Sophia Wang [王姍姍]
Bayview Secondary School, Richmond Hill
Chung-Kotcheff Family Arts Award
A music teacher considers Sophia in the top one per cent of the hundreds of students he has taught. In all her high school years, she maintained marks in the 90s even though she was highly involved with music where she was the section leader in the concert band, alto saxophonist in the jazz band, tutor, teaching assistant for the enrichment band, and member of Supergroup rock band which released the first professionally-recorded album by elementary school students in Ontario. At age 16, she passed the RCM grade 10 flute exam with first class honours and, as a flautist, moved from first and second places in the Kiwanis Music Festival of Greater Toronto to third place at the Ontario Music Festivals Association Provincial Finals in 2013. Beyond competitions, she played flute and piccolo in the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, highly regarded as one of the top youth orchestras in Canada. Sophia received its Arthur Press Award for her leadership, professionalism, and playing excellence. She has also been a member of the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra, Toronto Youth Symphonic Winds, Chinese Artists Society of Toronto Philomusica Orchestra, Ontario Provincial Honour Band, and Ontario Cross-Cultural Music Society Youth Orchestra.
Sophia is currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Music program at the University of Toronto.
Brennan Wong [王鈺龍]
Richmond Hill High School, Richmond Hill
Lue Family Community Services Award
Brennan Wong has proven young people can change the world. For his tenth birthday, he asked for donations instead of gifts and he hasn’t stopped giving since. The mayor of Richmond Hill praised “a very dynamic youth” who, still in high school, has already volunteered over 2,600 hours locally and abroad while maintaining grades in the mid-nineties and being on the honour roll. Brennan, a recipient of Canada’s Top 20 under 20 Award, has served on the Richmond Hill Youth Action Committee, and volunteered at his school’s Breakfast Club, the Richmond Hill Food Bank, Good Shepherd Centre, and St. John’s Rehab. He assisted with research to provide an online database for rare diseases. As an Ambassador for Free the Children, he helped raise $75,000 for projects in China, India, Kenya, and Ecuador where he volunteered to build schools and clinics. As president of his school’s World Action Council, he organized workshops about building schools and clean water projects in Sierra Leone and Ghana. Brennan founded Pledges for Change, an organization that encourages young people to take action for causes they are most passionate about. “What I have learned from volunteering is that every individual taking just one single action can create a tsunami of change.”
Brennan is currently in Grade 12 at Richmond Hill High School.
Henry Wu [吳宏磊]
Richmond Hill High School, Richmond Hill
University of Toronto Scarborough Academics Award
A physics teacher describes Henry as “a startling dedicated physics student with a truly unprecedented list of accomplishments.” He participated in the Physics Olympiad Provincial and Outreach Program at the University of Toronto and wrote the Canadian Association of Physicists High School Prize Exam, with first place in Ontario and second place nationally. He won third place overall in North America in the Physic Bowl offered by the American Association of Physic Teachers. Henry was one of five students chosen to represent Canada at the International Physics Olympiad in Estonia just after finishing Grade 10 when most other competitors had completed Grade 12. While representing Canada, he earned a silver medal at the International Physics Olympiad in Copenhagen. The Canadian Olympiad team praised him as being the first student in Ontario to receive back to back silver medals at the International Physics Olympiad. Henry, also earning recognition in chemistry, mathematics, computer science and biology, placed second two years in a row in the Avogadro and Canadian Chemistry contests.
Henry is studying engineering at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
Cassidy Chau [週寶晴]
Bloor Collegiate Institute, Toronto
Murphy & Chung Chartered Accountants Athletics Award
During elementary school, Cassidy was very involved with gymnastics, figure skating and swimming on a competitive level but it was volleyball that captivated her attention. While maintaining her position as one of the top three high-achieving students, Cassidy earned the highest mark for the grade 12 university-level physics course, as well as one of the top spots on the principal’s list in each of her high school years. She is a nationally ranked player and a coach and mentor for children in the community, showing a long-term commitment to her love of the sport. She served as a camp counselor for many years at the University Settlement Recreation Centre. At Bloor Collegiate, she was an event coordinator for Human Rights Days and Athletic Councils, assistant coach to the Junior Boys Volleyball Team, captain of the Co-ed Varsity Volleyball Team, captain of the Junior Girls Volleyball Team, and member of the Leaside Lightning Volleyball Club, during which time she won gold and silver medals at Ontario Provincial Championships, and silver at the Canadian National Championships.
Cassidy is studying science at Queen’s University with plans for future studies in life sciences.
David Renhao Wang [汪仁晧]
Bayview Secondary School, Richmond Hill
BMO Nesbitt Burns Innovation Award
David was enrolled in an enriched program called TOPS (Talented Offerings for Programs in the Sciences) which draws students from afar. TOPS’s web team technical manager was David, a testament to his high regard by teaching staff and fellow students. His educational experiences include the Canadian Mathematical Society Provincial Math Camp; Da Vinci Engineering Program; Physics Olympiad Preparation at the University of Toronto, and Shad Valley Enrichment Program. He conducted scientific research at St. Michael’s Hospital, Hospital for Sick Children, and the Environmental Department of University of Toronto without sacrificing his commitment to volunteer at a seniors’ home and to mentor and tutor disadvantaged students. Among his many other achievements are Magna Cum Laude at the National Virtual Science Fair; gold medal at the Provincial SciTech Fair; second place at the York University National Debating Tournament; sixth place at the University of Toronto Hart House National Debating Tournament; and Top Senior Speaker at the University of Western Ontario Debating Tournament. What distinguished David the most was his going beyond the world of theory and initiating an independent research project. Using a database called the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, he compared biomarkers of the asymmetrical degeneration of brains afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. The study’s conclusions will contribute to the development of new treatments for tackling a disease that kills one in every three seniors.
David is currently studying Biomedical Science at Yale University.