In the echoes of Ethiopia’s civil war, as a four-year-old, my family sought refuge in Canada, igniting a silent struggle of adaptation. In Canadian school hallways, grappling with a foreign language became a pivotal step, forging resilience and shaping my identity.

Survival birthed leadership seeds, watered by struggle’s tears and nurtured by hope’s warmth. Scars, both visible and unseen, became the ink of triumph over adversity.

Now, as a student trustee, my journey is a reservoir of leadership experiences. Empathy from struggles fosters understanding of diverse student needs. Communication skills, refined in a new language, bridge groups, ensuring every voice is not just heard but understood.

Resilience, a powerful problem-solving tool, guides me through educational complexities. Cultural sensitivity, from navigating two worlds, forms the foundation for initiatives celebrating diversity.

My scars aren’t hidden; they’re badges of honour, a testament to strength from adversity. As a student trustee, leadership is advocating for every student’s well-being. My story inspires, reminding peers that triumph is within everyone’s grasp.

In this role, I am not just a representative; I am a testament to the power of education and resilience. My journey from war’s ashes to the Canadian dream is a promise to lead with compassion, understanding, and a belief in every student’s potential, waiting to be kindled into brilliance.

Hello! My name is Shantelle and I’m a Grade 11 student at Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute. My goal is to create a safe and healthy learning environment for all students in WRDSB by advocating for their needs and creating a plan of action.

By being a responsible, collaborative, and an advocating person, it’s led me to many different leadership opportunities where I have gained experience that I believe will help achieve my goal of creating a safe environment for everyone. In my school, I’m a member of Senior Band, DECA (business club), Music Council, Christian Student Association, and founder of the Women’s Empowerment Club. Outside of school, I’m an active member of SVP Teens and am a CAGIS (Canadian Association for Girls in Science) Teen Ambassador. I’ve also been doing horseback riding for 9 years, play piano at my church, and love reading.

My proudest accomplishment is when I headed the Care Packages Project (an assortment of menstrual and body care such as shampoo/conditioner, pads, lip balm, toothpaste, hand warmers, etc.) to give to women in shelters. Through this event I was able to engage with club members and directly impact the lives of women in need.

The important things you should know about me are I always persevere through challenges, enjoy collaborating with others and believe it’s the best way to brainstorm and execute ideas, and when I have a specific goal, I’m determined to achieve it.

My name is Kennedy Durrell-Vander Meulen and I am a Grade 11 student at KCI. I would be honoured to be considered for the role of Student Trustee in the North Riding. I’ve always had a passion for community activism, which can be traced back to Grade 5 when I represented Waterloo’s Ward 7 in the City Council For A Day Contest with former Mayor Dave Jaworski. I’ve run several fundraisers, notably in Grade 7, I crocheted poppies to raise money for the legion for remembrance day.

I’ve won many leadership awards and genuinely enjoy director roles. I am keen to use my strong leadership skills, communication skills, and team oriented mindset to ensure the 64,000 students of WRDSB are well represented.

In the KCI community I’m an enthusiastic member of FedProv and Leadership, as well as our Cross Country team, Volleyball team, and Rugby team.

Outside of school I play competitive volleyball for the KW Predators. In 2020, I began volunteering for the David Suzuki Foundation in the role of a Butterflyway Ranger.

As a member of the LGBTQ2+ community I would like to work towards furthering a diverse and inclusive space in our education system. I would also like to work with other marginalised groups and uplift the voices of minorities with the goal of cultivating an education system that empowers everyone.

Hello! My name is Janah, and I am a Grade 11 student at Laurel Heights Secondary School. My goal is to create a healthy and diverse learning environment that listens to its students and what they need.

I am always looking for new creative ways to make school a safe place where students are encouraged to share their ideas, have discussions, and express their identity. I am a proud member of the Muslim Student Association, the Female Empowerment Movement, Nuit Blanche, Business SHSM, the Forecast, Best Buddies, and the Asian Student Associtation. Outside of school, I am a part of a non-profit organization dedicated to uplifting Palestinian youth in the diaspora, Sporas; I am also a part of Peace Innovators, a scholarship and mentorship program dedicated to giving students who are passionate about a problem in their community and providing them with the resources to fix it; and lastly, I am the proud founder of Students For Palestine, an organization dedicated to bringing awareness of anti-palestinian racism and hate throughout the Waterloo Region District School Board.

Hello, valued students and staff of the WRDSB, my name is Yasin. I am an eleventh grade student at Laurel Heights Secondary School.

I was inspired to run for trustee after seeing how easy it was for politicians to get into positions of power by lying. If they can do it, surely I can too! Except for the lying, of course, this is the most truthful and honest campaign the WRDSB board has ever seen.

Unlike most other candidates, but like most of you reading this, I have no experience with leadership positions, so my views will be closer to the average student’s, and not biased based on previous leadership positions.

As a representative of the people, I promise that in every vote I am allowed to take part in*, I will never express a single opinion even slightly against your own!

