09 Mar Youth Central’s 4th Alumni Profile: Sheliza Kassam
Our next featured alumnus is Sheliza Kassam, who volunteered with Youth Central from 2009 – 2014. She was involved with the Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC), Mayor’s Youth Council (MYC), Youth of Distinction Awards (YODA), Youth Week, and Youth Are Awesome (YAA) committees.
“I never really used to volunteer in my community. I was never really engaged,” Sheliza explains. “The first catalyst to my volunteer experience was definitely with Youth Volunteer Corps.”
She recalls at her second-ever project with YVC, she was painting children’s faces and distinctly remembers that each child that she met had their own story and a reason behind the character or figure that they wanted her to paint them as. Sheliza found it interesting to see their perspectives, and she looks back on it as a “remarkable” experience.
“After that project, it was an opportunity for me to realize that volunteering was fun. [Volunteering] was an opportunity for me to meet people that I wanted to help and make a difference to.”
For Sheliza, her most valuable experiences came with her time sitting on the MYC committee, where she was a co-chair. During her time with MYC, she was involved with piloting the Mayor For A Day project, which has been a success right from its inaugural year.
“I had never really realized that youth had the power to make such a tangible impact. I definitely think that the MYC gave me some perspective that youth have a say.”
Since graduating from Western Canada High School in 2014 and leaving Youth Central, Sheliza currently sits on the Chemical Engineering Society’s council through the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering. Her current volunteer role has shifted more towards event planning and organization, but she still feels she, “definitely go
t these skills from being a Youth Central volunteer.”
“Youth Central helped me learn how to work with diverse people and with a team. I think that’s a skill that I learned as a Youth Central volunteer and that it’s something you can take anywhere.”
A prime example of how the “spirit of volunteering” lives on with Sheliza would be her personal endeavors in the non-profit sector. In January of 2013, she founded Children’s Birthday Miracles (CBM), a charitable organization aiming to ensure that underprivileged children have the opportunity to have a birthday party to call their own. Sheliza recalls that when CBM first started, “we didn’t have any funds, I didn’t know what to do, but I was really passionate.”
Instead of letting this roadblock get in her way, Sheliza applied for a Calgary Youth Foundation Grant and received $2,000, which became the basis upon which CBM was founded and how her passion became a reality.
Sheliza is currently working towards a degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Calgary, with plans to graduate in 2020. Upon completion of her degree, she plans to pursue a career in project management and oversight in engineering infrastructure development.
Finally, Sheliza would like to offer a piece of wisdom to current and future Youth Central volunteers: