04 May Recipients Announced at the 20th annual Youth of Distinction Awards!
Youth are making an impact every day, yet too often it goes unnoticed. Youth Central is changing this by bringing awareness to the amazing youth in Calgary every year.
The Youth of Distinction Awards (YODA) celebrate local youth for the ways they make our community a better place to live.
With community and sponsor support, Youth Central hosted our 20th annual YODA ceremony on Saturday, May 6th at the Calgary Zoo. Recipients were announced live across nine categories ranging from community and volunteer work, activism, sportsmanship and being a great friend.
Scroll to see the full list of award recipients and to learn more about all of the amazing young finalists who were recognized in 2023.
Advocacy
Group: Alivia Paul, Shaydee-Sky Simaganis, Shayla Deranger-Scanie
Laiba Nasir
Yahvi Gupta
Arts & Culture
Mandy Siemens
Menooha Koneru
Nong Jing Fan
Environment
Anastacia Raniuk
Sai Vivek Venna
Sasha Adamova
Innovate
Jennifer Kuang
Joshua Cheng
Michelle Sadiq
Leadership
Aarushi Bhargava
Ayca Haskoylu
Rishi Kalaga
Peer Support
Amélie Pressey
Jay Cyr
Savanna Clark
Perseverance
Beau Sinclair
Letisha Umpherville
Mohamad Al Salamat
Sportsmanship
Ethan Stuart
Leo Day
Tate Hutchinson
Penny Hume Volunteer Award
Harveer Gill
Ivy Shi
Kathryn Schuster
Thanks to our sponsors whose support allows us to deliver programming that empowers youth in Calgary. As an organization, we support youth exploring their passions in a meaningful, effective, and appropriate way.