Age: 20 | Height: 5’7″
Hometown: Toronto, ON
Sarah, born and raised in the City of Toronto, is a 21-year-old who recently graduated from the Child and Youth Work program at George Brown College.
Sarah enjoys spending quality time with her family and her close group of girl friends. Her other interests include modeling, rescuing animals, acting in music videos, and cooking gluten free meals! She also enjoys traveling and appreciates nature and diversity around the world.
Sarah began volunteering her time around the community following her high school graduation. Her main interest is working with troubled youth, and more recently with Christian Horizons, a group home for adult women who have mental health issues.
She enjoys this area of work as her interest’s lies in listening as well as observing those who are verbal and non-verbal in order to create relations.
Sarah uses her skill of consistency to form positive relationships, so that she is able to teach life skills as well as social and behavioral skills. She strives to become a role model for all her clients.
In Sarah’s free time, she often takes advantage of her city by going downtown to shop, trying new restaurants, or by simply walking the boardwalk and enjoying the beautiful view of Lake Ontario.
There is definitely more than beauty when it comes to Sarah, she is a happy, go-lucky young lady who always brings the best out of others and continuously sees the bright side in all situations.
One of Sarah’s best traits is that she always remains positive even during difficult times in her life, especially over the past summer as Sarah was hospitalized twice. Sarah continues to have a positive outlook and maintains a healthy lifestyle to keep her health issues in check.
Known for her determination and dedication, Sarah is looking forward to this new experience, using this opportunity as a platform to give back to the community. She will continue to give her all and hopes to inspire the future generations of Canada.
Sponsored by: Paul’s Bootcamp, Affinity Luxury Car Rentals LTD., Life experiences, Genview Development Corporation, Micari Consulting INC. – Nick Simone, Koala Tan, Dr. Gregory Stelmaszyk, Project Group – Armindo Rego, Dr. Maura Romanelli, Twin Scissors Hair and Spa, Mega City Auto Motive, Ferreira Insurance & Investment Concepts Inc., Family and Friends.
Languages spoken fluently (please include your native language if English is not your native language).
English
What are your interests and what do you enjoy doing the most?
As a Child and Youth Worker graduate, my main interest revolves around working with young people and troubled youth who may need guidance, support, healthy relationships and help with advocacy. Something that I really enjoy doing and that I am able to do frequently is cooking. Creating new recipes and dishes for my family to enjoy, is fun and rewarding to me. I often prepare meals for my family and friends and love cooking gluten free recipes! My favorite thing to do is to is hang out with my close family and friends, especially in the summer. I enjoy simple things such as patios, cottages and nature. I love being with my sisters, two people that I adore, they bring me peace and happiness.
I love my city,Toronto. I often visit my favorite restaurants such as Josos or The Standard. I really enjoy eating food of different ethnicities, and I am a daredevil when it comes to trying different types of food.. (such as Eel sushi that I recently tried in Miami.)
One last important interest of mine is hosting events, parties and get-togethers. Recently, I was given the opportunity to plan Canada Day for Councillor Nunziata. I learned lots about myself during this experience. I enjoyed networking and reaching out to organizations, companies, friends and family in order to make my event successful. Working under a little bit of stress was motivational for me and my organization skills helped my event succeed, as there were over 3500 people in attendance
List any special training you have had (music, art, drama, dance, etc.)
I’ve always loved acting and making others laugh, so I recently decided to enhance my acting skills by enrolling in an acting class with Fulcher Agency. I will be participating in a modeling and acting competition in New York City this July.
In what sports, if any, have you participated?
When I was younger I played soccer on a boys and girls recreational team. I enjoyed playing on teams with boys and girls because I learned how to play and work as a member of a team, an important life skill.
Name one person, other than your parents, who has had the most influence on your life. Why?
One person other than my parents who had the most influence on my life would be my grandmother. My grandmother came to Canada without a penny in her pocket and was able to raise 4 kids, start two businesses and eventually own many properties in Toronto. Not only did she succeed in her personal life, she was always helping out those in need that she met at church or through friends and worked really hard to help their lives change for the better so that they may succeed as well. My Nonna (grandmother) was passionate about helping others, as she was so aware of the struggles and difficulties people encounter in life. She was able to go to any extent to help others and even traveled to Jamaica to help a new friend of hers get out of a unhealthy situation by moving her and her son to Canada, where they lived with my family. My grandmother taught me how to over come difficult life situations by staying faithful in God and in myself. She was a very strong, independent woman and is the reason I strive for what I want, the reason why I have such strong morals and the reason why I have a great faith in myself and more importantly, my religion.
