Aanikh Kler
St. Georges School
Vancouver, British Colombia
Aanikh is currently completing his Grade 11 year at St. Georges School in Vancouver, BC. At the age of 13, Aanikh created his first business and social venture - UndrTheRadr (UTR). At age 15, Aanikh became the youngest social entrepreneur ever to receive venture capital funding on CBC’s Dragons’ Den. His App, UndrTheRadr reached the #2 most downloaded App on the iTunes App Store beating out Apps such as: Angry Birds. Through this success, Aanikh became one of the youngest app developers in the world to have had a top 3 App.
Selected as one of Canada’s Top 20 Under 20 and a National Youth Ambassador for The Next Big Thing Foundation, Aanikh has used the power of public speaking and media through venues such as TEDx to reach millions of people with the message of overcoming challenges and making a difference in the world. Aanikh looks forward to collaborating and innovating alongside his other JTC Ambassadors.
Benjamin Palmer
University of New Brunswick
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Benjamin is a recent graduate of Leo Hayes High School, in Fredericton New Brunswick. He is an active volunteer in his community, and an advocate for mental health initiatives. Benjamin has been on advisory boards at the municipal, and federal levels as well as being the Director of Communications at his high school. He has a passion for social media, youth leadership, and global collaboration. Through being on his city’s Youth Action Team, Benjamin feels he can accurately promote Fredericton’s strengths while in China. He will be attending University of New Brunswick in the fall.
Ian Yip
Stratford Hall IB World School
Vancouver, British Colombia
Ian is in the IB Diploma Program and aims to pursue further studies in International Business. He has participated in a number of entrepreneurship programs in Canada and internationally; including being part of a team representing Canada in a Global Venture Challenge competition.
Currently, he spends time mentoring other youth in academic and entrepreneurship programs. An active youth involved in sports, skills, outdoors and volunteerism, Ian is a Gold Level candidate in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Program. Ian looks forward to creating new partnerships between Canadian and Chinese businesses on his first Junior Team Canada mission.
Phillip Swallow
MacEwan University
Edmonton, Alberta
Phillip is currently in his third year of a undergraduate degree at MacEwan University in Edmonton AB. He has participated in two economic round tables, and represented his region at Global Vision's National Youth Ambassador Caucus in 2013. Phillip was also selected as a delegate for the International Colligate United Nations Simulation in New York this year.
Phillip is motivated to represent Alberta's agriculture sector and educational institutions in the worlds largest economy, and to build lasting relationships.
Jasmine Wang
Old Scona Academic High School
Edmonton, Alberta
asmine is currently completing her grade 11 year at Old Scona Academic High School. An award-winning speaker, she teaches the Speech and Debate course at her school and has been selected to represent Alberta in the 2015 Pilgrimage to the UN, which will culminate in an international speech competition in New York.
Jasmine holds several leadership positions within her school, among them President of Graduation Council. She teaches piano to youth while pursuing her Licentiate in Piano Performance and has been a featured soloist in concerts with the Edmonton Symphony, Edmonton Youth Orchestra, and Edmonton Philharmonic. Jasmine is excited to simultaneously explore her lifelong passion for business and diplomacy while making a real impact in her community through Junior Team Canada.
Nadeem Kilani
Webber Academy
Calgary, Alberta
Nadeem (Nad) is in his final year at Webber Academy in Calgary, Alberta. Throughout his time in high school, Nad has participated in national and international level debating tournaments, cofounded a nonprofit organization, Canada Thinks, and in Junior Achievement, where he ran the finance division of his company.
Nadeem is excited to participate in the Junior Trade Mission, both for what he will learn and for the partnerships he will aid in forming. Next year, Nad will begin studies at the Wharton School, pursuing a degree in Finance and Statistics.
Leah Boyer
Holy Rosary High School
Lloydminster, Saskatchewan
Leah is currently completing her grade 10 year at Holy Rosary High School in the Border City of Lloydminster. At the age of eleven, she travelled to Japan where she attended a month-long summer ‘village’ organized by Children’s International Summer Villages. Representing Canada, one of fourteen countries present, she experienced cultural diversity firsthand. There she was able to both share about Canada, as well as learn about other countries.
Following this trip, Leah has held various youth leadership positions in both her school and local community. Most recently, she served as a planning team member for the 43rd National Student Commonwealth Forum after attending as a delegate the previous year. She is eager to promote the education sector and her Canadian partners overseas, as well as explore the rich culture of China on her first Junior Team Canada Mission with Global Vision.
Monique Sereneo
Queens University
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Monique recently completed her final year at Westwood Collegiate in Winnipeg and will be attending Queen's University in the fall. Having led her school's Youth in Philanthropy group, Monique is passionate about youth engagement -particularly youth's ability to instigate positive change. She has also held leadership positions through student council and youth committees in organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Manitoba Eco-Network.
Monique is looking forward to representing her region and forging partnerships between Canadian and Chinese business on the Junior Team Canada Mission.
Daichi Ishikawa
McGill University
Vancouver, British Colombia
Daichi is a senior at McGill university, completing his final year in economics and finance. In 2011 he was named one of 20 recipients of TD Canada Trust's Scholarships for Community Leadership for his work in founding his school's student sustainability initiative, and kickstarting efforts to retrofit the school building. Throughout his undergraduate studies Daichi has continued his involvement working with several student groups in fields including media, business sustainability, and corporate governance. Outside of school, he has held full time positions in startups SchedulingDirect and Flatbook. Daichi's first Global Vision international experience was the JTC Mission to Asia in 2013. As a graduate, Daichi is looking forward to sharing his experience and mentoring the newest JTC Ambassadors on this year's mission to China.
Andrea Sarkic
Youth Outreach Coordinator
Ottawa, ON
ndrea is a veteran of the Junior Team Canada program. She’s represented Canada on three JTC trade missions to Asia and has actively volunteered with Global Vision’s domestic programs since 2009. Andrea currently works as a government relations consultant after gaining seven years of experience within federal government and politics including serving on two Cabinet Minister’s staff. Through this experience Andrea has acquired a strong understanding of issues-management and government decision-making processes. Andrea is looking forward to furthering her understanding of Canada-China bilateral relations on the upcoming JTC Mission to China. She is excited to share her JTC experience with new Ambassadors and act as a mentor as the newest Global Vision leaders develop their skillsets.
Charlie Violin
St. Thomas Aquinas
Oakville, ON
Charlie is heading into grade 11 this fall as an IB student at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School where he is an active member of his school community. Charlie has helped develop new sport teams, school events and other initiatives to encourage school spirit amongst his classmates. Charlie is also an active community member, volunteering in several organizations such as the Ontario Parliamentary Youth Advisory Committee, the Organization of Ontario Secondary Schools amongst other organizations. Charlie is looking forward to promoting his community on the international stage as a JTC Ambassador on the 2015 mission to China.
Harii Mahesh
York University
Vaughan, Ontario
Harii will be attending the Schulich School of Business this fall, working towards a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Harii is currently a Student Trustee of the York Region District School Board, the third largest school board in Ontario. He also serves as the Vice President of the provincial student trustee Public Board. Harii is a dedicated youth activist, promoting volunteerism among youth and founding two non-profit organizations reaching over 40,000 youth. Harii is extremely excited to take his experience to the next level through the upcoming Junior Team Canada mission to China where he hopes to make a tangible difference and make lasting friendships.