Across Canada and beyond, Loran volunteers represent a diverse spectrum of business & community leaders–educators, entrepreneurs, nonprofit champions, civil servants, and professionals spanning science, medicine, law, the arts, and commerce. Each year, dedicated assessors and interview volunteers bring their distinct experiences of values‑based leadership to one of the most intensive undergraduate award selection processes in the country. They step into an unconventional role: not just reviewing applications, but also seeking out the intangible qualities that reveal a young person’s exceptional potential for integrity-driven, community-oriented leadership.
Loran volunteers recognize that there isn’t one ‘right way’ to be a Loran Scholar, and that the demonstration of character, service, and leadership is unique for each individual. They acknowledge that effective and inspirational leadership can take many forms—that it is more of a practice than a position—and, therefore, that leadership potential cannot be measured by a list of activities, accolades, and accomplishments alone.
Through thoughtful observation, insightful questions, and reflective dialogue, assessors and interviewers help uncover the stories and motivations beneath applicants’ achievements—the courage behind quiet decisions, the empathy that drives everyday actions, and the integrity that guides young people in building stronger communities.
We asked three Loran Selections volunteers to reflect upon some of the more intangible qualities and values that help them identify applicants who show sparks of truly authentic and extraordinary leadership potential.
For Bineta Ba, Director of Partnerships and International Development at the Marcelle and Jean Coutu Foundation in Montréal, whose work advances access to healthcare, education, and youth development across Africa and Haiti, that spark often lies in authenticity.
“Beyond achievements, what guides me most is authenticity… when there is coherence and reflection behind the choices.” In her experience, the “Loran factor” emerges when humility and ambition coexist: when a person is driven not by a desire to impress, but by a sincere commitment to contribute.
“The ‘Loran factor’ appears when a person combines humility and ambition… not only through what they do, but through the reasons that motivate them.”
She recalls moments where leadership revealed itself quietly: in an applicant’s recognition of their community’s generosity toward them, and in their sincere desire to give back. Demonstration of this sense of purpose-driven responsibility, she notes, is often a clear indicator of integrity.
“It is also the courage to think outside the box, to go beyond the comfort of what is known or agreed upon. It is not necessarily about being revolutionary, but about acting with sincerity and conviction to contribute, in one’s own way, to making our world a little – or a lot – more beautiful.”
Andrea Vagianos, a longtime arts leader and former Managing Director of Tarragon Theatre, is now an arts consultant. Her career has also included extensive service on arts boards and peer assessment panels, most recently on the Toronto Arts Council’s Theatre Committee.
She shares, “I am always struck by honest and thoughtful responses. Confidence is important, but some demonstration that a candidate is considering a question that’s posed, revealing that they are aware that life is a learning proposition for which they may not have all the answers, is especially compelling to me.”
Andrea Vagianos, a longtime arts leader and former Managing Director of Tarragon Theatre, is now an arts consultant. Her career has also included extensive service on arts boards and peer assessment panels, most recently on the Toronto Arts Council’s Theatre Committee. She shares, “I am always struck by honest and thoughtful responses. Confidence is important, but some demonstration that a candidate is considering a question that’s posed, revealing that they are aware that life is a learning proposition for which they may not have all the answers, is especially compelling to me.”
Evidence of enduring commitment has also stood out to Andrea. She remembers encountering a candidate who, after volunteering their skills to support a small local business, continued to check in long after the initial need was met, demonstrating an understated but powerful example of sustained, community-oriented service.
Loran alum, Ilakkiyan Jeyakumar (’16), is a Research and Development Engineer at Biohub in San Francisco, building novel instrumentation to accelerate basic science research and developing low-cost diagnostic technologies for global health. On weekends, he volunteers to support vulnerable populations.
Reflecting on his own selection experience as a Loran Scholar, Ilakkiyan shared, “It left an indelible mark, and conversations and reflections from that experience still bounce around my mind to this day. I hope that I’m able to pass along a similar spark of inspiration, in much the same way that selection staff and volunteers did for me all those years ago.”
For this alumnus-turned-selections volunteer, the intangible values of Loran Scholars are unmistakable when present. “Every now and then, a hunger makes itself known in candidates… they seek to see the world as it is and toil to make it as it should be. This is often paired with genuine humility and an innate motivation to bring others along.”
For Ilakkiyan, integrity-driven leadership reveals itself through thoughtful, community-oriented action—the sort that results from a unique combination of foresight and ambition, and is taken not for personal gain, but for “the continuity, longevity, and amelioration of a community.”
Through their contributions to Loran’s selections process, all of the aforementioned volunteers demonstrate the very type of community-strengthening action described by Ilakkiyan. Across each of their perspectives, a common thread emerges: Loran Scholars are not defined by what they have done, but by how and why they do it. They model a fundamental and consistent alignment of values, intention, and action that signals the potential to lead with integrity and serve with purpose. And this extraordinary commitment to leading in accordance with one’s values and purpose is practised by Loran volunteers themselves. At every stage of Loran’s selection process, they dedicate themselves to service, grounded in a shared belief in supporting young people who will accept the challenge of building a better world. Our sincere gratitude to the nearly 800 individuals, including 127 mentors, for their pivotal role in recognizing untapped promise and shifting scholars’ trajectories.