What is your proudest personal accomplishment (other than participating in this pageant)?
So far in life, my proudest personal accomplishment is graduating school at 21. I am blessed to have found my calling in life and look forward to starting my career that I enjoy. I am so proud of this career choice because it is based on helping others in need. My career will be filled with proud moments everyday as I work to create change in my client’s lives and see my work and accomplishments come to life.
What is the most interesting or unique thing that has ever happened to you and/or what is the most interesting thing about you?
The most unique thing that has ever happened to me was rescuing a toddler from the streets of Toronto. One night after my mother was finished work we saw something small in the middle of the street on our drive home. We quickly realized that it was a baby standing in the street, with no shoes, covering his ears to stay warm. We stopped the car as soon as we could and my mother ran out to stop traffic, grabbing the child and bringing him to warmth inside the car. Shocked by the situation, we brought the baby boy straight to the police station and I made sure we stayed with him to keep him safe and company for hours while my mother did paper work to help the investigation. Our family quickly got recognition from the Toronto Star, the Mayor of Toronto and St John Ambulance as were seen as heroes. We still have our newspaper clipping saved and I still remember my feelings of affection and compassion for such a cute and vulnerable baby.
What is your career ambition and what are you doing or plan to do to accomplish that goal?
My career ambition is to work with children and youth who are in need of change, guidance, healthy relationships and help finding their role in life and society. I plan to accomplish this goal by continuing to work in the field of Child and Youth Work, giving back to the community and advocating for children and youth who need a voice in our world.
What would be your “dream job” in life?
Although I am a “dreamer” and have so many dream jobs, such as opening a healthy quick stop café, one dream job of mine that has been special to me ever since I was younger would be to become a well-known model. As typical as this may sound for a pageant girl, modeling has always been something I enjoy doing. I find every photo-shoot new and exciting. Modelling is something I am passionate about, experienced in and comfortable doing. Modeling brings me happiness because I love getting into character to create different looks.
Are you currently a student? If yes, where?
I am a recent graduate of George Brown College, I graduated from the program Child and Youth Work, April 2013 and am so excited about starting my career.
Are you currently employed? If yes, what is your occupation?
Currently I am working at a residential home for women with mental health issues. My job is rewarding and fulfilling and I have come to love all the women I work with. On weekends, I work at my mother’s hair salon, assisting and working as the receptionist.
Describe where you were raised and what your childhood was like.
I was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario and was blessed with a very happy lifestyle. As a child, my sisters and I were enrolled in a Christian Private school and had amazing friends and have always had a very strong family dynamic. My sisters and I spent lots of time with our cousins and neighborhood friends. As entrepreneurs, my parents both ran their own business. They have always worked very hard so growing up I spent a lot of time with my grandparents who spoke very little English. (I think that is were I first started to learn about my non-verbal communication skills!)
List any interesting or unusual jobs you may have had.
I worked at City Hall last summer, which was an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to work Councillor Frances Nunziata and really dedicate my time to the people living in Ward 11, North York Toronto by taking all issues into consideration and contacting people of authority and city workers to ensure their needs were being met.
List any volunteering you have done.
Peer Tutoring at Michael Power Highschool 2008 & 2009
Coop at All Saints Catholic School 2009
CYW at Runnymede Public School, Sept-April 2011
CYW at St Dorothy Catholic School, Sept-April 2012
CYW at Christian Horizons-Sept-April 2013
What is your most unusual talent?
I found this question a little difficult to answer, however I think my most unusual talent is my ability to get along and vibe with anyone. No matter what style, age, attitude, fashion, music, or culture a person may have/be, I am always able to connect with others. My talent to make anyone feel comfortable and at ease comes through my interpersonal skills that allow me to connect with others which is really important in my field of work as I work with people of all types!
Where is the most interesting place you have been to?
The most interesting place I have been to so far in my life would have to be Vancouver. I’ve traveled to many places such as Greece, Turkey, all around Italy and the Dominican republic just to list a few, however I fell in love with Vancouver because of the amazing landscape. I am so attracted to the diversity of the provinces of Canada. Vancouver offers mountains, forests, ocean, and a beautiful city. I loved all of it. Vancouver was an amazing experience.
What do you hope to be doing in ten years?
Ten years from now I hope to be well traveled, to be newly married to someone who shares the same interests as me, living a very happy life filled with love, health and success. I hope that my family and sisters will still be close by so that together, we can share our lives, friends, and blessings!