*Editor’s Comment: Student Trustees are not allowed to take part in board meeting votes

Now that you’ve read my biography, you should realize that voting for me is definitely, absolutely, 100%, completely in your best interests. Thank you, and remember to vote for me!

Hello everyone! My name is Nancy Ge and I am currently in Grade 10 at Laurel Heights Secondary School (LHSS). My mission and vision as a student trustee in the WRDSB is to foster a safe, meaningful, constructive, and enjoyable learning environment for all students. To prepare myself, I have actively engaged in volunteering and community service initiatives that have deepened my understanding of our community. These experiences include volunteering as a teaching assistant, participating in community clean-ups and fundraisers, assisting retirement homes, participating in contests to increase awareness of local veterans and Remembrance day, and performing in the KW Multicultural Festival. Within my school community, I am proud to serve as a student council member of the Grand River Chinese School, as well as a club executive and a member of the tennis team at LHSS. I strongly believe that we can improve our learning conditions by incorporating diverse opinions and perspectives. I am particularly passionate about addressing issues such as the cleanliness of our schools, promoting the acceptance of diversity, and increasing classroom engagement. As someone who is keen on improving the learning experience of schools in the WRDSB: your vote is not just a vote for me, but a vote for positive change. With your support, I aspire to become a student trustee who would actively consider and address the concerns, opinions, and voices of every student. Together, we can create a learning environment where everyone feels safe, valued, and empowered.

I am Maauz Ghazi, a 16-year-old Grade 11 student at Bluevale Collegiate Institute. My journey in high school has been marked by a strong commitment to community service, leadership, and active participation in various school clubs. My experience coaching and playing Soccer has taught me the values of inclusivity, teamwork, and mentorship. This involvement has not only contributed to my own personal growth, but it’s also provided me with insights on building positive and collaborative environments. In addition to my community service, I have taken on leadership roles within numerous school clubs, which enhanced my organizational and teamwork skills. Running for Student Trustee aligns with my values of empowerment, responsibility, and transparency. If elected, I want to give more power to the sudents, ensuring that their perspectives and opinions help shape our collective educational experience.

My name is Brandon Hall, a Grade 11 student at Elmira District Secondary School, and I believe that I am a good fit to be your student trustee for the 2024-2025 school year. I have always found communication to be a vital skill, which I have further developed through experience acting in theatre productions, curling, participating in robotics, and volunteering whenever possible. I have been raised in theatre and have been learning proper communication for a long time. I have also spent many years curling in my community. During this time, I have worked with many different teammates at many different skill levels. Whether I am learning or teaching, I still believe that good communication is needed and can help to make a team. In addition, for the past few years I have participated in FIRST Robotics at my school. FIRST is an organization based around STEAM and inclusivity within the field. I follow this value heavily and believe that being able to have diversity within our communities will help to make our schools a better place. Lastly, I have done a lot of volunteer work in my community, always trying to help out whenever possible. I have even started my own tutoring organization that runs off student volunteers so that families do not need to pay for tutoring, as I believe it is something everyone deserves. Overall, I feel I am a good candidate for your 2024-2025 student trustee. Thank you for your consideration and support.

Hey, I’m Feiyang! I am a Grade 11 student at Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute. As a WRDSB Student Trustee, my focus is placed on addressing policies that disproportionately affect our student community. Recognizing that the foundation of progress is systemic change, I am dedicated to inaugurating the integral reforms for our student future.

My ongoing advocacy journey includes being the Kitchener-Conestoga district representative in the Ontario Legislative Assembly’s Model Parliament program. Through active participation in political, philosophical, social justice, and economic debates, I’ve earned numerous national-level debate awards, amplifying my voice on issues that matter.

I understand the significance of inclusive policy-making and actively seek to understand diverse perspectives. During the pandemic, I assisted doctors by translating and creating informative videos, ensuring information reached a broad demographic. At school, I contribute to the Student Activities Council and proudly serve as the president and founder of the Asian Student Union. Once the school bell rings, I continue to educate myself through my position at the YMCA as a swim instructor and lifeguard. I am beyond proud to be acknowledged by the City Of Kitchener, earning the Kitchener Youth Action Council – Social Action & Justice award.

With these experiences and as I continue to learn about the numerous intersections, I am committed to using my role as Student Trustee to drive meaningful and inclusive change.

Spencer is currently a Grade 11 student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute. He is involved with a variety of school activities including concert band, DECA, and FedProv. In addition to these commitments, Spencer cofounded the WCI Youth Council, an initiative which gave students a voice in regional politics through direct meetings with the mayor and other politicians. Suffice it to say, he has some experience managing extracurricular commitments involving business and governance.

These responsibilities have given him strong leadership and collaboration skills and a passion for identifying problems, creating solutions, and identifying even more problems in those solutions. Spencer’s campaign focuses on restoring the faith of students in the student trustee system and the board as a whole. Supporting students suffering from addictions like nicotine, gambling, and even social media is also a priority of his.

