By: Laura Steiner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Milton Reporter
Oakville Youth Awards nominees announced: More than 100 local changemakers to be honoured for leadership, creativity and community impact
The Town of Oakville, in partnership with the Oakville Youth Action Committee (OYAC) and the Halton Muslim Youth Association, has announced the nominees for the 2025 Oakville Youth Awards, recognizing over 100 inspiring young leaders for their exceptional contributions to the community.
Set to take place on Wednesday, May 7, at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts, the annual celebration will highlight the achievements of youth across six award categories: Emerging Leader, Artist, Involvement, Sports, Environment, and STEM.
The awards ceremony, which will feature live music, engaging presentations and personal stories from the nominees, is expected to be a highlight of the town’s annual National Youth Week celebrations. The event will be livestreamed for those unable to attend in person.
Each nominee will receive a certificate of recognition, and two winners in each category and age group will be announced on stage during the event.
This year’s nominees are:
Youth Emerging Leader Award Akshaj Kshirasagar, Alan Peng, Amia Fischer, Catherine Ann Cindric, Crawford Carson, Haniyah Anver Sathic, Hruday Chalumuri, Ishaan Grotra, Jawad Qourshah, Juman Qourshah, Kaitlyn Hou, Leyan Elsayed, Menna Gebril, Meryana Al Mobayed, Olivia Hunt, Omar Elnably, Rishi Kaul, Sahithi Yalamanchli, Samhita Pallapothu, Sarina Wu, Serena Khoury, Seth Rafuse, Silvana Garcia-Otero, Teresa Tong, Vihaan Chaudhary, Vinisha Nangia.
Youth Artist Award Adam Assaad, Alen Fazlic, Anvay Sanil, Bella Luo, Bonnie Luo, Calvin Lee, Cheng Sun, Daniela Jarava, Elina Yang, Ishaan Grotra, Joel Ortisi, Kelly Bharrien, Meicheng Wang, Mia Faith Hanan, Naomika Rohra, Oliver (Zihuan) Xu, Shelby Sajko, Shuyan Chen, Sophia Ran, Taelyn Kaknevicius, Victoria Lee, Wendy Zheng, Xiaoxuan (Elsa) Ren.
Youth Involvement Award Aahaan Jain, Alina Zhu, Annie Li, Christopher Waltho, Elliott Dixon, Faizan Mian, Fares Elhelali, Fiona Li, Haniyah Anver Sathic, Ibrahim Darwish, Jacob Lei, Jay Xu, Joseph (Joey) Skupnik, Joshan Chopra, Joshua Waltho, Kolina Kakan, Leen Elbarasi, Leo Saran, Marcus Moschella, Kayla Strike, Omar Elnably, Poppy King, Qianying Li, Rachel Liu, Samhita Pallapothu, Shaye Pickett, Taelum Vergara, Teresa (Zixuan) Tong, Vama Mishra, Vinisha Nangia, Vivian Hill, Youssef Elkady.
Youth Sports Award Abigail Arnold, Boyun Deng, Caleb Zhang, Charis Dooley, Christian Khoury, Colin Delevante, Hongze Shan, Jason Liu, Jessie Xu, Katherine Lu, Keehani Singh, Lucas Bi, Maariyah Salahuddin, Owen Pickett, Ryan Dong, Zichen Jia.
Youth Environment Award Colin Delevante, Dawn Li, Suvi Kakan, Taylor Denton, Paige Denton, Maggie Lentine, Ellen Lentine, Emelie Leclercq.
Youth STEM Award Anthony Efthimiadis, Diya Shodhan, Jacob Lei, Saanvi Ganesh, Saksham Goel, Shiven Taneja.
The Oakville Youth Awards mark a significant effort by the town and local organizations to spotlight the positive contributions of youth and to inspire future leaders. The event also serves as the culminating celebration of Oakville’s National Youth Week, held annually from May 1 to 7.
Throughout the week, local youth are invited to participate in a variety of free activities, events and learning opportunities designed to engage, empower and celebrate young people in the community.
For more information about the Oakville Youth Awards, visit oakville.ca or contact oakvilleyouth@oakville.ca. Details about Youth Week activities can be found on the Youth Week page.
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