Meet the 2020 Winners of the Learning Buddies Scholarship

Written by Gabrielle Wong


In the summer of 2020, the Learning Buddies Network introduced the LBN Scholarship to thank volunteers for all of the hard work they do to make our programs successful. Our Program Coordinators and Executive Coordinators dedicate a lot of time to making sure all of our programs run smoothly. The impact LBN has would not be possible without them. We are deeply appreciative of our dedicated, passionate leaders!

We’re delighted to announce that the three winners of the 2020 LBN Scholarships are Samantha Tang, Jessie Wu, and Ava Daeipour. Congratulations! Because education is a foundational pillar of LBN, we hope these scholarships help them pursue lifelong learning through higher education.

Read a bit more about each of the winners below:

Samantha Tang (winner of $200):

Samantha is currently the executive coordinator for our Begbie program. During her 1.5 years with Learning Buddies, she’s been a math mentor, a math and reading program coordinator, and remote reading program coordinator. Samantha is currently attending UBC studying Science. In the future, she plans to become a pediatric surgeon to help those in need while also helping children feel safe and secure. Samantha’s other activities also draw on her love of working with younger children. Piano has always been a major part of her life and she is currently a piano teacher. Although her academic pursuits keep her busy, she dedicates her spare  time to other volunteering work and research.  

Samantha says that “the best part about volunteering with LBN comes from watching the kids you work with grow and develop more confidence in themselves as the term progresses. It is rewarding to be able to see how far they have come and how much they are learning throughout the sessions”.  All the best Samantha!

Jessie Wu (winner of $200):

Jessie Wu

Jessie Wu

Jessie was with Learning Buddies from 2018-May 2020 and served as a reading mentor, a math coordinator, and the executive director of the Trudeau site. Currently, Jessie is studying at the University of Toronto and is pursuing a double major in English and Philosophy. Jessie hopes to become a lawyer to help those facing injustices.  Currently, she is involved with a number of publications, mostly in editorial roles. Other than that, Jessie dedicates her time to painting, skiing, playing the piano, and finding the best steakhouse in Vancouver.

Jessie comments, “The best part about volunteering is meeting, interacting, and bonding with the kids at LBN. Seeing them develop in character and becoming more positive about learning is definitely the one of (if not the most) rewarding feelings in the world”. Thank you for your service Jessie!


Ava Daeipour (winner of $500):

Since 2018, Ava has volunteered with LBN in a variety of mentorship, coordination, and executive roles. She is a distinguished member of our program committee and helped create LBN’s current online reading curriculum. Ava says, “the best part of volunteering with Learning Buddies has undoubtedly been working with our little buddies, whether directly as a mentor or indirectly as a coordinator. Not only have I been able to help our program children improve their literacy skills, but also their self-esteem and love for reading, which has been an incredibly rewarding experience.”

Ava Daeipour

Ava Daeipour

Ava’s end career goal is to be a physician in social pediatrics; she is currently studying for a Masters in Public Health. Additionally, she is assisting with a project that aims to reduce the risk of post-incarceration opioid overdose in women and leading a study investigating the differential effects of mild stress by sex and genotype at the University of British Columbia, where Ava received a Bachelor of Science in Behavioural Neuroscience. Ava is passionate about improving health outcomes within marginalized, underprivileged societies. We’re very fortunate to have Ava on the LBN team and hope the scholarship assists with her academic pursuits!