“Receiving the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award as an undergraduate was life changing. It gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams as a first-generation university graduate and opened doors I hadn’t imagined.”

– Kharoll-Ann Souffrant, Terry Fox Humanitarian Scholar

Arafat Fatade
Winnipeg, MB

Growing up in an immigrant household, Arafat learned the value of perseverance. She faced challenges of not being fully accepted, often experiencing microaggressions and pressure to assimilate. Rather than allowing these experiences to silence her, Arafat transformed her frustration into meaningful advocacy.

In Grade 9, she joined her school’s IBPOC group to address systemic inequalities. One of Arafat’s proudest achievements was creating an inclusive holiday calendar to reflect and celebrate diverse cultural traditions, helping every student feel seen and heard. She also organized her school’s first-ever Cultural Day and continues to design lessons for designated months like Black History Month to educate her whole school about the importance of honoring and celebrating different identities and histories.

Arafat’s dedication has earned her several school awards recognizing both her humanitarian impact and academic excellence, including the Academic Achievement Award and being named a two-time Scholar Athlete.

Arafat went on to lead a professional development day focused on cultural sensitivity and making the school community safer for marginalized voices, and now serves on her division’s Student Advisory Board, advocating for a more inclusive and supportive learning environment. In grade 10, she initiated Socktober, a project to collect winter supplies for Winnipeg’s homeless population. The project has donated over 1000 items and raised over $500.

Beyond school, Arafat mentors youth through Big Brothers Big Sisters and BGC Winnipeg, and volunteers her time at Meadowood Manor Senior Home.

Arafat is pursuing a Bachelor of Science Honours in Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta.

Bailey Clyne
Mississauga, ON

Bailey’s life experiences and adversities have shaped her into a kind and compassionate leader. She struggles with Dyslexia, has dealt with systemic bullying and faced emotional challenges when her mother battled cancer. Over time, Bailey re-framed these obstacles into stepping stones that helped shape her into the confident, outgoing person she is today.

She is passionate about social justice, equity and Indigenous rights and has spent numerous hours on advocacy work through her involvement as the first Indigenous Student Trustee at the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board where she represented the voices of 81,000 students.

Bailey’s strength comes from her involvement in the community. Since Grade 9, she has completed over 730 volunteer hours in her school and community.  Her most meaningful contribution is the Crochet Hat Project, which she started in the summer of 2021. Inspired by her grandmother, Bailey turned her crochet hobby into a humanitarian initiative.  Bailey secured a grant for her project which propelled her into teaching 18 indigenous youth how to crochet hats in the project’s first year. The hats were donated to indigenous communities across Canada. After four years, Bailey has taught a total of 42 youth crochet skills and has distributed 1034 packages to Indigenous schools in remote locations across Canada. As the project continues, Bailey is excited to see how many more communities it can reach.

Teaching others how to crochet has inspired Bailey to explore her passion for education and leadership in the Concurrent Education Program at Brock University.

Cameron Lee
Vancouver, BC

In 2015, Cameron was diagnosed with a congenital kidney condition. From that day, he endured ongoing pain, as well as multiple surgeries.

Hockey became his escape and just eight weeks after surgery against all expectations, he made his AAA hockey team. This experience revealed the power of sport and inspired his dream of becoming a doctor.

He later went on to work as a Sales Associate and Skate Technician at The Sports Exchange, where he met a customer who wanted to dispose of their old hockey gear. This is when Cameron developed the idea of refurbishing customers’ hockey gear for underprivileged youth who could benefit from the power of sport. Cameron has since grown this project, now called “Sports for Support”, to include more than 1000 donated and refurbished pieces of equipment.

He reached out to the Vancouver Canucks, who contributed over 500 new pieces of youth gear worth more than $10,000. Air North then partnered with Cameron to transport the equipment to youth in Yukon. His efforts gained the attention of national media and led to a meeting with Premier Ranj Pillai and his Cabinet.

In 2024, Cameron was elected School Captain and Valedictorian of his class at St. George’s School. Cameron also volunteers as a cardiac electrophysiology research assistant at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

Cameron plans to study Biology, Public Health and Business and aspires to be a physician specializing in rural medicine.  

Chloe Jobe
Calgary, AB

At 16, Chloe was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition causing her high school experience to look very different from her peers. Despite this, she channeled her frustration into action, organizing a book drive that collected over 350 books for a hospital Learning Centre. Raised by a single mother in a low-income community, Chloe co-founded the Education Collective YYC, providing free academic support to over 70 newcomers and low-income students across Calgary.

During her years in high school, Chloe rescued dogs from kill shelters, arranging free spay/neuter services for 243 dogs in Northern Alberta. She has volunteered with the Women’s Shelter, The Calgary Food Bank, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Camp CESAM, The Law Youth Society and The Luna Youth Advisory Committee, where she participated in monthly meetings and conventions to work with social workers and Calgary Police to help design policy supporting vulnerable, at-risk youth.

In the face of her unique challenges throughout her life, Chloe’s academic excellence shines. As an International Baccalaureate student, she consistently demonstrates critical thinking, leadership, and a commitment to excellence. Her passion for learning extends beyond personal growth, she strives to use her knowledge to make the world a better place. As she moves forward, Chloe plans to pursue her zeal for equity through research, examining the ways that policy impact education outcomes for Canadian youth.

