Mathieu Chin is a third-year Kinesiology student at the University of Calgary, majoring in Biomechanics. Following this degree, he will work towards the completion of medical school, where he currently holds conditional acceptance into the Cumming School of Medicine’s Undergraduate Medical Education program in 2020 through the prestigious Pathways to Medicine Scholarship Program.

He is currently an undergraduate researcher at the Sports Injury Prevention Research Center, one of the International Olympic Committees research centers for injury prevention, where he is looking at the biomechanical risk factors of sport-specific movement tasks in youth basketball players. Likewise, his work in evaluating the effects of body checking policy in youth ice hockey players has had an immense impact on the reduction of injuries and concussions for youth players across Canada. He also has interest in the field of Orthopedic Biomechanics, as well as the neurological disease of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. He is currently a volunteer and the Education Coordinator at the Thrive Center, a member of the Scholars Academy, and the Faculty of Kinesiology Representative for the Students’ Union, where he is working to on various mental health initiatives and increasing work integrated learning experiences for Kinesiology.

Mathew Dueck is currently pursuing an Honours Bachelor of Indigenous Social Work at Laurentian University, situated on the traditional territories of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek and the Wahnapitae First Nations. With nēhiyawak (Plains Cree) and Red River Métis roots, and raised in the Mennonite tradition, Mathew aspires to apply his insights as an up-and-coming researcher and policy developer to issues of accessibility, mental health, and Indigenous representation in post-secondary education. Similarly, motivated in utilizing the cultural seeds of his upbringing in Manitoba, along with his respectful connections to Mistawasis First Nation, Mathew has continued to promote the inclusion of those who have, like him, been faced with marginalization. Met with the additional challenges of having a disability, his research aims and career interests occupy the intersection between innovative advocacy and transformative legislation, where his passion for human rights and culture have already earned him a new name, proffered by elders in the Indigenous community: Gimewan Niimi (Rain Dancer). Buoyed by a vision for inclusive educational experiences that find ground in the teachings of the Cree and Michif peoples, Mathew continues to stand as a paragon of diversity and resilience, sowing the seeds of truth and reconciliation for generations to come.

Taylor Irvine is a senior undergraduate student in the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto. Her education exposed and intrigued her to different worldviews and governing structures, pressing social justice issues, and the intersection of religion, gender, human rights, and public policy. She has led multiple cross-cultural initiatives both on and off campus to build a more supported and connected student body and bring students from different cultural backgrounds together. She has created and implemented knowledge translation projects in Kenya through stakeholder engagement with doctors, policy makers, and patient families. Through this project, she intends to provide accessible information about cancer and health care to empower patient families to improve their health outcomes. Taylor plans to develop a career in human rights policy and knowledge translation to support women and marginalized communities and their self- determination.

Owen believes in the power of student empowerment to address the challenges facing education and healthcare in Canada. His older brother is his greatest source of inspiration; growing up with a sibling with Klinefelter’s disorder and a series of complicated mental health challenges has motivated Owen to advocate for children and students with special physical and mental health needs. Owen has improved the educational experience of students at McMaster University by teaching wellness and self-care to students as a Teaching Assistant, promoting multidisciplinary collaboration as Co-Chair of the 3rd Annual McMaster Child Health Conference, and celebrating the undergraduate student voice by serving as the Editor-in-Chief of McMaster University’s Undergraduate Health Sciences Journal, The Meducator. Owen is also a published, award- winning youth poet and Co-Captain of McMaster University’s Varsity Men’s Foil Team. An aspiring clinician, he is currently finishing his Honours BHSc specializing in Child Health at McMaster University, and is an alumnus of The Academy for Gifted Children – PACE. In recognition of his dedication to community service and student engagement in the community of Hamilton, ON, Owen has been awarded the Governor’s General Bronze Medal, and is the prospective awardee of the 2018 Chancellor’s Gold Medal at McMaster University.

Ethan Pohl is a 4th year student on the traditional land of the Abenaki people and the Wabanaki Confederacy at Bishop’s University. Ethan is pursuing an Honors degree in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology, Law, and Social Policy and a minor in Political Studies. Ethan aims to amplify the student voice through varied avenues: from his work as the Station Manager of Bishop’s Toast Radio – the student-run online radio station – to his position as a member of the Maple League Student Council, and through research and academic scholarship. He takes pride in creating spaces for new ideas and difficult conversations. By challenging dominant conceptions of students as passive consumers, Ethan hopes to create an academic culture where students are intimately involved in their own learning at every step.

Following his undergraduate studies, Ethan aims to pursue graduate studies in sociology with the eventual goal of contributing to academic scholarship while instructing sociology students in ways which empower them. Ethan’s work has been published in the Justice Report and the International Journal for Students as Partners, and he has presented at both Canadian and international conferences on sociology, teaching and learning, and international security.

