Giving back to the community comes naturally to Selina Shivji. The exuberant 17-year-old is a student at Semiahoo Secondary school in Surrey. But her classroom time takes up just part of her day.

For starters, Selina volunteered at her local hospital for four years and was a baker at a local hospice.

She also founded Worthy of C.A.R.E (Creating Aid Response Everywhere) to provide food and water to those suffering from droughts in Africa. Selina also spent time overseas on a trip to Kenya volunteering with Free the Children.

Somehow, she still found the time to serve as student council chair at Semiahoo and also served as a youth congressional leader with the Aga Khan Foundation.

Selina is also involved with a number of clubs: The Globalizers, a social action club where she has been co-president for the past two years, and she’s also involved with Jack.org, a club focused on erasing the stigma around mental health. 

Her community work has not gone unrecognized. Selina won the 2015 Caring Canadian Citizen Award. The award recognizes the exceptional volunteer achievements of Canadians from across the country in a wide range of fields. These are the unsung heroes who volunteer their time, their efforts and a great deal of their lives to helping others and ask for nothing in return.

It is a fitting description of Selina Shivji.

Read more about more B.C. student success stories.