MiyaMiya was awarded a 2016 OCUF Youth Bursary. She is a 1st year student at the University of Ottawa where she is enrolled in an honours Bachelor of Science program.

In her application Miya details challenges she faced growing up, and how she encountered a number of “silver linings” as she describes them. Miya attended a musical theatre camp, which
blossomed into the beginnings of a competitive classical vocal performance and musical theatre career, with leading roles in West Side Story, The Last Five Years, The Mayor of Casterbridge, and a supporting role in the Little Mermaid.

She had a passion for sports; soccer, track and field, cross country, basketball, and volleyball. Volleyball emerged as her sport of choice, playing on a competitive travel club for six years.

Clearly Miya has taken full advantage of the silver linings that came her way. As she put it “My life has been scattered with both hardships and extreme generosity of mentorship and spirit.” She summed up her application by saying, “I want to help people directly, across Canada and the entire globe should the opportunity arise, with my own hands and efforts, when they are challenged or oppressed by poverty, illness, or ignorance, or when and it seems nearly impossible to find their own silver linings.”

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