Mariam Ragab is a third year Computer Science student at Dalhousie University with a minor in Social Justice and Inequality. Mariam is passionate about youth education and empowerment, and international public policy. From being an avid debater, code instructor for children, and a teaching assistant for courses at Dalhousie, Mariam likes to fill her time with different ways to give back. She is passionate about international human rights, given her background as an immigrant to Canada from Egypt. Last December, she was given an opportunity to judge top debaters at the World University Debate Championships, where she was exposed to the perspectives of top debaters and intellectuals from around the globe. Mariam is also a passionate volunteer for Global Vision, acting as the Atlantic coordinator for the organization, having co-organized two National Youth Ambassador Caucus’s, an Arctic Youth Ambassador Summit, and a roundtable in Halifax. She is especially passionate about Canada’s North, and sharing stories of resilience within the region. Mariam also had the opportunity to represent Canada as part of the official Canadian youth delegation to APEC 2018, where she had the opportunity to present on challenges and opportunities in the digital age to changemakers from the Asia Pacific Region.

Hayat Showail’s work in her community shows her passions of environmental sustainability and true diversity, inclusivity, and equity in the Canadian culture. Hayat was born in the United States and has moved sixteen times in her lifetime. She has resided in the United States, specifically in the Midwest in the states of Missouri and Indiana as well as the South in Georgia. Hayat also completed her middle school and half her high school education in the Middle East in Beirut, Lebanon where she first found her love for community work by tutoring underprivileged children. She knows her privilege of travel and wishes to give back as much as she can by immersing herself in each new community she comes to. Currently in Halifax, Hayat is an advocate for change and growth, no obstacle is too great to conquer. She is starting difficult conversations around racism, tokenism, and equity with administrative authorities to stop injustice little by little. Hayat is also an employee at Dalhousie’s career centre where she helps students everyday begin their path for their future.

Tonya-Leah Watts is from Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island, and is currently completing her Honours BSc in Biomedical Sciences at Trent University with a minor in Indigenous Studies. She has received several scholarships and awards recognizing her exemplary academic achievements and exceptional community leadership and involvements, and has been involved in research and mentorship programs at McMaster University, the SickKids Research Institute, and the University of Toronto. Tonya-Leah is working towards building a medical career in which she can combine western and Indigenous knowledge to deliver better quality care to Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Tonya-Leah always makes time to keep her other priorities in balance, such as her family, friends, school/community involvement, and her passion for music, all of which have played major roles in her path to where she is today. She is a gifted and dedicated leader, advocate, scientist, musician, and mentor who believes that cultural revitalization and the sharing of Indigenous voices is an act of resurgence and strength, and that reconciliation comes when others are ready to listen to these voices. Ultimately, Tonya-Leah seeks to live a life in which she can proudly represent her heritage as well as always follow her heart.

Tingting is a fourth year BHSc (Honours) student at the University of Calgary. She is passionate about meeting a core but often invisible purpose of post-secondary: fueling curiosity to seed meaningful interactions between people of all perspectives and backgrounds. These connections lead to a more caring community, in post-secondary and beyond. Inspired by Humans of New York, she founded Humans of UCalgary (HOUC) to share the stories of her campus. Over the past four years, HOUC has gained 5,000 social media subscribers in 45 countries and published the university’s first book of photojournalism. To help the broader community benefit from applying the principles of photojournalism, such as open-mindedness and empathy, to daily life, she initiated the Human Connection Community Program, which facilitates conversations between hundreds of strangers. Off campus, she volunteers with Alberta Health Services, presented her neuroimaging research at the World Congress on Brain Injury, studied public health in Singapore and India, and worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company. Through her travels and interdisciplinary adventures, she has realized that even brief moments of human connection challenge assumptions, stimulate creativity, and enrich life. She aspires to a career combining healthcare, media, and community-building.

Enav is an ambitious scientist, a prenatal and parental rights advocate and a mental-health awareness activist. She is a student at the undergraduate Entry-to-Practice Doctor of Pharmacy program (PharmD) at the University of British Columbia (UBC), where in addition to a full course-load, she conducts research in the areas of medication adherence and mental health during pregnancy. Enav believes in the importance of keeping mothers in post-secondary education and providing them with the support they need to succeed. Being a student-mother herself and observing the high drop-out rate that is endemic in women post-pregnancy, this topic is very important to her. Prior to starting the undergraduate PharmD program, Enav completed a Master’s degree. During her graduate studies, she served as the Vice President University and Academic Affairs of the Graduate Student Society at UBC where she advocated for better conditions for pregnant and post-partum student-mothers at the university, provincial, and federal government levels. As an involved member of her community, Enav formed a meeting group for UBC student-mothers. The group works together to ensure every member of the group is feeling supported in their academic journey. In addition, Enav works to raise awareness of mental-health concern among university students.