Big hearts, bright ideas and local pride. Windsor-Essex's young rock stars shine
HARPER GRACE
It’s not often that a Grade 5 student can be recognized as a published author, but that is in fact a title that can be given to Grade 5 student, Harper Grace, from Essex Public School. As she proudly holds her book in her hand, she says, “I wrote this book. It has 225 pages.” Harper began writing her novel, Maricopia: A Tale of Hope at the young age of 7. She describes it as a story that is sort of like an Avatar style world. She recalls writing very slowly when she began her book. It took her a while to navigate the time of day that worked best for her writing. She quickly figured it out and the rest is history. As she flips through the pages, she points out the illustrations, and the front cover, which were all designed by her. Fast forward a few years and Harper is onto writing her second novel, The End of the Rainbow. This one has a completely different storyline than the first book. She’s very excited to share this new storyline. She describes it as “a mystery book, but fantasyish.” In addition, she’s thinking ahead to the sequel of her first book. When discussing the future, it’s no surprise that Harper would like to be an author. She dreams of writing many more books. In the meantime, her first book can be found on Amazon. She has already sold 50 copies. Stay tuned for more!
ELIZA WILLIAMS
Grade 8 student Eliza Williams from Gosfield North Public School is smiling for a reason. This past summer, Eliza was chosen to go to the International Children’s Games in Tallinn, Estonia for track and field, enabling her to compete at an international level. At the International Children’s Games, she ran the 400m, participated in running long jump and ran the relay. Her relay team placed 5th out of all the countries there. Eliza says this trip, “was a really good experience.” She was able to stay in a hotel with all the athletes and train when she arrived. Eliza’s dedication not only shines through as an athlete, but she was also determined to make this trip accessible for her entire family. She organized her own fundraisers to raise funds to allow her family to attend. As a result, her parents, grandparents, and sister accompanied her on this trip and cheered her on. Competing at this level requires many hours of practice while balancing school and other activities. Eliza seems to handle everything with ease. She trains in winter and summer but skips the fall and spring seasons because she focuses on her other sports: soccer, basketball, volleyball and sometimes badminton. Her teachers describe her as having a “can-do attitude” and she is known to have a positive attitude amongst her peers. When discussing future goals, Eliza is hopeful that her team will get selected to go to the International Children’s Games the next 2 years, as the games are in Taiwan and the year after, in Greece.
KIERSTYN AND TY BAILLARGEON
Grade 10 North Star High School students Kierstyn and Ty Baillargeon are twins that have exceeded their own expectations. The two siblings, along with their sister Lauren, have grown their Kids Curing Cancer fundraising campaign to an organization that has donated over $200 000 to support local families battling cancer. This campaign began years ago, when their grandfather was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Lauren wanted to say thank you to the Patient’s Assistance Program at the hospital and decided to set a goal to raise $50 to donate to the program. Her $50 goal was immediately surpassed and she raised $3000. From there Kierstyn and Ty got involved. The first few years started off slowly. It didn’t take long before the campaign grew, especially when their family friend jumped in as auctioneer for their charity night (their main event). What started as a pasta night at the Verdi Club, turned into an evening at Sprucewood Winery. According to Kierstyn and Ty, “People find us now. Sprucewood gives us the venue, chef and staff give us their time, NHL donates jerseys, and so much more, it’s a community event.” Along with this, there is community involvement throughout the year. Sweet Moments Bakery, Spitfires, South County Predators Girls Hockey Association, Amherstburg Soccer Club are some of the many organizations that donate to the Kids Curing Cancer campaign. Even local high schools hold events like Loonie 4 License and donate the proceeds to their campaign. This level of success has allowed them to donate to several different organizations throughout the community. This upcoming February will be their final event held at Sprucewood Winery. Kierstyn and Ty want it to end with the largest community involvement that they’ve seen. They have decided to go back to their roots and donate once again to the Patient’s Assistance Program at the hospital. There is no doubt that this event will be a huge success.
McKENNA ST. AUBIN
McKenna St. Aubin is a grade 12 student who doesn’t stop. Not only is she a full-time senior student at Herman High school, she also has the busy role of Student Council Prime Minister. Being a high school Prime Minister involves planning events throughout the school year, and so much more. She is currently working on Halloween week and the school’s first pep rally. As if that was not enough, McKenna started a Jack.org chapter on mental health at her school. In doing so, McKenna has organized and continues to plan various activities to break the cycle of mental health in youth. Her latest project is organizing a mental health fair. She plans to invite organizations into the school to set up booths to educate students on various topics. In addition, she will invite parents, feeder schools, and students after school to listen to a speaker on mental health and then have breakout rooms to open discussions on a variety of topics. In addition to this, McKenna says she was also part of the MHC (mental health committee) at the school board. She states, “I am a huge mental health advocate.” Lastly, McKenna is a Senator of the SLD committee. This committee is within the school board. It involves meetings with school prime ministers to discuss what they are doing at school. She is also part of the committee organizing a student leadership conference. It seems like McKenna’s days are full because of all her commitments, yet she still has time to work a part-time job. McKenna’s ambition is what makes her an inspiration and a natural leader to her peers.
