1998 Harmony
Scholarship Recipients

Ali Adatia
Upper Canada College / Brown University, Rhode Island

As an active participant in his school’s outreach program, Ali assisted in several fundraising events for an organization in Brazil that provides food and shelter to Brazilian street kids. He has also been a member of The Ismaili Volunteer Corps, which welcomes refugee families from Afghanistan into Canada, gets them settled in Toronto and teaches them English.

Obaa-Yaa Amponsah
St. Basil-the-Great College School / York University

Obaa-Yaa was the founder and president of the Afro-Caribbean Club at her school where she organized several different cultural events. Outside of school, Obaa-Yaa has been a member of the Ashanti Canadian Multicultural Dance Troupe for the past ten years and has performed traditional African dances in Canada and the United States. In addition, Obaa-Yaa is also the captain of the Black Youth Taking Action Committee.

Aparna Bhattacharjee
Agincourt Collegiate Institute / University of Western Ontario

At her school, Aparna was actively involved in many cultural events. She was the vice president of the Colours Club. Aparna has also been involved as a musician and instructor of music in the Sruti Laya Arts Academy, which promotes the classical music and culture of South India.

Harold Clarke
Middlefield Collegiate Institute / York University

Harold has helped many young people of West Indian and African origins improve their speech and reading skills at various camps. As a member of Middlefield’s Black Cultural Awareness Club, he has organized black heritage events such as Kwanza celebration and Soul Cafe presentations.

Gail Cornish
Westview Centennial Secondary School / York University

Through her school’s Positive Peer Culture Program, Gail has assisted many other students by being a conflict mediator. She has also organized a Food Drive and a Christmas party for seniors in her community and has also been a volunteer of the Black Creek Focus Group, whose objective is to promote neighbourhood unity in the Jane-Finch area.

Cheridan Eygelaar
Pope John Paul II Secondary School / University of Toronto

In July 1997, Cheridan, along with 12 other Toronto high school students, participated in a co-op education program in Kingston, Jamaica. They travelled to Riverton, which is a less prosperous area in Kingston. Cheridan assisted in the remodeling and painting of a school and a home for the elderly. She also devoted a lot of time to teaching children in the area about anti-violence and anti-discrimination.

Charmaine Gonsalves
St. Joseph’s College School / University of Toronto

Charmaine established the Indian Student’s Association at her school. As a member of The Sister’s of United Colours (African American Club), Charmaine has assisted with the organization of events and assemblies promoting Black History Awareness Week.

Monique Huggins
Attended Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute, now at York University

As a founding member of the United Cultures Club at her school, Monique organized school-wide activities such as a multicultural lunch, a heritage bazaar, a world religions week, and a multicultural fashion show. Monique was also an active member of the Students and Teachers Against Racism and Sexism committee.

Salima Kheraj
George S. Henry Academy / University of Waterloo

Over the past four years, Salima has volunteered close to 1000 hours of community and cultural service activities through her involvement with the Henry Awards Program. Outside of school she was the head conductor of the Ismaili Muslim Youth Choir, making her responsible for coordinating different concerts and performances.

Sejal Patel
Dr. Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute / McMaster University

Sejal initiated World Tour ‘98, which was a festival that enabled students and parents to learn and appreciate different cultures from around the world. She was also the president of the Student Administrative Council.

Anna Rajpat
East York Collegiate Institute / University of Western Ontario

At her school, Anna has been a peer mentor and has organized and performed for Indo-Canadian Day and Citizenship Day. She also organized Harmony Week, which was designed to deal with the issues of racism and homophobia.

Lisa Saldanha
Sacred Heart Catholic High School / University of Waterloo

Lisa was vice president of the York Secondary Catholic President’s Council, a group comprising 13,000 students from the school board. She was responsible for organizing and co-hosting student leadership conferences. This year, Lisa was able to expand the conference to a two-day event with an emphasis on social justice.

Deepak Sethi
Sir Wilfred Laurier Collegiate Institute / University of Western Ontario

As president of the United Cultures Club, Deepak played a major role in raising cultural awareness with events such as a World Religions Week, a Multicultural Assembly and an International Day. He also participated as a speaker for Citizenship Court, where he described his personal experience as a first-generation Canadian.

Deena Shaffer
Northern Secondary School / University of Toronto

Deena has been an active member of Students for Social Justice, Women’s Issues Committee, and Amnesty International. She has also volunteered for the Toronto Food Bank and many other community organizations.

Joyce Tsui
Father Michael McGivney Catholic Academy / University of Toronto at Scarborough

Joyce has worked on several committees both in her school and at the board of education. She was the founder and co-chair of Gateway to McGivney, which welcomed new Canadians into the school. Joyce was also co-chair of the Anti-racism Committee, which promoted multiculturalism in the school.

Nimisha Visram
Dunbarton High School / University of Toronto

Over the past few years, Nimisha has participated in race related forums and promoted anti-racism, through groups such as Students Together Opposing Prejudice committee (S.T.O.P) in her school. In 1997 and 1998, Nimisha helped to organize forums with the Race Relations Committee of Pickering titled "Through Our Eyes."

Attia Zaidi
Sinclair Secondary School / York University

Attia has played an important role as a student member on the Ethnocultural and Race Relations committee at the Durham District School Board. The committee’s work consists of creating a resource document for school administrators on hate-motivated incidents and acts of discrimination. Attia has also been involved with a partnership project between the Durham District School Board and the Muslim community titled "Myths About Islam."