON
Chioma Ezeonyejiaku
Simonds High School
Saint John, NB
Stella Fairman
École St. Patrick High School
Yellowknife, NT
Marilou Frenette
École Marie-Gaétane
Kedgwick, NB
Lauren Gallant
La Crete Public School
La Crete, AB
Iliyan Gangani
Crescent School
Toronto, ON
Sullivan Gaudet
Westisle Composite High School
Tignish, PE
Joti Gokaraju
Walter Murray Collegiate
Saskatoon, SK
JoyGold Goodluck
Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School
Toronto, ON
Seth Goyal
The Woodlands School
Mississauga, ON
Samaël Grant
Cégep de Matane
Matane, QC
Kate Hagens
Notre Dame Collegiate
High River, AB
Olivia Harapiak
Gimli High School
Gimli, MB
Lana Harrell
St. Stephen High School
St. Stephen, NB
Becky Harrison
École secondaire catholique de Plantagenet
Saint-Pascal Baylon, ON
Arwyn Hicks
Chippewa Secondary School
North Bay, ON
Irina Iankova
École Sainte-Anne
Fredericton, NB
Nardeen Ibrahim
Chatelech Secondary School
Sechelt, BC
Myrna Ishimwe
École secondaire catholique régional de Hawkesbury
Vankleek Hill, ON
Tara Jackson
Saint Mary’s Academy
Winnipeg, MB
Chloe Jobe
John G. Diefenbaker High School
Calgary, AB
Lona Kandil
St. Matthew High School
Ottawa, ON
Youssef Khedher
Cegep Heritage College
Gatineau, QC
Aria Law
York House School
Burnaby, BC
Kyo Lee
Laurel Heights Secondary School
Waterloo, ON
Anya Lera
Porter Creek Secondary School
Whitehorse, YT
Ignacio Gimon Lopez
Westmount Charter School
Calgary, AB
Amaya Lord
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School
London, ON
Prerana Manoj
Bishop Allen Academy
Toronto, ON
Mallory Maschke
Uxbridge Secondary School
Goodwood, ON
Megan McCallum
Holy Heart of Mary High School
St.Johns, NL
Kalem McNeil
Breton Education Centre
New Waterford, NS
Arabella Mew
Eric Hamber Secondary
Vancouver, BC
Sabrina Midou
École secondaire publique L’Héritage
Cornwall, ON
Corben Mikol
L.V. Rogers Secondary School
Salmo, BC
Anita Monteiro
Cawthra Park Secondary School
Mississauga, ON
Ella Moser
Horton High School
Wolfville, NS
Ahmad Mousattat
Dawson College
Montreal, QC
Natasha Murphy
Altario School
Altario, AB
Élisabeth Nadeau
Cégep de Lévis
Lévis, QC
Edna Nortey
William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute
Toronto, ON
Okey Okafo
Ridley College
Binbrook, ON
Seryne Ould Rabah
École Secondaire Mosaïque
Halifax, NS
Shay Parreira
Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School
Burlington, ON
Eddy Paez
Niverville High School
Niverville, MB
Mattias Pollitt
Shawnigan Lake School
Black Creek, BC
Leila Pozzi
Dawson College
Montréal, QC
Anisha Prahallad
Fleetwood Park Secondary School
Surrey, BC
Anushka Punukollu
St. Edmund Campion Secondary School
Brampton, ON
Chloe Quine
Mackenzie Community School
Mackey, ON
Anand Ajith Radhika
Citadel High School
Halifax, NS
Alessandro Raniolo
St. Michaels University School
Kingcome Inlet, BC
Aaliyah Rashid
Maritime Muslim Academy
Halifax, NS
Asma Razi
Windsor Islamic High School
Windsor, ON
Sarina Sajjadi
École Secondaire Catholique Renaissance
Aurora, ON
Sophia Sangiuliano
Our Lady of The Bay Catholic High School
Collingwood, ON
Sophie Simms
Corner Brook Regional High
Corner Brook, NL
Rocky Sloan
Dover Bay Secondary School
Nanaimo, BC
Sanay Sood
The Woodlands Secondary School
Mississauga, ON
Margaret Spelman
Pasadena Academy
Pasadena, NL
Magfira Ali
Britannia Secondary School
Vancouver, BC
Aishwarya Tandon
Bur Oak Secondary School
Markham, ON
Mirari Ubani
St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School
Tottenham, ON
Gwen van Wijhe-Bard
Centennial Secondary School
Coquitlam, BC
Shravya Verma
Aden Bowman Collegiate Institute
Saskatoon, SK
Aidan Vissers
Villanova College
Vaughan, ON
Lynn Wang
Bernice MacNaughton High School
Moncton, NB
Sarah Watson
Rothesay High School
Quispamsis, NB
Weichen Xu
Sacred Heart Catholic High School
Newmarket, ON
Angelina Young
W.J. Mouat Secondary
Abbotsford, BC