February 2025 Student Awards
2025 Taiga Galli Memorial Refugee Award – $4,000
Growing up as an Afghan child in Pakistan, Nazo Katawazai always struggled to maintain her identity. For her, coming to Canada has meant freedom from these struggles and the opportunity to pursue a degree in Health Education, hopefully becoming a physician and a teacher one day. She says, “I am excited to continue my journey, knowing that the education I receive will equip me to change lives—just as I’ve always hoped to do.”
2025 TCF Refugee Award – $4,000
After escaping the war in Syria and the hard life of a refugee in Lebanon, Raghad Alhaj Ali, inspired by a family member with medical issues, has ambitions to study biomedical engineering in order to “advance and improve medical fields”. As she says, “The education I will receive will allow me to further my goal of making a significant impact on the lives of others, particularly those in need of medical care.”
2025 Dr. William McMichael TCF Refugee Award – $4,000
Having escaped the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan under duress, Soraya Salehi, who would have been unable to continue her education at home because of her gender, was able to come to Canada by herself. Although she struggled at first, she says that “From overcoming language barriers to excelling academically, I have learned that perseverance and hard work are the keys to unlocking new opportunities.” Her plan is to pursue a degree in Business Administration.
2025 Nicholas Collins Founders Refugee Awards – $4,000 each
After being separated from her family and her life in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Atosha Ngage, a single mother, was finally able to come to Canada. Here, she has been pursuing her diploma in Early Childhood Education She says, “Through early childhood education, I will inspire and shape the next generation, advocating for their needs and fostering an environment where they can thrive.”
Although Khaled Hafez misses the life he was forced to leave behind in Aleppo, Syria, he is grateful for the opportunities given to him and his family in Canada. In spite of a physical handicap, he has been able to thrive in Canada, and he says that a post-secondary education will allow him to fulfill his dream: “I want to ensure that the people around me, especially those from marginalized communities, feel seen and supported. Whether it’s a fellow refugee, a low-income family, or someone battling their own personal demons, I want to be part of the solution.”
2025 David Lam/BC TEAL English Language Learner Scholarships – $4,000
Rida Chaudhary still misses the lively life she left behind, but she clearly sees the value in the opportunities she will have here in Canada. In his own words, “As a future healthcare professional, I want to advocate for better health education, disease prevention, and medical advancements that enhance the quality of life for Canadians.” We think that her proven leadership skills and volunteer experience, along with this scholarship, will help her to achieve her goals.
2025 Jennifer Pearson Terell Refugee Award for Continued Studies – $4,000
Four years ago, Lulia Tela won the Taiga Galli Memorial Award in order to begin her post-secondary education. Now, she hopes to pursue a nursing career with the help of this new award, of which she is the first recipient. In her own words, “Completing my program will make me the first person in my family to earn a bachelor’s degree, which is a milestone that holds deep personal significance. It will allow me to serve as a great representation for my younger siblings, cousins, and my community.”
November 2024 Educator Awards
2024 Project Funding Award – $2500
The BC TEAL Conference Committee, headed by Jennifer Cummins, has used this award to help fund the annual conference in May, 2025.
Nan Poliakoff Memorial Award – $2000
Arash Hassanpour is a valued and respected instructor at Bayswater Vancouver. His reason for attending the International Institute for Technology, Education and Research in Toronto this year was to focus on the theme of “Psychology, Language and Teaching.” In his application, he wrote, “I hope to explore effective strategies for integrating culturally relevant content that honors the experiences and contributions of Persian-speaking students. It is crucial that our curricula not only acknowledge but celebrate the diversity of our student population.”
Brooke Witkowski is one of two winners of the Nan Poliakoff Memorial Award. Having taught over a decade overseas, her return to Canada has shifted her focus to teaching English to newcomers from various socioeconomic backgrounds so that English could increase their chances to survive and thrive here in Canada. She was selected to join LINC Home Study, an online distance education instruction program for Newcomers who cannot attend in-person classes. She is using her award to attend the BC TEAL conference in May.
BC TEAL/TESOL Award – $2000
The 2024 winner is Beth Konomoto, a well-known face in BC TEAL, having been an active member since 2012 and serving on the board in various positions. Beth is a Doctor of Social Science student at Royal Roads University, also serving as an English Language Instructor at Camosun College. She used her award to attend the 2025 TESOL Graduate Student Forum in Long Beach, California in March, where she hoped to engage with colleagues on her topic and emerging research involving the latest insights in education technology, assessment, and teaching methodologies.
Over the last two years, she has worked in this same program as Instructor Support, where she trains teachers in curriculum, LMS, and digital support. Since teaching and supporting other teachers over the last five years in Canada, she has become aware of the vast need to provide digital accessibility in the resources created for learners. Bringing accessibility to all is one of her passions. She will be sharing this passion at the BC TEAL Conference in May, 2025.
Settlement Language Resource Award – $3000
Jonny Kalambay is the winner of the Settlement Language Resource Award. Heading a team from New Directions, a language school based in Langley, British Columbia that provided CLB 1 to 8 classes both online and in-person, Jonny will develop AI-Assisted CLB Levelled Materials to better support the students and teachers. HIs goal in this project is to help other instructors to have easily-accessed materials. “It is difficult for teachers to prepare learning material that is accessible to learners of different levels. This project aims to create a wider variety of CLB-calibrated material for LINC teachers to allow them to better tailor their instruction and assessment for each student. New Directions will lead this project and work in partnership with Roshi Technologies Inc. to create a set of level-adjusted material for their teachers. Roshi will provide the AI tool that the New Directions teachers will use to assist with the creation of this material for Tutela.”
Mary Ashworth Scholarship – $2000
A familiar face to BC TEAL, Karen Wiebe is the 2024 winner of the Mary Ashworth Scholarship. As a PhD candidate with UBC’s Okanagan School of Education, with a focus on TESOL, her PhD research is interested in how newcomers to Canada learn English in the workplace, and how to support that in the classroom.
Her scholarship will take her to the next TESOL conference. She sees attending conferences as, “significant learning opportunities on multiple levels … meaningful engagement with other scholar practitioners in our field provides an insight into the variety of teaching and learning contexts that are contributing to our understanding. The connections made at conferences work as conduits for knowledge and ideas sharing throughout the year, allowing us all to benefit from each other’s experiences. Conferences inspire us to try new approaches in the classroom, ask new questions of our research, and ask new questions of ourselves and our roles in the field of EAL.”
Pat Wakefield Scholarship – $3000
A frequent presenter at her workplace, English Language Centre, University of Victoria, as well as at BC TEAL, Susan Abrill has shared her expertise and ideas to better our community. “Each time I present a new idea at a conference or workshop, I gain valuable feedback through the questions and discussions that follow.” She is proud to have presented on ways to build awareness of the Indigenous cultures of Vancouver Island for visiting students at the English Language Centre. She is now focused on demonstrating how a wordless graphic novel can inspire spontaneous speaking in a safe space for EAL learners at any level.
Using this scholarship, she travelled to the IATEFL 2025 conference in Edinburgh, sharing Canadian content with international colleagues.