Our 2024 UWC Toronto Scholarships were awarded to the following young women:
EMILY YE - Bloor Collegiate Institute
Emily’s motto must be “Pay it forward.” This is clearly evident in the hours she has dedicated to improving school life, from addressing sanitary issues through school management meetings, initiating a peer mentorship program, to collaborating with the community YMCA teen council. Emily has been driven to give all students a voice. Her desire is to become an engineer who will make education more accessible and equitable regardless of needs and backgrounds. High praise comes from her reference who stated “Students in Emily‘s cohort recognize how she has inspired them and they verbalize this. Junior students express their desire to emulate the same and are looking for ways to engage more in school and community activities to make a positive and long-lasting impact.” You have left a mark Emily.
SARAH OSMAN - Central Technical School
Sarah proudly stands as an advocate for social justice in her community, focusing on health and housing opportunities for all. She credits her parents for her advocacy work as her mother and herself sought asylum from political persecution in Sudan before settling in Canada. Her father has not yet been able to join them. Being only fifteen when she came to Canada, Sara has since immersed herself in school and community life as a newcomer, navigating many obstacles assimilating into a new culture and school system. She currently tutors middle school students, is the outreach coordinator for the Muslim Student Organization and a member of the U of T ithink program, having a direct hand in creating the school's mission statement. Her work with the University of Toronto Health Science Mentorship Program has inspired her to pursue family medicine and continue her political advocacy work.
HAFSA KARA - Central Toronto Academy
Hafsa has a unique talent of supporting her passion for social action through an artistic lens. As a daughter of political refugees from Turkiye, she bonded with newcomers to Canada and championed a number of initiatives such as women’s rights, cultural diversity and acceptance and environmental programs. Her passion for art and design led her to win a project pitch to develop and have produced a bangle for Noorelle Jewelry. The proceeds from this sale went to support an anti-trafficking initiative with the Women’s College Hospital. She has accepted a place in Fashion and Design at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her reference letter concludes with the statement, “Staff across the school see Hafsa as a quietly confident, innovative, hard-working, fiercely kind and caring and extremely humble shining star that will continue to positively impact her surrounding communities.”
ALVINA CHOWDBURY - Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute
Alvina has dedicated herself to supporting underprivileged communities in Toronto. Some of her biggest accomplishments began during COVID-19 teaching isolated seniors to connect through technology. This has continued to be a comfort to many to this day. She then transitioned to volunteering countless hours at the Holland Bloorview Hospital working with children with developmental delays and received an award for recognizing a student for brilliance and quality of care, respect and partnership. But she may be most proud of her work with the team creating an application to support those in the addiction rehabilitation process. As her reference noted, Alvina’s leadership, empathy, critical thinking and unwavering commitment to addressing the concerns of different marginalized populations will certainly support her academic journey into the medical profession.
TEKARONHIAKANERE MARACLE - Rosedale Heights School of the Arts
Tekaronhiakanere has one of the most wide-ranging, cross- disciplinary backgrounds we have encountered. Her dedication to the arts is evidenced by starring in major school productions, directing and stage crewing. In her community involvement in school, she has used her arts background to educate those around her with a better understanding of our Indigenous population by cofounding the Indigenous Students Association, through art installations, activities and announcements. But even with all this focus on the arts, she maintains an incredible academic average in the STEM subjects. She hopes to pursue her education in physics and chemistry. Her reference concludes with this statement. “She has a very promising life ahead of her and I strongly believe that your institution will be proud to invest in her future!” We absolutely agree!
VITTA ZAREMBA - Ursula Franklin Academy
Vitta is on her way to pursuing a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree with her outstanding academic achievement in the sciences. A sense of community and belonging is very important to Vitta and she has worked through her commitment to the student council by introducing a social media account to post student-parent engagement, planning school carnivals and semiformal dances. She has been a speaker at welcome assemblies and monthly staff meetings and is integral to developing anti-bullying initiatives. Outside of school, Vitta works tirelessly volunteering as a teacher’s aide to teach young children reading and writing in Ukrainian. Vitta hopes to extend her support to the many Ukrainian families currently immigrating to Canada, helping them settle and find solace from the war. As her reference says, “I never have to wonder if Vitta will follow through on her commitments. It is just a part of who she is!”
NIRA ROBERTS - York Memorial Collegiate Institute
This young woman only arrived at York Memorial in this past year, but in that short time has made a lasting impression on the school and community at large. Nira’s incredible perseverance has enabled her to overcome many obstacles to achieve such exemplary success on her own. Not only does she achieve high academic standards- enough to get her a place in biomedical science at York, but she also plays varsity sports and commutes an hour to school each day. Her community hours spent in Durham and now in the Weston area are committed to healthcare and diversity in a community with food insecurity, homelessness, poverty and diabetes. Her resilience is admirable and has paved a path to continued success in her life.
LEETIA EEGEESIAK - Inuksuk High School, Iqaluit
Leetia has embraced her home, her culture and her environment. Besides being involved in many sports, hockey, basketball, soccer and volleyball, she has been working with and supporting dogsled teams since she was twelve. She also volunteers at the Iqaluit Humane Society. With the dog teams she has assisted in many youth programs that give Iqaluit’s young people the opportunity to participate and learn culture-based activities and practices. Her goal is to be a vet and work in Nunavut to help animals in need. At present the territory has no veterinarians at all. Leetia will be studying pre-veterinary science at the University of Prince Edward Island.