Alice Zheng

York University, Guelph University Alumni

Alice is a human rights activist and is currently volunteering with Innocence Canada (formerly, the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted), and Amnesty International (the world’s largest human rights organization). Throughout her time volunteering for Innocence Canada and AI, she became very passionate about raising awareness and advocating for social justice and human rights in Canada, and around the world.

Aqsha Adam

McMaster University Alumni

Aqsha is passionate about finding innovative solutions to local and global policy challenges. In addition to her professional aspirations, she has contributed to the community as a mentor, coach, and leader. As a member of the Youth Council she is excited about the opportunity to leverage her experience to represent youth in the Mississauga Centre riding and beyond.

Bilal Hussain

University of Waterloo

Bilal is active in organizing community charity events, volunteering for environmental initiatives, and is interested in stirring economic growth through the success of entrepreneurs and small businesses. He has experience in public speaking, event organization, and mentorship. Having had significant professional experience in the private sector he brings a unique perspective regarding policies to the table. When not studying, he enjoys shooting hoops and swimming!

Emily Park

Elpis College Private School Alumni

Emily is always looking for ways to further explore her interest in keeping up with news and discussing issues concerning Canada and the world in a positive, meaningful way. As a recent high school grad, she is taking a short break before she takes her next big step to rediscover herself and find out what it is that she truly want to make out of her life. Outside of school, she is a book nerd, loves listening to kpop, and trying new things. She also adores guinea pigs, and enjoys arts and crafts like needle felting. Emily is excited to be part of a movement that invites people to think proactively about how they can make a change in their community.

Hana Salih Makawi

Rick Hansen Secondary School

In the past Hana has volunteered with over 15 different organizations, societies, centres, etc. She is passionate about local issues such as clean parks in our communities. Of all of the organizations she has volunteered with, she feels as though her biggest accomplishment was being able to speak to over 100 teachers, principals, and facilitators about girls and women's self esteem in relation to sports and an active lifestyle. This was a great accomplishment for her as her presentation encouraged 3 schools to offer a "girls active" club meant to encourage young women to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Through the youth council not only does she hope to voice some of her own issues but also listen to those of others.

Huda Rabie

York University

Huda is determined to make a difference in her life and for those around her in different ways. She holds many passions, one of which is understanding the state of the governments around the world. Huda can see the importance of understanding the political needs of individuals and where they might stem psychologically, and attempts to apply it on a mass scale, country wide, world wide. In addition, she and her colleague started their own branch of the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy at York University. Seeing the lack of youth involvement in her community, Huda took the initiative to join the Mississauga City Youth Council, as well as the Mississauga Centre MP Youth Council in order to get youth involved in political matters that affect their lives, and to relay their voices to those who are in power. She hopes to lay the groundwork in making a connection between the youth age group and those making the important political decisions on their behalf.

Kevin Ding

Woodlands Secondary School

Ever since Kevin was young, he has always had a strong desire in making a difference in his community, such as being actively involved in extra-curricular activities. At Woodlands SS, Kevin decided to make a tangible difference by running for and becoming the grade representative in the student council. Through this, he has been able to bring the ideas and concerns of his peers’ to the school's attention. In his community, he has been involved in organizations that try to make a difference in areas that suit his interests, for example, in student voice and financial literacy. As an event manager for the Federation of Canadian Secondary Students (FCSS), an organization that advocates for student voice, Kevin has led a group to organize some of the organization's signature events to promote their message.

Maaha Chaudhry

McMaster University, International Baccalaureate Alumni

Maaha has volunteered in various organizations and started her own initiatives to be actively involved in her community. She especially enjoys working for causes that help the less fortunate with the most recent one being Syrian refugees. She is currently a part of Humanity First (McMaster Chapter), Model UN and HOSA. Youth and women empowerment is an issue she is strongly passionate about and she plans to pursue this while part of the Youth Council. She hopes that her involvement in the Youth Council allows her to become more engaged with the community and that she can accurately voice the concerns of Mississauga Centre youth to the MP.

Mohammad Amin

University of Toronto - Mississauga

Mohammad is the President of UTM Helping Hands, a charity he founded to alleviate the financial and emotional strain off of the orphan, homeless, and disadvantaged youth communities. He is also a board member on the University of Toronto’s Governing Council, participating in crucial discussions that impact the entire student body. He is also a strong believer in learning by getting out of your ‘comfort zone’ as well as to never say no to a new experience.

Mohammed Majd Mourad

Rick Hansen Secondary School

Majd aspires to have a career in the medical field in the future. Since he immigrated to Canada from Syria in 2012, he has always been passionate about changing the world around him and creating a positive impact. When Majd was in grade 9, he started a Syrian crisis relief campaign. He was also part of various campaigns in the community such as We Scare Hunger annually to end hunger in Mississauga. One of the most successful fundraisers that Majd organised was Hansen's Home for Syria which raised $30,000 towards sponsoring a Syrian refugee family. He hopes that as part of the MCMP Youth Council, he will be able to impact his community and Canada positively.

