Our 2019 scholarship recipient is Luca Ramelli, a Hamilton resident and inspiring young leader. Luca is passionate about improving people’s health by creating innovative solutions to complex healthcare problems, leading a project with Hamilton Health Sciences that reduces the risk of falls in seniors when they are discharged from the hospital.

Our 2018 recipient, Advait Maybhate, is an impressive young man whose passion for all things STEM - science, technology, engineering, and math - shines through his every word. Advait is an impressive intellectual with passions for helping others and spurring innovation. His compassion and care, coupled with his academic perseverance, not only makes him one of Ontario’s brightest, they make him an excellent teacher and mentor to the youth in his community.

Heba Shahaed, an Aurora resident, was Meridian’s 2017 scholarship recipient.  A community and youth advocate, Heba played a pivotal role in bridging the divide between youth and seniors in her community.  Working in partnership with the Aurora Historical Society, Shahaed led an oral history project called Let’s Talk Aurora which focused on collecting and preserving Aurora’s intangible heritage by having local high school students interview local seniors. 

Oakville resident Julia Mogus was the inaugural recipient of Meridian’s Commitment to Communities Sean Jackson Scholarship. Since the age of ten, Julia has volunteered more than 3,000 volunteer hours advocating for youth literacy.  A self-proclaimed “bookworm aficionado,” her passion for literacy led her to co-create Books With No Bounds which provides indigenous children and teens living in remote communities throughout Canada and around the world with books donated by publishers, authors, schools, individuals and organizations.