
Congratulations to Leaside High School’s graduating class of 2024, who began high school “during an extraordinarily challenging time,” says Jonathan LeFresne, guidance counsellor and organizer of the scholarship committee as well as assistant curriculum leader of English and literacy.
The students “were masked, had to pivot between in-person and online school with no sports and few activities,” he adds. But as things slowly returned to normal, the students “jumped into all the possibilities – excelling at sports and joining a record number of clubs, putting on performances, winning competitions and contributing to their communities in countless ways.”
They deserve a great deal of credit as they head off to exciting post-secondary endeavours. Let’s meet five of these outstanding students:
Hanna Ekrami

With a final average of 97%, Hanna Ekrami will be studying health sciences at Queen’s University. She hopes to go to medical school after that to become a psychiatrist dedicated to helping reduce the stigma around mental health.
Hanna has earned various awards in mathematics and STEM. She also received a gold medal in the 2023 Toronto Science Fair as well as the Grade 12 chemistry award.
In addition, Hanna was a leader on the mental health and wellness committee, serving as the events coordinator and vice-president, planning school initiatives and organizing events. She also did peer tutoring in math.
Outside school, Hanna dedicated her past two summers to volunteering at St. Michael’s Hospital in the neurosurgery and hemodialysis units. Other activities include health sciences competitions and work with Reena, an organization supporting people with developmental disabilities. Thanks to these experiences, Hanna won the J. W. Kerr Citizenship Award for selfless contributions to her community.
Since moving to Leaside from Iran as a child, Hanna has appreciated the support she received here, which has enabled her to grow.
Nevin Katkic

Nevin Katkic will be taking mechanical engineering at Western University next year. His final average of 91%, his earlier subject awards in business and engineering and his passion for robotics have all played a role in his choice of university program.
For the past two years, Nevin has been the captain of the robotics team, managing various aspects of their program as well as overseeing different groups and teams and liaising with the staff. He enjoyed working with a group focused on innovation and problem-solving, and, as a result of their achievements, the team received the King Charles III Excellence in Community Service Award for outstanding contributions.
Nevin has also been a robotics volunteer at Holland Bloorview where he worked on building and programming Lego robots for children with special needs. Other science-related activities include participating in the Beaver Computing Challenge and winning a bronze medal in the Toronto Science Fair.
Taekwondo is another of Nevin’s passions. He earned his black belt at Synergy Martial Arts Academy where he also teaches classes, acts as a camp counsellor and creates robotics programming for summer camp students.
With all of these experiences, Nevin plans to continue his efforts to create positive change in his community.
Rhea Katyal

Rhea Katyal is Leaside’s recipient of the University of Toronto National Book Award, which recognizes students who excel in academic pursuits and intellectual exploration and are strongly involved in their schools and communities. With an average of 95%, she also received a Western University Entrance Scholarship of Distinction and will be taking political science there before pursuing a joint business and law degree.
Rhea’s interest in business was fueled by her role as the co-founder and co-leader of the Women in Business Club, which led to her summer internship at Canaccord Genuity, an investment bank and financial services company. Other school activities included the French, Spanish and newspaper clubs.
Another of Rhea’s passions is politics and government. She was selected as the sole high school representative from Don Valley West to the Ontario Legislative Assembly’s Model Parliament program in November 2023. Before that, she was selected as a legislative page. It is not surprising that she received the Member of Parliament Citizenship Award for her leadership and community involvement.
Rhea also volunteered at Sunnybrook Hospital and Holland Bloorview and played hockey and baseball locally, again demonstrating her commitment to her community.
Sarah Sakac

While Sarah Sakac has a wide array of interests, she has settled on engineering at Queen’s University. Throughout her time at Leaside High, she won a number of awards for excellence in mathematics and STEM and plans to pursue further education in business or law, but with her many talents and 94% average, is open to other career paths.
Sarah also won awards for excellence in law, English and drama. This dedicated member of the drama club has a particular affinity for theatre and performance and was the leading performer in three different Leaside productions. She also attended musical theatre intensive camps hosted by the Stratford Festival. She was in the choir and served as a peer tutor where she discovered that she loves teaching others new skills. With all of these experiences to her name, it’s no surprise she was the recipient of the Jim Tuck Award for Creativity as well as the Drama Award for Excellence in Performance.
Sarah praises her school for its extensive variety of courses and activities that enabled her to pursue both her “science-centric passion” and her love of the arts, creating an “unforgettable” experience and helping her to become a ”well-rounded person.”
Arnav Shah

With an average of 98%, Arnav Shah will be taking computer science at the University of Toronto next year. He is already an AI researcher after working for the past two years with mentors at OpenAI, a leading AI research company responsible for the creation of the website ChatGPT.
Other outstanding accomplishments include Arnav’s work as the youngest software engineering intern at IBM Canada, and as the head of AI research at clinical stage biotech startup HelixNano where he has been building vaccines against cancer for the past year.
One of his first projects was the Crosswalk Company where he and two friends from Northlea initiated the use of orange flags at Leaside intersections to increase pedestrian visibility after the Georgia Walsh tragedy.
Arnav explains that he was inspired to contribute to biotechnology by his own experience with a rare form of leukemia which is now being treated successfully with a new breakthrough medicine. He is determined to conquer cancer so that other children will not have to suffer. Arnav was the recipient of the Hartley Family Scholarship for students facing special challenges and the Grade 12 mathematics award.
These exceptional students agree that LHS provided them with a close-knit community and an excellent learning environment. They are grateful for the care and concern of the dedicated staff helping them to achieve their best, and for the variety of courses and extracurricular activities allowing them to explore and develop new interests. We applaud their accomplishments and wish them every success in the future.