Rochelle Prasad, a teacher and former student in the Surrey School District, has been named the World Federation of United Nations Associations' Young Leader of the Year for 2023.
With a decade of community and advocacy experience - including five years spent working with the United Nations Associations (UNA) Canada - the 25-year-old Prasad was recognized for helping empower youth to become informed and proactive citizens, igniting desires for positive change in her community and working with Indigenous populations to preserve lands and communities.
She got involved with UNA Canada through their Building Young Entrepreneurs Program shortly after graduating from Queen Elizabeth Secondary, and moved into a working role within the organization, collaborating on equity initiatives, workshops and seminars.
Prasad's passion and enthusiasm for change began at a young age.
"I think it was around Grade 3 that started noticing that there were gaps in the system that were leaving some kids frustrated. They weren't able to absorb or take part in lessons as well as others and I wondered why the adults weren't doing more about it," she said. "That made me angry and as I went through the system, I thought about what else was needed to help students that struggle."
During her time at Queen Elizabeth Secondary, Prasad channeled that desire into the creation of the SPARK foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing leadership, communication and social skills in students through programs emphasizing mentorship and empowerment.
"It was created to fill the gap that I saw in education, rounding out those soft skills for students in the K-12 system," she said. "Since being founded in 2014, we've done over 560 workshops with Surrey Schools.
Ten years later, Prasad now splits her time as SPARK CEO, teacher-on-call and lecturer at two post-secondary institutions, all while still finding time to work with UNA Canada.
"My intersection in life is basically policy and education and I want to see what I'm able to do in that realm before I'm not longer on this earth," she said. "I would like to see every child in the world have access to quality education, free of barriers. So, I'm starting with our city and plan to keep going larger and larger."
Congratulations, Rochelle!
