Ms Salina Dharamsi has already established an impressive record of academic achievement, leadership and community service. As well as being a familiar face on the local volunteering scene, she has travelled to Guatemala, India and Rwanda, where she worked and learned side-by-side with local people on community development projects.

In 2010 she was admitted into the highly competitive accounting co-op education program at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, and was soon identified as a top recruit by KPMG. She completed three work terms as a chartered accountant articling student and in 2011 was one of only two Canadian interns selected to complete a one-month rotation in corporate finance in Johannesburg, South Africa, as part of KPMG’s Global Internship Program. She is a keen participant in the company’s volunteering opportunities, especially those with an international focus, and represented KPMG at a UBC initiative in Phalaborwa, South Africa, teaching local entrepreneurs marketing, finance and accounting skills. In Guatemala, she helped develop children’s literacy and health awareness. More recently, she travelled to Udaipur, India, to participate in projects with Free the Children.

Passionate about international development and diplomacy, she was selected from among hundreds of candidates as one of six youth ambassadors for World Vision Canada and participated in a leadership forum with Rwandan, Tanzanian and Congolese youth. She was a panelist and youth facilitator for two United Nations debates in New York and Geneva, and was the sole Canadian student delegate at the Peace Conference of Youth held in Japan last year.

Dharamsi has also been extremely active in her local community. She has facilitated a conference on healthy living for inner-city students, tutored children with learning disabilities and raised money for literacy. She has also been a regular volunteer for AIDS Vancouver, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, BC Ismaili Volunteer Corps, the Canadian Cancer Society and UBC Meal Exchange, which collects canned goods for local food banks, and was a mentor in UBC’s Emerging Leaders program. In 2011, Dharamsi was featured as a “local hero” on the cover of The Province newspaper.

Since being selected as recipient for Future Alumnus Award, Dharamsi has graduated from UBC and is currently enrolled in the Master of Professional Accounting program at the Edwards School of Business in Saskatchewan. In recognition of her community involvement and significant contributions, she has received a BC Community Achievement Medallion and a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Full article: http://www.alumni.ubc.ca/2013/awards/salina-dharamsi/