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.

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.

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.

Studying oceanography and political science at the University of British Columbia, Baljot is passionate about advocating for the rights of marginalized populations. He serves as an executive for the UBC Sikh Students Association and conducts independent research on the effects of heat waves on marine algal blooms. Baljot co-leads a youth initiative dedicated to promoting access to literary and cultural resources for incarcerated youth. He spent his Loran not-for-profit summer working at Yukon University’s Whitehorse Correctional Centre campus, supporting inmates’ educational journeys, on their road to rehabilitation and self-healing. He enjoys hiking, traveling, and good conversation in his free time.

Gerardo is majoring in neuroscience for his undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia. For his Loran public policy summer, he worked as a program developer and coordinator at Alberta Neuroscience, applying and expanding his skills in the neuroscience community through policy, and outreach work. On campus, Gerardo stays involved as the treasurer for MealCare, a food rescue initiative, and volunteers with Project Mind to help address mental health struggles.

Max is currently studying gender, race, sexuality and social justice at the University of British Columbia. Outside of the lecture hall, he is also developing his skills in marketing and business. He is currently the marketing director of the on-campus thrift store and the brand partnerships coordinator for the largest student-run social enterprise on campus. He also continues to develop new programming for underprivileged youth in his hometown through his nonprofit Holidays For Hope.