Four U of T students earn the 2014 Top 20 Under 20 Award
It is no ordinary feat to find a treatment for malaria in mustard oil, snag an exclusive interview with Noam Chomsky, release a viral anti-bullying music video or present environmental research to an audience of 1,000,000 at a TED conference. Not to mention doing it before the age of 20. But UTM student Wali Shah, along with fellow U of T students Jeanny Yao, Jessie MacAlpine and Kourosh Houshmand are far from ordinary.
The four students were recently recognized for their inspiring work with a Top 20 Under 20 award.
While thousands of youth are considered, the RBC-sponsored Top 20 Under 20 Award, organized by Youth in Motion, recognizes only 20 exceptional young Canadian leaders each year for their innovations and efforts to enact positive change.
Shah had been bullied and charged with assault - even spent a night in jail - but turned his life around, using his talents as a spoken word poet, hip hop artist and public speaker to inspire others.
“My drive to help others comes from my own personal experiences. I know firsthand some of the struggles youth deal with on a daily basis. When I speak to audiences, I share stories of my own struggle with bullying and mental health issues.”
As the youngest and most requested speaker and ambassador for the United Way Speakers Bureau, Shah has raised more than $1 million in community-building efforts in addition to garnering more than 75,000 views for his anti-bullying music video, “King of the Castle.”
But it doesn’t stop there for Shah. While studying Political Science and History of Religions at the University of Toronto Mississauga, he plans to continue his community-building projects and has a new video in the works.
“Being Canada’s Top 20 Under 20 is a huge responsibility and a reminder of how much progress I have made. My turnaround signifies the importance of building community through small acts of kindness and how much that could change someone’s life.”