Festival celebrates international students
STORY AND PHOTOS BY ANTHONY MUCCILLI
Last Saturday, the second Toronto International Students Festival was held at David Pecaut Square.
The event, sponsored by CIBC, Rogers Communications and the Province of Ontario, featured live cultural performances, such as Ojibwe pow-wows, Scottish highland dancing and a Bollywood dance.
Representatives from colleges and universities, including Sheridan College, Humber, University of Toronto and Seneca attended the event to offer information about their programs.
“It’s been so amazing to come here, meet all of you and enjoy a day of wonderful festivities,” said Angie Seth, addressing the crowd.
Speaking on behalf of Opportunities Ontario, Deputy Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Chisanga Puta-Chekwe announced a program that would allow international students with job offers to be fast-tracked for permanent resident status within Ontario, and therefore Canada.
“We are fully confident in your abilities to seek out opportunities, build a rewarding career, and a good life in our province, and help make Ontario a better place,” Puta-Chekwe said.
At the event, eight students were presented with Toronto Excellence Awards, given to students who have made significant contributions in areas such as community services, entrepreneurship, and arts and culture.
“We know it can be both exciting yet very overwhelming as you embark on this new phase of your studies,” said Barbara Hastings, development vice-president of CIBC.
One of the award winners, OCAD’s Byron Chan, had a short film called “1997” debut at the TIFF Bell Lightbox earlier this year.
“I was not expecting to get that. It felt great,” said Chan.
“We’re very proud. We were cheering him on and embarrassing him,” said his sister Bonita Chan.
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- Brandon Allwood, from Jamaica, has won the Award in the Community Services Category. He is a trained peer counselor, peer educator and a youth advocate. Working Mostly on children's rights and welfare, he founded the advocacy group Help JA Children in 2012 and currently serves as its Chief Advocate.
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- Denys Zakaliuk and Alena Sukhina are the co-winners of the Sports Excellence Award. Denys participated in a variety of sports in high school, including fencing, tennis, and wrestling. He has played on the varsity indoor and outdoor soccer teams. Alena has won many competitions including Gold Medal girls' singles at the Central Ontario Badminton Association Junior Championship; Gold Medal in women's singles A flight at COSSA in 2011.
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- Ivonne Serna and Hargun Suri are the co-winners of the Entrepreneur Award. Ivonne's skills led her to have a very successful business and to become a top seller for Princess Cruises and Asian tour operators. Hargun is currently working on a start-up called Interngration - which he had co-founded, conceptualized, designed, and is currently promoting.
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- Byron Chan, from China, is the winner of the Arts &Culture Award. He is an emerging media artist. His current and recent works use video as a medium to explore the relationship between the digital era and modern culture.
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- Stephani Shaw, from the United States, is the winner of the International Student Service Award. She has been involved with the Education Without Borders World Student Organizing Committee for the March 2013 Conference, City of Toronto's International Student Programs, and so on.
