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Youth Award recipients
2020 Award recipients
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 Youth Awards. Due to the current situation, the annual in-person Youth Awards event has been cancelled.
To protect the health and safety of our community, we are acknowledging and celebrating the award recipients online along with a video message from Mayor Little.
Congratulations to all of our recipients!
Category: Recognition and Outstanding Achievement
Recognizes young people who have made great personal strides, overcome personal or societal barriers, or demonstrated great skill in music, academics, art or sports.

Justin Walton — Windsor Secondary
Justin has made great personal strides, completing hours of work experience at a local car dealership and auto parts store as part of the Work Experience Program at Windsor Secondary School. In the future, he aspires to become a mechanic.

Florence Durocher — Windsor Secondary
Over the past two years, Florence has demonstrated outstanding leadership in her role coaching students in grades nine and ten. She excels as a coach by creating a positive and inclusive environment for all players.

Lisa Gray — Windsor Secondary
Lisa has overcome personal barriers and become a confident and humorous individual with a strong work ethic. She explored her interest in animals while contributing volunteer hours at the Capilano River Hatchery through the Work Experience Program at Windsor Secondary School.

Niko Williamson — Mountainside Secondary
Niko has demonstrated determination and tenacity while overcoming challenges and displaying significant personal growth, to become a leader and advocate for both herself and others. She channels her passion for yoga, mindfulness, restorative justice, and other activities to create meaningful connections and build community.

Miles Oldknow — Windsor Secondary
Miles regularly participates in the youth programs hosted at Parkgate Community Centre. His kindness, humour, and ability to create an inclusive and judgement-free space helps build meaningful connections and a sense of community for local youth.

Jordan Charles — Mountainside Secondary
Jordan is an active member of the Mountainside Secondary School community. He actively participates and contributes to the social justice program, yearbook committee, and school social life.

Maya Mars — Mountainside Secondary
Maya has overcome personal barriers and will graduate with honours this spring. She is a talented artist, actor, percussionist and leader who has given back to her community in her role as a youth instructor, inspiring other young people to pursue their passions for acting and music.

Dakota Strong — Hollyburn Family Services Wired 4 Success Program
Dakota has gained wisdom, empathy and insight in her personal journey. She recently completed Hollyburn Family Service's WIRED 4 Success program and obtained full time employment working with young indigenous mothers; an area that she is deeply passionate about.
Category: Youth Community Enhancement
Recognizes young volunteers who have made positive contributions to the community by providing at least 75 hours of service on a committee, or by working with a local organization or group.

Sam Pescott — Handsworth Secondary
Sam is an advocate for mental health and has contributed hundreds of hours of service to this cause. She is a committed member of the Jack.org Club Handsworth Chapter, whose mission is to obliterate the stigma of mental health. This year, Sam coordinated 350 students in a variety of Wellness Week initiatives at Handsworth.

Kaitlyn Fraser — Driftwood Dance Academy
Kaitlyn has served as a volunteer assistant with Driftwood Dance Academy for years. She stands out as a reliable role model and mentor at the Academy, offering a caring demeanour and listening ear to both faculty and students.

Bethanea Chou — Carson Graham Secondary
Bethanea has a passion for community building and has contributed nearly 300 volunteer hours as a Peer Leader with the Catching the Spirit Youth Society (CTS). Her contributions to the community have made her into a natural leader who inspires those around her.

Olivia Asgari — Crofton House School
Olivia is a grade 12 student at Crofton House who has contributed to a long list of volunteer groups, both locally and globally. She always puts others first and is constantly thinking of the impacts her actions have on others and our planet.

Kate Sheardown — Argyle Secondary
Kate is a dedicated volunteer, contributing 225 hours of service as a grade 10 student towards a multitude of causes. She is reliable, consistent, and able to handle sensitive situations with children who may be nervous or uneasy.

Daniel Tyson & Peter Le — Argyle Secondary
Daniel and Peter co-founded the Tabletop Club at Argyle Secondary to create regular opportunities for students to be able to play board games. With the simple yet powerful goal of making someone’s day just a little bit better, the club has grown to approximately 40 members and offers a place to share moments and spend time with friends.

Sage Narita — Carson Graham Secondary
Sage has devoted hundreds of hours of service working with Ocean Wise through the organization’s Aqua Camps and YouthToSea Leadership programs. He is currently working to reduce plastic pollution by promoting the use of refillable water bottle stations within his local community.
Category: Outstanding Youth Friendly Business/Supporter of Youth
Recognizes a person or business that did an exceptional job in hiring or training youth, providing opportunities to youth or providing funding, support, or services to young people.

Safeway Parkgate Village
The Parkgate Village Safeway is an outstanding supporter of youth in the Deep Cove and Mount Seymour community. Their donations have enhanced the Parkgate Youth Centre drop-ins to allow the youth workers to better connect with local youth and by allowing extra funds to be spent on much needed items for the youth programs and centre.
Category: Outstanding Youth Team
Recognizes a group who has completed a minimum of 50 hours per person of community or school service to enhance programs or services in their school or community.

