As a secretary of her school’s social justice club, Nardeen has helped organize food drives, clothing drives, and other fundraising events for her community. She is a member of her school’s leadership, grad council, and yearbook teams, and has coached a Grade 8 girls’ volleyball team. Nardeen volunteers at a local retirement home, and she has worked part time for several years, including at a pharmacy and pizza place.

Shravya helped co-found and open a Saskatoon branch of the ARTex coding society, where she works with the YMCA to offer free coding programs to youth. She started an immigrant cycling initiative in her city and helped host an online youth-mentor conference. In the summer, she runs art camps from her studio. Shravya is involved in her school’s student council, basketball team, and badminton team, and she is pursuing an IB diploma.

Stella is the president of her school’s Students Against Drinking and Driving (SADD), a club she reinstated in 2023. She will be attending a SADD conference in New Zealand to explore Indigenous initiatives and bring new insights to the North. A dedicated Inuit community leader, Stella organizes cancer fundraisers and regularly volunteers locally.

Chioma is the president and founder of her school’s Black Students’ Association. She created a peer- tutoring program at school to help students in math and English. Born in Nigeria, Chioma was a member of her school’s student government, where she organized protests and led a march to the principal’s office to protest unfair rationing to girls during a food shortage. She is also a U-Report ambassador with UNICEF. In her spare time, she enjoys playing badminton with her family, as well as cooking and photography.

Kate tutors younger students, is the captain of her volleyball team, and a chair of her MP’s youth advisory committee. She works as a lifeguard/swim instructor and on a local farm, and is a founding coach of her local, competitive Lifesaving Sport club. Kate is also passionate about honouring Canadian soldiers; she participated in an educational program in France and Belgium commemorating the First and Second World Wars and helped repatriate the story of a soldier from her hometown.

Audrey has been actively following her passion for dancing for more than 10 years. For the past two years, she has been co-president of her school’s social justice club, which focuses on giving back to the local community, and co-chair of her school’s Relay For Life event, which fundraises for cancer research. Audrey also loves being outdoors.

A devoted lover of the outdoors, Alessandro hails from Gwa’yi, a remote village on the BC Coast. He is a Kwakwaka’wakw historian with a passion for genealogy and has created a nationwide family tree for his community. He’s a boarding prefect at his school and has led numerous trips through its outdoor leadership program. Alessandro has spent his last three summers employed as a cultural worker. He plans to develop an athletics and culture-focused boarding school in Gwa’yi so local youth can pursue education in their home community.

Aamna is pursuing a B.Sc. in computer science at the University of British Columbia. As a coordinator for UBC’s Student Alumni Council, she helps organize socials and professional development workshops for fellow students. As a personal project, she also collaborated with a nonprofit to help design and develop their website. In her spare time, Aamna enjoys spending time outdoors and going for runs.

Chloe is enrolled in the general sciences program at the University of British Columbia and hopes to pursue a career in health. She is working the BC Society of Transition Homes, a provincial organization that works to prevent and end violence against women and children through services and programs. During her free time, she also plays competitive volleyball, works out, and bakes.

Ashley is pursuing a B.Sc. in sustainable agriculture and environment and is seeking out new, revolutionary approaches to improve our food systems from both food sovereignty scholars and community advocates alike. He completed his first year of undergrad in UBC’s Land One program, engaging with several experiential learning opportunities and finding a like-minded community of passionate students. His friends and family will never hear the end of what he has to say about seeds. Ashley spends his free time serving low-cost meals at a local food security café, playing Zelda, and exploring Vancouver with his friends.