Where I'm from
I’ve lived in Ward 4 virtually my whole life, raised in a family that taught me very early to be attentive to the different needs and experiences of the people around me.
My family is Ukrainian on my dad’s side and Filipino on my mom’s; my mom immigrated from the Philippines at age five and began school in Canada without speaking English. She's been an LRSD teacher since I was born.
My younger brother, Jonah, is autistic and has required significant support throughout his life. I was also diagnosed with ADHD at age 20.
My own education began at École Van Belleghem where I learned to speak French, something I deeply value.
Upon graduating high school, I was fortunate to be named both a Loran Scholar and a Terry Fox Humanitarian Scholar, which gave me the opportunity to study at UBC Okanagan. I started out in Biochemistry before eventually finding my way to Indigenous Studies.
Along the way, I also studied gender equality at the University of Oslo’s International Summer School, and picked up a bit of Norwegian while there.
I am now an incoming law student at the University of Manitoba's Robson Hall, and will begin my studies in 2027.
My working career began as a volunteer in high school, when my brother inspired me to work with youth with disabilities.
I began volunteering at Shamrock School’s Early Years Skills for Living Program. Later, I got involved with the LIFE Program at the Rehabilitation Centre for Children, which eventually led to my first paid job at their summer camp. I continued working and volunteering with RCC throughout high school, and remain incredibly grateful for everything I learned there.
Volunteering has since remained an important part of my life, from assisting with Loran Scholar selections to organizing a speaker series promoting diversity in STEM. In recent years, I've become heavily involved in civic and political organizing.
During university, I worked in a number of very different roles. I've been an intern in medical software compliance for a Montréal-based company, where I did much of my work in French; a student writer and content creator for UBC Okanagan; a public-policy research intern with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in Manitoba; and a Teaching Assistant for an introductory Indigenous Studies course.
As a TA, I helped teach students about colonialism, Indigenous histories, and contemporary Indigenous issues. For some students, it was their first time seriously engaging with these subjects; for others, we were discussing histories and experiences that were also their own. That experience taught me a great deal about meeting people where they are and recognizing that students can come into the same classroom with very different knowledge and experiences.
For the past few years, I’ve worked full-time in public service, most recently as Constituency Assistant to Tracy Schmidt, the MLA for Rossmere. My work included helping constituents navigate government and solve complex problems, community outreach and communications, and managing the day-to-day operations and finances of a busy constituency office.
This summer, I was especially proud to create C.A.M.P. Rossmere, a youth employment program designed to give participants hands-on experience working in an MLA’s office. I’ve long been passionate about engaging youth in public service and community leadership, and it was incredibly rewarding to pass along some of what others had taught me to a new generation of leaders.
Across all of these experiences, I’ve learned to adapt quickly, meet people where they are, and appreciate the many different kinds of knowledge people bring to their work and communities.
Outside of work and school, I love the arts and am especially passionate about music. I played the violin for many years, including with the Winnipeg Youth Orchestras, and have more recently taken up guitar. I also enjoy reading and writing, playing the NYT word games, cheering on the Jets, travelling, going to concerts, and spending time outdoors.
And, by most measures, I’m still a young person myself: I’m 25 years old. In those 25 years, I’ve been deeply humbled by how much I’ve learned from people whose lives, experiences, and expertise are very different from my own. I’ve come to fully appreciate that no one person has all the answers, and that we make better decisions when we take different experiences and kinds of knowledge seriously.
That’s why I’m running for School Trustee. I believe education is a group project, and every member of our LRSD community has something to contribute. I want to make sure the decisions made at the Board table are informed by the people who learn, teach, work, and live in our schools and communities.
If elected, I would put that belief into practice by supporting every student, sharing the work, and leading by learning.