An Indo-Canadian student from Surrey is one of 20 chosen from across Canada for the STEM scholarship. Hemanya Sharma, who is on her way to the University of British Columbia (UBC) in the fall, has been awarded a scholarship of $70,000 for creating opportunities for young girls interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in her community.

 By DESIBUZZCanada Staff With News Files

 SURREY – An Indo-Canadian student from Surrey is one of 20 chosen from across Canada for the STEM scholarship.

Hemanya Sharma, who is on her way to the University of British Columbia (UBC) in the fall, has been awarded a scholarship of $70,000 for creating opportunities for young girls interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in her community.

Newly graduated from Enver Creek Secondary, Sharma was one of 20 students chosen from around Canada as a recipient of the TD Scholarships for Community Leadership.

Sharma created the We Can STEM program at her school, with the goal of helping young girls from nearby elementary schools pursue science, technology, engineering and math skills during after-school hours, reported Surrey-Leader Newspaper.

 “The reason I started the program is because when I was in Grade 9 I took my first robotics course and saw there were only three other girls in the class,” Sharma said in a news release.

“After that I discovered that it wasn’t only my class, but nationally and internationally, there weren’t a lot of girls going into these types of programs.”

Also serving as president of the Multicultural Club at Enver Creek, Sharma saw an opportunity and a challenge to make a change, leading her to start the STEM club.

This allowed her to share her love of STEM, which began in Grade 5 when she attended a robotics camp.

“I realized a lot of girls don’t have those kinds of opportunities because their parents might not be able to commit the time or afford to put them into special programs, so I wanted to do something that would make that type of opportunity accessible to anyone,” Sharma explained.

The club came to life in 2021 after she was able to recruit a couple teachers and classmates to help teach the elementary school students. It proved popular as the club filled up right away and even had a wait-list.