Beth Ferreira, from Winnipeg MB, first began volunteering at Fisheries and Oceans Canada at age 14. Now 17, Beth has conducted hundreds of hours of research, primarily focusing on less-invasive methods to test animal tissue. Winning recognition on the national stage, Beth loves to share her passion and inspire others.
Alex Shipillo, 19, is from Vancouver BC. His work with Impact Entrepreneurship group (founded by Shad alumnus Kunal Gupta in 2004) inspired him to start two major youth-oriented projects. The first, Youth Canada, offers an online resource for students interested in education and entrepreneurship. The second, Impact's Microcredit Competition, encourages social entrepreneurship among high school students through a weeklong competition to raise funds for charity.
Michael Xu, from Kanata, Ontario, founded Vestige Gear in 2008, an online, registered corporation that is a channel for collaborative, youth-generated ideas and designs. Now 17, Michael worked tirelessly to market two shoe models and sell over two hundred in ten countries. Vestige reached its goal of raising $20,000 for an all girl's school in Kenya. Funds will be used for education and clean water initiatives.
Xingyu Zhou, Shad's youngest Top 20 recipient, is only 16 but she has already worked tirelessly to discover medical related uses for tree bark in her hometown of Saskatoon SK. Traveling to the north of the province, Xingyu's work has led to findings for potential cancer-treating medicines. Her two-year project is recognized as one "with the most commercial potential" by the Monsanto Commercialization Award and received a silver medal at the Canada Wide Science Fair in 2007.
All recipients receive $5,000 towards university studies, participation in a 4-day leadership summit in Toronto and many other benefits.
The Top 20 Under 20 award rewards youth who display a significant level of innovation, leadership and achievement. A primary requirement is that their leadership and innovation has improved their school, community, province and/or country. 42 finalists are selected and 20 recipients are chosen.
To learn more, please click here and for a complete list of this year's winners, click here.
