Devan Bahia

During my time at Millbrook School, due to my frequent contributions to the school's music culture, I was selected to be a part of the school's Music committee after a month of being at the school. This meant that, on top of singing and beatboxing for the A capella, performing songs on the piano in front of the entire school, and teaching music for volunteer hours, I would then have the authority to create and lead the new music club I pitched. In this club, 20 hand selected students and I wrote, produced, and recorded over a dozen songs that would be published on streaming platforms.

Last year I had the pleasure of attending Millbrook School for the first half of the school year. There, I contributed to a variety of organizations and clubs, including the Literary Magazine. In this club, my peers and I spent 1.5+ hours a week analyzing and selecting student work to be put in the annual literary magazine. Additionally, we spent hours outside of community service blocks to select students for the monthly poem reading. This is where students get the chance to read their poems in front of an audience and receive feedback on literacy and delivery.

For 2 summers, I volunteered a total of 100 hours at the Cloverdale Community Kitchen, which is an institution that gives out food, water, and utilities to people in need. While working there, I moved heavy loads of incoming product, helped distribute groceries to incoming people, and sanitized the working area. From the experience, I learned how to communicate with customers, give my best help possible, and cooperate with my peers to ensure maximum customer satisfaction.

From my Grade 8 to Junior year of high school, I played hockey for the highly decorated Yale Hockey Academy. Through forming relationships, and hard work on and off the ice, I was given 2 major leadership opportunities; I was the Captain of the U15 Varsity team and Assistant Captain of the U17 Prep team. These opportunities helped me overcome stigma during times of stress, stick with my team through tough games, and learn to hold my peers accountable when needed.

During my first year at the Yale Hockey Academy, I won the annual CSSHL Humanitarian of Year Award. I was nominated for this category after accumulating volunteer hours at the Ronald Mcdonald House years prior, helping people learn Punjabi at the Nanaksar Gurudwara, and raising over $2000 to assist the survivors of the 2020 abbotsford/mission flood.