Natasha Dixon

University of Ottawa

Natasha is actively involved in her local community, as she works with organizations committed to improving civic engagement in her spare time. She demonstrates a keen interest in political affairs, which is evident in her active involvement with both the Ontario Young Liberals and the Liberal Party in the House of Commons.

One of Natasha’s most noteworthy achievements is being selected to attend the 2015 Winter Youth Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. This event united nearly 700 students and industry professionals from across the globe,who devised proposals surrounding economic and social development. Her aim is to develop a deeper understanding of issues affecting youth in the community. She is committed to making a positive impact through collaborating with her peers and organizations to devise sustainable resolutions that will greatly benefit the region.

Priyanka Khemraj

Rick Hansen Secondary School

Priyanka has lived and grown up in Mississauga all her life. She is the youngest and only girl of four kids, having three older brothers, and now, two sisters-in-law’s. Some of her hobbies include painting, reading, and watching TV. She has been playing piano for three years and loves learning different songs, especially tunes from the Disney movies. She has been practicing Bharatanatyam dance for 8 years which has allowed her to perform at different events around the community. In the future, she hopes to eventually become a doctor. Ever since she was young, Priyanka has wanted to become a pediatrician due to her interest in sciences and love of interacting with children. She is also a volunteer at Credit Valley Hospital which has allowed her to be involved in a medical environment.

Saad Masud

McMaster University

Saad started to actively volunteer within his community in grade 12 and has since been involved with many initiatives. Currently, he serves as the Director for a community youth organization called High School Muslim Student Associations, which provides a platform to unite and support High School level MSA’s. He also serves as an Event Officer for MuslimFest, the largest festival held at Mississauga Celebration Square which attracts over 30,000 people annually. He is very excited to be on the Youth Council for Mississauga Centre where he will utilize his skills and experience and serve a larger, more diverse population. He hopes that throughout this experience, he can improve and build upon his skills, and work to make a positive impact within his community.

Seerat Rehman

Rick Hansen Secondary School

After graduation, Seerat aspires to study mechanical engineering or pursue another STEM related field. She is a leader inspiring change on FIRST Robotics Team 1241: THEORY6, her school’s Student Ambassadors, Archery, School Reach, and Science clubs. She is involved with the community through regular volunteering opportunities at public venues and events. Seerat thinks of herself as a strong-willed, dedicated, and persistent individual. In her leisure time, she enjoys reading, hiking, and spending time with close family and friends; she also enjoys writing as a hobby. She is fluent in three languages- English, Urdu, and Hindi, but a current project she is working on is learning French as her fourth language. One achievement she prides herself on is her work with children interested in STEM education.

Shannon Mascarenhas

University of Toronto - St. George

Shannon uses her spare time working with the charity InvisAbilties, and works as a senior editor of IntraVires, the University of Toronto undergraduate law journal. Her enthusiasm with the youth council came from her work at a Bay Street law firm, which gave her some insight into policy and law making. She hopes to become even more active in her community, especially with the youth of Mississauga Erindale through this opportunity on council.

Vik Joshi

Humber College School of Business Alumni

Through research and work experience both in Digital Marketing, Vik became very interested in the convergence of the digital and physical world. He decided quickly thereafter, to take the skills he had acquired and opened a digital marketing company - ePrime Digital; the main focus of this company would be the effective use of Social Media, as well as branding.

He strongly feels that we need to utilize the online resources now available to us, to not only work efficiently, but to capture and properly represent the voice of the Mississauga Youth. The youth of Mississauga are buzzing with new ideas, enthusiasm and a strong sense of community. He believes by tapping into this underestimated potential, we can gain vast insights on how to improve the local community not just for the local businesses, but for the hard working people within it.

Yousuf Qazi

Rick Hansen Secondary School Alumni

Yousuf is currently volunteering with several organization such as PCYI and ErinaokKids. He aims to pursue a career in law and politics, as he enjoys learning about international politics, and history. He joined the youth council in order to better the lives of people in Peel, and to give a louder voice to youth. Over the past few years, he has learned and experienced many things, though he says he still has a lot more to learn, several issues have become too evident to continue ignoring. Issues such as youth homelessness, public cleanliness, and unemployment. A number of these issues are easily solvable with the right motivation and simple legislation. Yousuf feels that he can have a huge impact, and play a significant role is solving many of these issues by directly advising a Member of Parliament.

Yusuf Mirza

St Francis Xavier Secondary School

Yusuf is currently taking all three sciences at school, however he has always had a love for politics, government and business. That is one of the main reasons as to why he wanted to join the Mississauga Centre Youth Council. He is also a part of DECA and Model United Nations, Investors Club, which are organizations that promote entrepreneurship, finance, and government procedures. These organizations have allowed Yusuf to gain many experiences. Joining DECA has helped Yusuf with public speaking and being able to think on his feet and improvise.Through the Youth Council, he wants to learn about the inner workings of government and to gain experience on how policies and bills are made. He is excited to connect with a network of like-minded peers.