When I first met Natálie, I was taken by how passionate she is about her art and how much love she puts into the work she does. With recent exhibitions at Planet Art Gallery and Lux Laundromat among other accomplishments, Natálie has already achieved an incredible amount by anyone’s standards at the young age of…
A few weeks back I had the absolute privilege of seeing classical pianist Jan Lisiecki perform alongside the Calgary Philharmonic in a dazzling display of ability and virtuosity. If you’re a classical pianist residing in Calgary, then you’ve probably heard a thing or two about Jan Lisiecki, the local Polish-Canadian pianist who captured the attention of the…
Nicole M’Carthy is a Grade 11 student at Western Canada High School who was nominated in the Leadership category for the 2014 ConocoPhillips Youth of Distinction Awards (a program of Youth Central). Nicole pulled through as one of three finalists, and ultimately received the award. I had the pleasure to sit down and chat with Nicole…
17-year-old Anthony Khem found his passion for dance and he’s been pursuing it ever since. This led to the creation of his own YouTube channels where he does dance covers of some of his favorite artists and also some original work. Hailing from Calgary, he moved to Burnaby to train for dance in order to…
I had the fortunate opportunity of interviewing the ConocoPhillips Youth Of Distinction Awards 2014 finalist for volunteerism, Sukhneer Kaur. Not only is she a determined and passionate individual but she is also a confident and humble spirit that aspires to make a change in the world we live in. After interviewing Sukhneer, I realized the beauty…
Aliya Karmali was the winner of the ConocoPhillips Youth Of Distinction Awards 2014 in the Sportsmanship category. She is a great athlete, an encouraging coach and a positive role-model to her fellow athletes. With her dynamic attitude, one can easily make out that she is a conqueror! I had an opportunity to interview this young…
This past week, I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down and chat with Amanda Calleberg, one of the ConocoPhillips Youth of Distinction Awards (YODA) finalists for the leadership category. ConocoPhillips Youth of Distinction Leadership Award To be given to a youth who has chosen to take a leadership role in bringing positive change…
Introducing ConocoPhillips Youth of Distinction Awards (YODA) recipient of the Volunteerism award, Taylor Lambie. “The Volunteerism Award is given to a youth who is truly selfless and dedicated to helping others. Though not necessarily in a leadership role, this youth has shown commitment to bettering their community by volunteering their time to a cause they are…
Admittedly, this odyssey you’re about to embark on may be longer than most of YAA’s blog posts, but I believe it’s worth your time, if only because it features not me, but Harrison Hart, a ConocoPhillips Youth of Distinction Awards (YODA) finalist for sportsmanship. Harrison, who is a Grade 11 student at Strathcona-Tweedsmuir, having just…
When I was assigned to interview the group, Got a Penny for Clean Water?, a finalist for the Environmentalism – Group category of the ConocoPhillips Youth of Distinction Awards, I didn’t know what to expect. It turned out that, coincidentally, the group that I was to interview were my classmates, which made me feel warm…
One may usually perceive Calgary as being the last place for a nature filled experience with all city lights that light up the sky, but youth photographer Joel Agarwal proves that Calgary is a nature-oriented city that is not solely run on the basis of technology. Last week I was able to catch up with…
Petrel Liu started a club in her school called Leaders of Change; they volunteer as a group every month. I interviewed her this month to learn more about some of the amazing work she does for our community. What inspires you to volunteer? This summer, I signed up to volunteer with the Mustard Seed…
For Sara Abdelrahim, Calgary was a vast, abstract idea of a community, not one that she actually participated in. This all changed when she joined the Immigrant Service’s Youth Volunteer Program back in February 2012. Since then Sara has accumulated well over 300 volunteer hours, and with her enthusiastic disposition and willingness to help and…
Kimia Tonounialasl is a student at Sir Winston Churchill High School in Grade 11. She volunteers at Cards for a Cure, Zoo Lights, Carroll Place, and Youth Central. Kimia takes initiative at various projects, is well organized and develops a good relationship with other volunteers. From talking to Kimia I have learned that she is a…
At age 17, Zahra is one of the most involved volunteers within our community. Not only does she volunteer with her high school on a regular basis, she also assists with an after-school girl’s group, where she helps empower girls at a young age. Zahra inspires to delve into the field of sciences this fall.…