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2015 Young Scholar Award Recipient
Thank you to all those who have applied for the 2015 Young Scholar Award! Our Young Scholar Selection Committee has been carefully reviewing all applications from across Ontario and selected the recipient and top finalists.
Malka Younas Raised in Toronto, Ontario, Malka Younas is currently in her final year of high school and hopes to become a university professor. Through teaching, she hopes to impart her love of helping to future generations and fulfill her dream of making a lasting contribution to society. Malka has consistently been ranked at the top of her class through elementary and middle school and resumed her title as the highest-ranking student in 2014. Never taking a break from trying to inspire change, she entered, and won two city-wide writing contests over the summer holidays. She has had two short stories tackling social issues published in Library and Archives Canada. In spite of her scholastic track record, Malka retains a sense of humility and finds pleasure in using her skills to tutor her peers and younger students. Taking a proactive role in her local community since the age of 7, she has volunteered in a variety of social services programs and worked with people of diverse backgrounds and ages, including seniors, immigrants, children, and individuals with mental and developmental disabilities. Malka has managed to overcome her timidity and expend time and effort in taking a lead role in school clubs. She is President of Bike Club and Founder of Gladdened, Accompanied, Motivated, Enlightened, and Supported (G.A.M.E.S.) Club. She is also a mentor her school's Computer Club, where she trains future student leaders as a mentor. Her altruistic character, manifested through her volunteerism pursuits and polite conduct, has been noted by several teachers. She has received awards particularly for her unwavering integrity, honesty, and general citizenship. 2015 Young Scholar Award Finalists Thank you to all those who have applied for the 2015 Young Scholar Award! Our Young Scholar Selection Committee has been carefully reviewing all applications from across Ontario and selected the top 5 finalists.
Charlotte Lilley Charlotte Lilley is a Grade 9 student at Glenview Park Secondary School in Cambridge, Ontario. She is currently completing International Studies Preparation courses, precursor to the globally recognized International Baccalaureate Programme. Since an early age, she has been involved in making a difference in her community. At the age of 8, she decided to donate 13 inches of her hair to Mississauga-based charity Angel Hair For Kids, an organization that provides wigs to children going through cancer treatment who might not be able to afford the wigs otherwise. Since then, she has continued to help both her local and global communities in a variety of areas. These have included starting a 'Milk Bag Program' - a program that creates sleeping mats out of milk bags - at her school, raising money for Free the Children's 'We Create Change' campaign to provide people around the world with fresh water, and donating her hair on two more occasions, in addition to a financial contribution - the result of a personal fundraising campaign - to benefit Angel Hair For Kids. Along with playing three instruments - the piano, the flute, and the oboe - Charlotte likes to frequent second-hand book shops, travel, and spend time outdoors hiking, swimming, and canoeing. Charlotte is very excited to be chosen as a finalist for the Young Scholar Award, and would like to thank the selection committee for considering her application.
Austin Martins-Robalino Austin has lived and been raised in Rexdale for all 17 years of his life. Although Rexdale is what the media calls a high needs at risk neighbourhood, he has not let the preconceived notions define him as a person. To Austin, "it does not matter where you are from, it matters who you are". He is currently in grade 12 and enrolled in the A.P. program at Father Henry Carr C.S.S., where he has constantly maintained a high academic standard (98.75% overall average in the 2014-15 academic year). For the past 4 years, Austin has participated in the school's drumline, FHC Percussion (one of only 2 drumlines in the Toronto Catholic District School Board), as snare, tenor and lead bass. As part of the drumline, Austin has performed at elementary schools, competitions and even at a TFC home opener. Drumline requires a steadfast commitment of 6 hours a week. He is most proud of his accomplishment of being the only student in the history of Father Henry Carr to have ever achieved the bronze and silver levels of the Duke of Edinburgh International Award, and have recently completed the requirements for the gold level of the award. The Duke of Edinburgh Award is an "Award that is self-directed and develops the whole person - mind, body and soul." Austin has also been volunteering at his local elementary school for the past four years, taking on duties such as preparing presentations, helping the boys softball team, and tutoring students in the after school program. His other extra-curricular activities include volunteering at graduation, participation in French Poetry Night, multi-cultural night, curling, soccer, and ACCTS. Austin was recently chair of the EU at Catholic Schools United Nations Assembly (CSUNA) XXI, the first student from Father Henry Carr to be a chair at CSUNA. For his post-secondary education, Austin is applying to the University of Toronto for Engineering Science and to York University, Western University and University of Waterloo for Civil Engineering.
Siddarth Srikanth Over the course of his high school career, Siddarth has been involved in various activities and initiatives at different levels (i.e. school, Halton Region and Milton communities). As a student leader, Siddarth has represented his school at the Central Ontario Leadership Seminar, the Horizons Leadership Conference, the Halton Skills Competition, and twice at the Ontario Student Leadership Conference. Furthermore, he was selected in each of the past two years to be one of two Student Senators for his school, tasked with acting as the voice of CKSS' students and raising awareness of issues that tend to get overlooked by the School Board. As a Senator, Siddarth designed and hosted a discussion at the Halton Youth Leadership Seminar. At CKSS, Siddarth has consistently contributed in a variety of roles. In 2014, he was elected as Vice-President of Student Council and as Link Crew Commissioner; this year, he have been elected as President of Student Council and continue to be an enthusiastic Link Crew participant. In addition, Siddarth has regularly been among the top Honour Roll students; recently, he earned accolades for the highest marks in grade 11 English, Drama, and Law. Outside of the classroom, Siddarth spends a significant portion of his time getting involved in the community. Until as recently as two years ago, Siddarth was part of the Air Cadets, earning awards such as 'Cadet of the Month' several times and putting in many hours of community service. Recently, he was selected through an interview process to be a Youth Leader at the Reach Out Centre for Kids (ROCK), putting in numerous hours in the community with a child with autism. Siddarth's experiences and achievements over the course of the past few years have greatly contributed to his personal growth and enrichment of his high school experience.
Snow Wangding Snow Wangding is a passionate supporter of human rights and education, leader in her local community, and promotes awareness of mental and physical health. Through her volunteer work with numerous organizations, such as the St. Joseph's Hospital and the Guelph Cambridge Chinese Alliance Church, Snow advocates for equality across all barriers and speaks for those whose voices are not heard. Note: The selection process is very in depth, taking into account all the incredible information provided on each application. The Young Scholar Selection Committee's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. |