In his rapidly diminishing free time, Spencer plays badminton, reads, and pets his cat (cat permitting). For anyone interested in specifics, he takes lessons at KC Badminton Club, is currently reading Brandon Sanderson’s The Rhythm of War, and has no idea what breed his cat is (she’s real fluffy though).

Spencer is getting tired of writing in the third person and would like to thank you for your consideration. Seriously, I appreciate anyone who is interested and tenacious enough to read and watch through everyone’s student trustee campaigns. If you have any questions about me or my ideas, email me at robis8867@wrdsb.ca or shout my name from a rooftop (response not guaranteed).

Hey I’m Anna, a Grade 10 student at Elmira District Secondary School. I accidentally hit the fast forward button in this game and now I’m set to graduate a year early. I am a huge Swiftie! Taylor Swift’s songs are my soundtrack to life, and I’ve probably choreographed a hallway dance routine or two in her honour. Because, let’s face it, high school is way more fun when there’s a pop beat to strut to.

Much like her evolving music style, I adapt and conquer whatever challenges high school throws my way. When I noticed the lack of accessibility for visually impaired students at EDSS, I felt compelled to get the railing installed. Because I am ALL about making a real impact. My why? Simple. I want to level up high school for all of us. Because why settle for just passing when we can win this game together?

It’s a sneak peek into the kind of Student Trustee I aim to be – someone who takes action, someone who turns challenges into victories. I’ve got the cheat codes to make your high school experience legendary. So, if you’re tired of navigating the high school level without power-ups, join me on this adventure. Let’s level up together!

My name is Conrad Tan, and I am a Grade 11 student at Laurel Heights Secondary School. My interests include fitness, sports, science, politics, speaking and healthcare. In my school community, I am highly involved in many clubs, including Aerospace, Science Club, Fed Prov, and the Mental Health Committee. In Fed Prov, I hold position as a leader of my ministry during the scheduled conference. Outside of school I play an active role as an educator through being a founding partner of PiCK UP Tutoring, a tutoring establishment that strives to rethink the goals and methods of education through student-first holistic methods. Through my three years of tutoring students in various settings and subjects along with experience as a piano teacher for young children, I have gathered valuable experience as an educator and mentor. This knowledge gained in a teaching position has helped me understand what methods in education work and are effective. In addition to my teaching experience, my experience as a student allows me to understand the unique challenges of students in today’s classrooms, what motivates them and how to help improve student well-being, equity and outcomes in the current education system. As such, I have a strong sense of both what our education system excels and what it could work on to maximize student well-being and outcomes.

Hello! I’m Elaine, a Grade 11 at LHSS, and a National Advisory Council Executive at Canada FBLA. I became familiarized with the organization when I became a National Finalist at their annual conference, and from there, quickly became an executive. But during this time, I noticed a crucial issue. There’s a large disparity between FBLA and another business organization who’s more popular in the Canadian business community.

I thus made a mission: I was going to help FBLA narrow the gap. From there, I created multimedia content and testimonials, showcasing the human talent and real benefits of joining the organization. I set up six chapters and connected with speakers to form events, and I pitched recording our events to be put on our YouTube channel. As recognized by my co-executives, I saw a problem and took dedicated efforts to improve it. My hard-working spirit will carry through to the WRDSB.

I’ve made innovative changes at my three clubs. As the Co-Editor of the Laurel Heights school newspaper, I secured our first-ever sponsor and launched a wave of physically-printed issues to broadcast our work. In the Computer Science Club, I created a schoolwide event with a CS-oriented alumnus speaker.

I’m also committed to advocacy, as shown through me speaking out on weight stigma at TEDxColumbiaLakeYouth. And at a camp, I coordinated with the president of the program to facilitate a startup showcase.

I excel at communication and leadership, and I’m dedicated to empowering you and creating meaningful change in our board.

Hello hello! My name is Jasmine, and I’m a Grade 11 student at Laurel Heights Secondary School. My core value consists of “living high school life to its fullest”, which stems from my passion for youth empowerment and creativity. Yes, although I dislike studying, I love doing cool things where my actions make a positive impact on the world, and I hope I can bring forward these values as a student trustee.

Similar to the WRDSB school board, which embodies thousands of students, every perspective and action, no matter how small, matters. I realized that even little things, from picking up trash in my neighborhood, offering equipment to my neighbors, or making dumplings with my grandparents add up, and help me understand the world! I also love committing myself to long, tedious projects, which in the long-run produce fascinating results. For example, I organized IgnitionHacks V.4, which accumulated dozens of innovative projects, organized a local fundraiser, which delivered 200+ thank you cards to the Grand River Hospital, and I have an ongoing Youtube channel that discusses relatable student problems.

I’m also a pretty normal teenage girl. I’m obsessed with binge watching dramas, listening to music, and baking. I hope, as a student trustee, I can expand every WRDSB student’s realm of possibilities, and create an accessible and comfortable school environment.