SUAAD AMAM
Suaad Amam is a grade 12 student from Herman High school. She arrived in Canada three years ago from Libya. Suaad is Syrian, thus English is not her first language. When Suaad began school in Canada, she had some English, however, she worked very hard to become fluent quickly. In just three years, Suaad has made a huge impact at her school and in the community. The first year here, she volunteered her time at a summer camp for kids between the ages of kindergarten and grade 8. In doing so, she planned activities and took care of the needs of the children. She then volunteered her time at the Unemployed Health Center (UHC) of Windsor and continues to do so on her days off school. At UHC, she completes data entry and assists with the food bank. By working there for two years, Suaad says, “I have built strong relationships with the workers and customers. They always see me and ask how I am and know my name.” School also plays an important role in Suaad’s life. Her studies are very important, as she would like to become a dentist one day. Her leadership skills within the school are also important to her. She is often asked to translate to students or to work Grade 8 and 9 events. In addition, this year she has a role as the Prime Minister of the Muslim Student Association. She will help organize a culture day, school activities such as a gallery walk and collaboration with the student council. It may seem like Suaad has little time left in her busy days, yet she also plays a huge role at home in helping with her seven siblings and parents. Two of her siblings have disabilities and one is autistic, thus there are many trips to London where she accompanies her parents to help them and to translate. Suaad is a role model for students. She realizes that with hard work and determination, anything is possible.
TRISHA HALDAR
Grade 9 student, Trisha Haldar, from Vincent Massey High School, is a problem solver. Last year, Trisha won several awards with her science fair project that stemmed from her desire to solve a problem. Trisha learned that her grandmother had been taking several different medications, and she wondered if doing so could cause any “adverse drug reactions.” This was the “problem” that ignited her science project. She thought, “What can I do about this?” Trisha started her research. After hours of research and hard work, Trisha says, “I built a tool that visualizes the drug interactions so it’s easier for polypharmacy patients to track their drug interactions.” Her tool was designed on her laptop. She says, “You input in a list of medications, and it displays potential drug interactions and causes for it.” It’s not surprising that Trisha was awarded one of the grand awards for regionals, meaning she was one of the five students in Windsor to be chosen to go to Canada’s Science Fair in Fredericton, New Brunswick. At the science Fair, she stood next to her backboard, and she explained her project to judges on rotation. Her hard work paid off. Trisha earned a gold medal, a Youth Can Innovate Award, a Challenge Award in Health and Wellness, Best innovation in a junior category and a prestigious Platinum award. Trisha says she is continuing to develop this tool. She’s determined to keep adding to it. She says, “Even if I help one person, it will all be worth it.” Furthermore, Trisha also won the GECDSB’s FitWeek logo contest and worked with three other artists to create a Diversity and Inclusion mural at her school. Her talents shine through many different areas.
TALAL AHMAD
Talal Ahmad is a well-known grade 6 student from Talbot Trail Public School. Every day after school, most of the school population and staff rely on his assistance for dismissal. Talal says there are nine buses at his school. Most students are on a bus. Teachers will often ask him if buses have arrived. Talal is well aware of what buses are there. He helps students with directions and helps guide younger students to their buses, as he knows what buses most of the younger students are on. He also will do head counts each day to be sure all the students he monitors make it in from the yard and will alert staff if a child is missing. He said his knowledge of the buses began the year before, in grade 5, when he became a bus buddy. It was then that he memorized the buses. Last year, whenever there was a late bus, Talal would stay just to play with the students until the bus arrived. In addition to being helpful at the end of the day, Talal says he is happy to help his teacher whenever she needs him. Talal is also committed to working hard after school. He says when he is home, he does his schoolwork and plays educational games. He aspires to be a doctor one day. Finally, Talal is looking forward to the upcoming Run for Windsor 5K supporting Windsor Regional Hospital. He said all proceeds go directly to the hospital. It is his second year running in this event. Talal’s willingness to help others is a characteristic that sets him apart from others and will lead him on a path of success.
EMSLEY MEDEIROS
Meet the sixth grader whose plant sales are helping families and inspiring a community!
Spider plants symbolize growth, nurture, and positive energy. They are tough and resilient, and known for purifying the air – qualities that perfectly describe 11-year-old Emsley Medeiros.
Emsley’s labour of love, Project SMILE (Summer Mission: Inspiring Love Everywhere), is all about spreading joy and giving back—one plant at a time.
“One day I just asked my mom and dad if I could start raising money for charity,” explains Emsley, a Gr. 6 student at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in South Windsor. “I wanted to help kids and families.”
Since she was eight, she has been carefully propagating her own spider plants, selling them in the summer alongside lemonade stands with her little brother Max and some cousins to raise money for local charities. “It makes me feel really happy, the way I make them feel when I present them the money that I raised,” she says. “It makes me really happy to see how much they smile.”
Emsley’s efforts have grown every year. In her first year, she raised $218 for Ronald McDonald House. In 2023, she collected $261 for Hospice of Windsor-Essex County. A year later, she presented a cheque for over $700 to Ursa Major—and this past summer, she raised an incredible $1,300 for the Chasing Hazel Foundation, a local charity supporting individuals with Down syndrome.
Her love of giving is also teaching her valuable skills. “I think it’s teaching me a lot about business,” she explains. This year, she started by selling on Facebook Marketplace and posting signs but discovered that partnering with local businesses could expand her reach. Coordinating with Antonino’s Original Pizza and Mendes Greenhouses made her fundraiser bigger and brighter than ever.
“Everybody is really supportive about it,” she says. “They get inspired to buy a plant, and sometimes they donate a little more, sometimes they get multiple plants.”
Behind the scenes, Emsley works hard. She starts prepping plants in the winter and nurtures them all year long. Horticulture is just one of her passions, alongside playing drums, reading, spending time at the park with friends, and acting in Windsor Light Music Theatre’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Emsley is humble, kind-hearted, and full of initiative. She hasn’t finalized her plans for next year but hopes to continue Project SMILE by helping the Humane Society or another small charity.
“I’m not out there for the praise,” she says. “I like doing it because I love helping people.”
To support Project SMILE or learn more, contact them via email at plants4smile@gmail.com. With tiny plants and a big heart, Emsley is showing that even the smallest seeds of kindness can grow into something extraordinary.
