Reveal Your Leadership Potential: Join the Bilingual Young Leaders!

Seerat is a grade 11 student at WJ Mouat Secondary School in Abbotsford, British Columbia. She is passionate about the French language. She has participated in many speech competitions, most notably CPF Art Oratoire where she qualified as a provincial finalist. Through competitions like these, she discovered a passion for the language and continues to further develop and improve her skill. This passion led her to organize workshops and activities for students to practice their French while also having fun. Her vision for Francophones in Canada is for everyone to be comfortable speaking French at a certain level. She wishes to promote the language through different, yet accessible means. Wanting to promote bilingualism on a larger scale, she is thrilled to be accepted as a member of the Young Bilingual Leaders committee.

JiYu is a health sciences student at Université de Moncton. The Korean-Canadian first encountered French in Grade 4 where she fell in love with the language, sparking her interest in bilingualism and in improving her French! This eventually motivated her to challenge herself and transfer to a Francophone school in Grade 6. Moreover, JiYu has actively been involved in her community and schools. As a way of passing on the support she received as an immigrant, JiYu offers free French tutoring sessions to allophone immigrant children to enrich their experience in a new environment, all while sharing her passion and the importance of bilingualism! JiYu looks forward to working with the Bilingual Young Leaders to promote bilingualism and further support youth in Canada!

Bruce Yu is a grade 12 International Baccalaureate Diploma student at the Dr. G.W. Williams Secondary School, where he concurrently serves as student council president. As Student Trustee for the York Region District School Board (YRDSB), Bruce secured over $1 million in funding for student priorities and delivered transformational student leadership policy changes. Bruce attended a French Immersion program in elementary school and is fluent in French. He sincerely looks forward to working with French for the Future on initiatives promoting bilingualism across Canada.

Hello! My name is Andréane Gagnon and I currently live in Church Point, NS! I was born in Nova Scotia, but I have also lived in New Brunswick, in the Northwest Territories, in Quebec and am now back in Nova Scotia since 2019. I am currently in my second year of university in a preparatory health science diploma at Sainte-Anne University and I hope to become a doctor in the future! I am involved in the “Conseil Jeunesse Provincial” of Nova Scotia and it is there that I learned the importance of appreciating our languages and how lucky we are to be able to communicate in French and live a bilingual life.

Alexandra Snider is a student at the Université de Moncton studying journalism and linguistics. She is a 19-year-old graduate of a French-language high school in Barrie, Ontario, where she discovered a passion for language and promoting bilingualism. Currently, Alexandra is studying the obstacles that affect French language learners and minority French communities. Also, inclusion is very important for Alexandra and she is a volunteer with organizations that strive for the inclusion of people with disabilities. Alexandra is very excited to join this amazing team of young bilingual leaders to promote bilingualism across the country!

Tony is a grade 12 IB student at Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario. He is a school prefect, president of multiple school clubs, and the founder of a registered non-profit organization, the Canadian Youth Environment Society. He enjoys volunteering and is passionate about social justice. In addition, he is also mesmerized by French culture, and you can catch him wandering in the impressionism section of art museums or making new French dishes on his own. Firmly believing in the importance of bilingualism in Canada, he is looking forward to joining the Young Bilingual Leaders committee.

From speaking on the world stage at the United Nations, to being abetted by coverage from CBC, the Globe & Mail, and more, Alisha Aslam is an accomplished Grade 12 student at Agincourt Collegiate Institute, enrolled in the Extended French Program. Ever since she started learning French, she seized the myriad of opportunities she had been yearning for, especially outside of the classroom such as collaborating with the US Consul General in Toronto and leading a roundtable discussion with the Honourable Minister Marci Ien. As an advocate for many causes, she believes it isn’t just the program that builds our vision, it’s what we do with its lenses to create our own visions and go beyond what anyone thought possible.

My name is Lilia Hessabi, and I am a grade 12 student from Vancouver, B.C. Desiring to pursue the profession of law, my university goals consist of attending SciencesPo so that I am able to live in France while also traveling Europe. At school, I am in the French Immersion program due to my completion of Late French Immersion in elementary school. My days are full of volunteering, sports, various jobs, and many other extracurricular activities. Furthermore, I love being outside, so my friends and I always watch sunsets together or my family joins me on a hike. Most importantly, I like to be a voice in my community, so I look forward to being one of the Bilingual Youth Leaders!