YouthLAB
This year’s YouthLAB team created an innovative arts journal project to help reduce stigma around mental health in their communities.
The group created an arts-based journal filled with their reflections, messages and explorations surrounding youth mental health through writing, poetry, visual art, and photography.
Members include:
- Nikita Amini
- Andra Chitan
- Mary England
- Shadi Madani
- Mya Nevin
- Sarah Pollard
- Natalie South
- Chloë Skyes
- Ashton Ying
2019 award recipients
Here are the recipients of 2019 Youth Awards, presented by Mayor Little and Council. Congratulations to all of our recipients!
Category: Recognition
Recognizes young people who have made great personal strides, overcome personal or societal barriers, or demonstrated great skill in music, academics, art or sports.
- Tiernin Hoyle — Dorothy Lynas Elementary School
- Shaye O’Donnell — Argyle Secondary School
- Lisa Peramaki, Kallym Nicoll, Nevada Romas — Mountainside Secondary School
- Amber McIntosh, Jonathan Hannah — Seycove
- Misuzu Tosa — St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School
- Sam Maxwell, Shandly Dowling, Shenagh Weeks — Windsor
- Anna-Elaine Rempel — Capilano University
Category: Youth Community Enhancement
Recognizes young volunteers who have made positive contributions to the community by providing at least 75 hours of service on a committee, or by working with a local organization or group.
- Alana Titerle — Carson Graham
- Kate Walker — Sentinel Secondary School
- Kimia Nouhi Kashani — Sentinel Secondary School
- Jillian Kitt — Queen Margaret’s School
- Shaunti Bains — Capilano University
Category: Outstanding Youth Friendly Business/Supporter of Youth
Recognizes a person or business that did an exceptional job in hiring or training youth, providing opportunities to youth or providing funding, support, or services to young people.
- Ava Music and Arts Center
- Creativ Music Center
- Deep Cove Starbucks
- NorVan Boys and Girls Club
- Paul Moretto
- Total Therapy
- The Home Depot
Category: Outstanding Youth Team
Recognizes a group who has completed a minimum of 50 hours per person of community or school service to enhance programs or services in their school or community.
- Capilano Youth Advisory Committee
- Handsworth Secondary School:
- Ali Borujerdi
- Andres Delgado
- Andrew Kershaw
- Bowen Xiao
- Charlotte Ticehurst-Wong
- Danny Kim
- Dennis Quek
- Don Lee
- Eamon Ma
- Griffin Lee
- Kian Anjam
- Lauryn Thrift
- Luca Le May
- Niki Booker
- Shahaab Oshidary
2018 award recipients
Here are the recipients of 2018 Youth Awards, presented by Mayor Walton and Council. Congratulations to all of our recipients!
Outstanding Youth Team Award
This award recognizes a group who have completed a minimum of 50 hours per person of community or school service to enhance programs or services in their school or community.
Team: Vancouver Coastal Health Congregate Meals Program at Parkgate Community Centre
- Sentinel Secondary — Annudesh Liyanage
- Saint Thomas Aquinas — Bella Haaf, Celine Liu
- Windsor Secondary — Braelyn Gandossi
- Other — Caitlin Lowe, Khatidja Malick, Stephanie Lowe
Youth Recognition Award
This award recognizes young people who have made great personal strides, overcome personal or societal barriers, or demonstrated great skill in music, academics, art or sports.
- Argyle Secondary School — Cameron Joyce, Ella Haysom, Joe Delahaye, Kerryanne Calllahan, Nathan Lirenman, Sarah Huxley, Will Palmer, Zoie Phillips
- Mountainside Secondary — Adelle Mintoft-Graystone, Angeline Segato, Emily Nahanne-O'Donaghey, Hayden Dobie, Lucy Watson Weston, Stanfield Zafir Kassam
- Seycove Secondary — Aidan Harding
- Windsor Secondary — Molly Trinkl, Sydney Treasure, Tania Ajikan
- Capilano University — Madi McWilliam
Outstanding Youth Friendly Business/Supporter of Youth Award
This award recognizes a person or business that did an exceptional job in hiring or training youth, providing opportunities to youth, or providing funding, support, or services to young people.
- Derek Palmer and Maplewood Farms
- Tine Moberg-Parker
- Terry Bulych
Youth Community Enhancement Award
This award recognizes young volunteers who have made positive contributions to the community by providing at least 75 hours of service on a committee, or by working with a local organization or group.
- Argyle Secondary — Caden Dignard-Campbell, Hannah Greenfield, Johannes Jurenka- Ruehle
- Handsworth Secondary — Avin Alimohammadi
- Sutherland Secondary — Jordanne Burgess
- Windsor Secondary — Nick Martel
- Other — Daniel Shaw