Jeremy Dias Scholarship - Past Recipiants
2008
Calvin Cheung
Recognizing the issues surrounding homophobia in today's society, Calvin decided to work with various high school teachers to set up a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) club at Pierre Elliot Trudeay High School. Through many stuggles and hardships, a small club was formed and from then on, the battle began. Various events were hosted to get students involved in combating homophobia and raising awareness of the issues at hand. Movies such as "Get Real", "Saving Face", and "Imagine You & Me" were shown on various nights which gave students a sense of what gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people go through everyday. The most successful event that the club hosted was the Day of Silence where a select group of students and teachers would keep silent for the entire day which depicts a typical day that a portion of our society has to go through.
Calvin became the president of the first GSA club of his high school
and through the support of many teachers and other clubs of the school,
he has been able to create a space for all members of society to feel
welcome and safe in their environment one step at a time. He has encouraged
teachers and guidance councellors to become open enough to make students
feel that they actually have a place to belong to. By spreading awareness
throughout the school, Calvin's hope of reaching out to even just one
person in pain can finally be realized.
Amélia Thorpe-Gosley
Amelia has been heavily involved in the fight to end homophobia from a young age. She started her Junior High's first-ever Gay Straight Alliance after recognizing the need to address the issue of homophobia in both the school and community, and to create a safe and supportive place for students. Amelia has developed an interactive presentation for students to educate them on homophobia, it’s effects, and GLBT issues in society which she presents within the schools in her community. Amelia has helped organize the annual Day of Silence at her school for three years and she recently established the first annual ‘Rainbow Day’ at her high school, engaging students in a spirited display of support for GLBT equality and the fight against homophobia and discrimination. She has also initiated two ‘Project Rainbow’ murals in her schools to symbolize diversity of all types. Amelia also represented her high school on the GSA Roundtable, a new venture of the Youth Project in Halifax. This gave her the opportunity to be a voice for both her school and the youth of GSAs everywhere and allowed her to speak on the subject of Homophobia in Schools at a Human Rights Conference.
Besides her dedication to the fight to end homophobia, Amelia was active
in her school’s Peer Support, Youth Against Racism and Discrimination
and Environmental Action groups. She was also Yearbook 08 Editor, Student
Council representative, played violin in the Dartmouth String Orchestra,
and was a lead in her school’s musical presentations. Amelia volunteers
within her church and community and hopes to continue her work during her
studies at Mount Allison
University in Sackville, New Brunswick.
2007
Aisha Omar
Recognizing the homophobia and misconceptions associated with AIDs in her city of Pickering, Ontario, along with the recent increase of AIDs in the Durham Region, Aisha worked with her high school teacher, Mr. McKinnon, on a conference. Before the conference, students of all grades were quizzed on their AIDs knowledge to gage which aspect of the disease students were misinformed about. Shockingly, many of the students still believed that AIDs was a disease only prevelant in Africa and through out the homosexual community. This conference was held at her high school, Pine Ridge Secondary School, and involved AIDs Durham, faculty, administration and other students. Members worked together to brainstorm ways to incorporate more AIDs knowledge into the curriculum and find other ways to break down these misconceptions in the region.
Aisha Omar has also worked to raise cultural tolerance and celebrate multiculturalism. Aisha Omar volunteered with the non-profit organization It Takes A Village through out her high school career. She has volunteered over 100 hours of her time in assisting with organization, advertising, and youth volunteer coordination for several events to celebrate multiculturalism and promote tolerance through out the Durham Region. Such events include the Annual Kwanzaa Festival, Black History Month events and Ajax Waterfront African Craft Booths. As editor of her school's magazine, Aisha ran articles that were inclusive to different races, sexualities and minority groups. Regardless of controversial articles and censorship issues, Aisha continued to stay committed to hard-hitting news that dealt with local, national and international issues. Aisha Omar is also one of few African-Canadians to compete in Jr. Dragon Boating internationally. She has convinced other minorities not be overwhelmed by racial barriers and to try paddling sports.
2006
Maria Santaguida
Maria Santaguida’s dedication to spreading understanding and acceptance of diversity, and eliminating homophobia, is exemplified in her documentary, “The Young and Gay.” The film, conceived, directed and shot by Santaguida, candidly portrays the lives and concerns of a disabled young lesbian and a young, gay Aboriginal man. A 2006 graduate of Dorval, Quebec’s Lakeside Academy High School, Santaguida filmed the short documentary as a self-directed study. Seeing its potential, she went on to promote the film, and, with it, diversity, in her school. The film has since been shown to students in classes throughout her high school, and won a regional Quebec Entrepreneurial Project Award.
Santaguida’s film, and her other volunteer efforts, represent a highly creative approach to promoting diversity. An excellent student and an avid artist and writer, she also launched and became president of her school’s first Gay-Straight Alliance group, and has also been an active volunteer in her community, through organizations such as the Terry Fox Walk, Meals on Wheels and the West Island Association for the Intellectually Handicapped.
Sasha Sky
Sasha Sky’s hard work in her community of Thunder Bay has seen her fight racism and other discrimination; help abandoned, abused and neglected children; raise cultural awareness; combat illiteracy; build understanding of aboriginal and other cultures; promote safety, education, self esteem and cultural harmony; and promote peace and diversity.
A 2006 graduate of Sir Winston Churchill CVI, Sky has demonstrated a remarkable ability and desire to improve the lives of her fellow Thunder Bay residents, and particularly its youth.
She volunteered for Thunder Bay’s Regional Multicultural Youth Centre, chaired a youth peace committee, developed antibullying and anti-racial-discrimination curriculum through the Building Social Inclusion Team, chaired the March 21 Diversity Thunder Bay campaign, volunteered at the Children’s Aid Society, worked with the Readers are Leaders program, gave presentations on behalf of her school’s Peers Against Drugs program, represented her school on the Lakehead District School Board’s Building Social Inclusion Team and volunteered with a number of other diversity- and public education-oriented programs and projects.