Dev Katyal
Toronto, ON

Dev is an 18 year old dedicated conservationist and a youth leader.  At just 11 years old, Dev rallied over 50 kids to participate in a local cleanup effort in the Ottawa region, marking the start of his environmental activism. He also volunteers with OceanWise through their Youth to Sea Program and EarthEcho through their Marine Plastic Ambassador program.

Dev also launched MarineMatch, an app that uses AI to identify endangered species of fish. This innovative tool is now used by over 500 fishers in their community to help prevent overfishing. His project allowed him to receive the RBC 21 under 21 and the National Climate Awards.

Looking ahead, Dev hopes to expand his efforts by working on a global scale to tackle challenges such as climate change, food security, and access to education. Through collaborations with international organizations like EarthEcho, he aims to bridge gaps in resources and technology, ensuring that vulnerable communities can adapt and thrive in an ever-changing world.

Dev is currently studying Computer Science at the University of Waterloo.

Gwendolyn Van Wijhe-Bard
Coquitlam, BC

In January 2022, Gwendolyn experienced a life-altering trauma: the sudden loss of her father. Despite this, she transformed her grief into action by creating a social innovation project to support other young people impacted by loss.

After not receiving the support she needed at a local hospice, Gwendolyn found connection and healing through Lumara Grief and Bereavement Care Society. She was invited to join Lumara’s Youth Leadership Program and helped organize the Spring Youth Grief Camp. She later served as a Peer Mentor at Family Camps, helping grieving campers feel safe and supported.

Realizing that many youth shared her experience of limited grief support in schools, Gwendolyn began developing a grief resource package for teachers and school counsellors. She is receiving mentorship through the Gamar Foundation and working under the guidance of UBC grief researcher Dr. Catherine Hajnal. Together, they conducted two surveys of bereaved youth from ages 13 to 19 to inform the resource.

Gwendolyn believes that grief education is critical, noting that 3% of Canadian youth are bereaved. Her goal is to help schools better support grieving students and improve their emotional well-being. Inspired by Terry Fox, Gwendolyn is committed to improving the lives of grieving youth and building resilience through compassionate education.

Gwendolyn plans to attend Queen’s University and study to become a teacher, whilst continuing her volunteerism as a peer mentor at Lumara.

Kobe Li
Vancouver, BC

Kobe has loved basketball for as long as he can remember, deeply inspired by Kobe Bryant’s values of perseverance and hard work. However, his passion was challenged by rapidly degenerating shortsightedness, myopia, which began in Grade 3 and became a significant barrier in his life. 

In Grade 11, Kobe enrolled in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program at Port Moody Secondary School, where he chose to focus his extended essay on the effects of sleep on myopia in teenagers. He also started working as an optometric assistant at Westwood Eye Doctors. These experiences deepened his passion for vision care and inspired his most meaningful humanitarian work.

Kobe co-founded the 20/20 Mission Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to collecting and redistributing used eyeglasses. Motivated by his own visual challenges and working alongside two friends, the organization has since collected over 4,000 pairs of second-hand glasses and formed over 40 partnerships with clinics, schools, and businesses.

In April 2024, 20/20 Mission Foundation collaborated with Rayjon Share Care, bringing glasses and eye care to patients in a rural town near Mixco, Guatemala. They helped conduct eye exams and distributed glasses to over 450 people, giving the gift of sight to underserved communities. Kobe is committed to continuing this work and hopes to improve access to eye care globally. 

Kobe specializes in Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering within the Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences (iBioMed) program at McMaster University.

Marharyta Pavliuk
Windsor, NS

At 17 years old, Marharyta is driven by a deep commitment to understanding and supporting others. She left her childhood home in Ukraine on February 24, 2022—the day the war began—and journeyed through Poland, Austria, Italy, and France before settling in Canada with her family, supported by local volunteers.

While in Poland, Marharyta noticed the language barrier between Ukrainians and Poles. Using her knowledge of English, she became an informal translator, helping families navigate unfamiliar systems. This experience sparked her passion for bridging cultural and linguistic divides. In Windsor, she continued her volunteer work by offering translation services at local events and assisting at the community food bank.

Determined to help Canadians understand the personal impact of war, she has shared her story in speeches at Dalhousie and Acadia Universities to foster empathy and raise awareness of the human cost of war.

Marharyta credits her resilience and values to her parents, who prioritized education through every hardship. Inspired by Terry Fox, she believes being a humanitarian means acting with persistence and heart—not perfection. Now, as she prepares for university, Marharyta plans to become a psychology researcher, with the goal of exploring how trauma shapes behavior and how empathy can heal.

Michelle Wan
Markham, ON

Michelle is defined by their resilience, empathy, and dedication to family and community. Growing up, they navigated intergenerational trauma, an experience that deepened their commitment to helping others. Michelle’s close relationship with their grandparents inspired them to begin volunteering at senior homes at the age of 10.

Despite facing challenges at school, Michelle excelled. They earned national awards in healthcare, neuroscience, piano, business, and mathematics; competed on three sports teams; and maintained a 98% average in high school. In university, they balanced being a varsity athlete, working multiple part-time jobs, and volunteering at senior homes and hospitals to give back to the communities that raised them.

Michelle hopes to pursue medicine to provide compassionate care for older adults and build age-friendly communities globally. As a Cansbridge Fellow, they have been able to make an impact working abroad in Beijing, China and Tokyo, Japan.

“What makes life meaningful for me are small, everyday acts of love. These simple gestures of care and compassion are what I love about humanity and what I hope to offer those who have lost hope,” Michelle shares.

Michelle is currently studying Health Sciences at McMaster University.