2008 New Pioneers Awards SfCarchive SfCarchive
Channel: SkillsforchangeArchive SfC
Date: 05/03/2008

When Ellen Xi Yang arrived in Toronto in 2003, her strength of character, resourcefulness and courage enabled her to overcome three significant barriers to settling in Canada: learning a new language, adapting to a new school, and integrating into Canadian culture.

The difficult first step was speaking English -- a language very different from the Mandarin she had spoken for 13 years - with fluency and confidence. Although often made fun of when she mispronounced words, she wasn't silenced by the teasing. Believing that "practice makes perfect," she worked hard to speak frequently and accurately. Within the first month of her arrival in Canada, she achieved an A+ average in all aspects of the ESL program and was therefore switched to a regular class.

At Riverdale Collegiate Institute, Ellen has earned Certificates of Merit (above 90 percent average) and Certificates of Achievement (top five students) from Grade 9 to Grade 11. Last year she also received six academic awards for earning the highest marks in Biology, Physics, Art, Psychology/Sociology/Anthropology, Mathematics, and Accounting, for a total of 12 academic honours over her first three years of high school. For three consecutive years, she has received the University of Waterloo's Certificate of Distinction in the Pascal, Cayley, and Fermat Math Contest. Behind those achievements, there are late nights of studying and weekends of exploring beyond the textbook. Ellen's goal is to become a cardiovascular surgeon; she often uses this goal to motivate herself in her everyday work.

As part of her school community, Ellen plays an active role in several clubs and teams. She helps lead the Recycling Club, and represented Riverdale Collegiate in the TDSB ECO-School Conference at Metro Convention Centre in 2007. In addition to participating in track and field events, she is president of the school's Science and Debating clubs and led the Reach for the Top team. She also tutors fellow students who want help with academic performance. 

The most difficult and fascinating challenge for Ellen has been the process of integrating into Canadian society. Through her volunteer work, she began to learn about different cultures. She reached out to Chinese elders through the Greenwood Intergenerational program. For two years she worked at the SEA (Service Enhance Access Support) Community Centre, helping immigrant children adapt to Canadian culture. Volunteering at the Bata Shoe Museum gave her an opportunity to learn about anthropology, art history and different customs. In addition, she works an average of 15 hours each week with two autistic children and has been learning communication therapies which she has been able to apply in other situations (such as the weekly tutoring of a three-year-old Chinese adoptee and her Caucasian parents in Mandarin), as well as working with a developmentally challenged toddler adopted from foster care.

By working to overcome her own cultural barriers, Ellen has earned a broad base of friends across ethnicities. She comments, "I am very fortunate to be living in a city like Toronto and to be studying at a high school that reflects the city's multicultural nature. As a youth whose teenage life was dramatically transformed by immigrating to Canada, I am glad that I have successfully settled into Canada."

Skills for Change