The recipient bios in this article were written by Erika MacNeil. Thanks, Erika!

The 2025 Jean Lumb Foundation scholarship recipients have been announced! Please join us in congratulating our scholarship recipients: impressive, dedicated students from across the country. The future's in good hands!

About the Jean Lumb Foundation

Jean Lumb was the first Chinese Canadian woman and the first restaurateur to receive the Order of Canada for her tireless community work. Most notably, she was recognized for her pivotal role in changing Canada's immigration laws that separated Chinese families and for her contribution in saving Chinatowns in Toronto and other cities. The Jean Lumb Foundation is a Canadian, not-for-profit organization that was established as a charitable foundation in 2008. Learn more about Jean Lumb's accomplishments here.

Meet our scholarship recipients for 2025

Academics: Annie Cai

Throughout her time at high school, it has been Annie's priority to maintain academic excellence while also challenging herself. Because her school only offered 2 AP classes, she took it upon herself to study other subjects and earned the AP Scholar with Distinction award in Grade 11. She also wrote the SAT, where she scored a 1560 in August 2024. She has taken two college-level classes at UCLA, and was accepted into Yale Young Global Scholars. She grew interested in neuroscience, and participated in Pioneer Academics Spring Term as a research student. Her interest in medicine has led to a clinical research volunteer position with BC Children's Hospital. Annie's academic standing reflects her work ethic, while her research achievements showcase her passion and dedication for neuroscience and medicine.

Arts: Adrian Chan

Since he first began to play piano at age six, music has shaped Adrian's life, developing as a disciplined pianist, and a passionate and determined performer. His talent has taken him to local festivals, then beyond to Musikverein (Vienna), Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), and finally Carnegie Hall (New York). He remembers struggling with Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G Minor, but hours of patient, slow practice prepared him to perform it at Carnegie Hall. Believing music is meant to be shared, he has performed at a school fundraiser, and intends to continue using music to support meaningful causes and create a positive impact.

Athletics: Pippa Soyka Rozendaal

Pippa started school rowing at 14, competing at the Ontario Ergometer Championships. At 16, she earned bronze in the Junior Women's Single. She is a Chinese adoptee and only 5'2" tall, when height is key in rowing recruitment. In 2022, she placed first in the Junior Women's Eight, Four, and Double. She placed second in the Junior Women's Eight, Four, and Double at the International Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. In 2023, she placed fourth in the Senior Women's Quad in Boston, and won gold in Philadelphia. In 2024, she won the Lovey Farrell Cup and silver in the Senior Women's Double. At the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, she won bronze in the Women's Four competing against 22 year olds while only 17. Pippa's Chinese family is from Yunyang County on the Yangtze River; she believes that water and watersports are in her blood.

Community Service: Emmi Du Mont

When Emmi was 13.5 months old, she was left in a shopping area in a cardboard box and taken to an orphanage in Chongqing, China, then diagnosed in Toronto with a rare respiratory disease. She has joined the SickKids Foundation as an Ambassador/All-Star, Slices for Smiles, 100,000 Hugs for SickKids, Powering Holiday Smiles, Get Better Gifts Catalogue, and SickKids VS video campaigns. She sits on the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Youth Advisory Council, and in 2021, applied for and led three Public Health Agency of Canada School Grants. Since age 11, she has volunteered at Lansing United's Nearly New Shop. She received the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award (2025), the Merit Award Bursary (2024), and the Toronto Catholic District School Board Student Achievement Award (2024). Emmi remains committed to addressing health and social inequities in the community as reflected in her acceptance into the degree program Health & Society (York University).

Dignity of Life: Aveline Gu

Aveline is a MEDLIFE student executive, as well as the creator of the Care Machine. She has been travelling to low-income communities around the world to improve healthcare knowledge and practices through mobile clinics in rural towns. Her greatest achievements are in education, teaching children about self care and personal hygiene. Inspired by her trips, she proposed to install medicalized vending machines in rural communities: the Care Machine. She is a winner of the 2024–2025 Optimist Essay Contest (Oakville). She has volunteered at a pediatric clinic in Oakville. Aveline learns continuously about the people and the profession of medicine, and is following this path to build dignity where it is absent and to restore it where it has weakened.

Defence of the Environment: Caryl Szeto

Caryl began volunteering at the Hyde Creek Watershed Society at the age of 11. As a volunteer at the hatchery, she stewards salmon, educates the public, gives tours of the facilities, trains new members and collaborates with like-minded individuals. The educational aspect of the hatchery is one of her most important jobs. At the hatchery, she collects data on fish and invertebrate species in the local watershed. She also represents and mentors youth at workshop and research meetings. Caryl volunteers at the Future Science Leaders program and at Science World's Girls in STEAM events. After graduation, Caryl plans to study at Simon Fraser University in environmental sciences.

Excellence: Alexander Leung

In 2023, Alex won the CyberPatriot Platinum Award in a national cybersecurity competition. At hackathons, he built Tuki, an AI app that connects charities with donors, raising $500 in beta tests. He also created AI Genius Learner, an AI tool for custom study questions. Alex worked as an IT assistant, earning him a Computer Engineering offer and a Major Access Award Scholarship (April 2025). He founded Moscrop's E-Recycling Club in February 2024 and organized the 3-Day E-Recycling Day (June 2024). His social campaigns taught 100 people about e-waste dangers, while three workshops changed 100 students' habits. Alex's ambition drives him to solve bigger problems. Computer technology is his chosen path to change lives, one code at a time.

Innovation: Liam Pope-Lau

In 2019, Liam began development of LifeHeat, a self-heating survival pack to increase survivability in cold water emergencies, receiving the Blue Ocean International Competition First Place Award. In May 2024, he was recognized as an Ingenious+ National Award Winner by the Rideau Hall Foundation and invited to the Governor General's Innovation Awards Ceremony at Rideau Hall. In November 2022, he was named Innovator of the Year by Science Fair Foundation of BC and also won the People's Choice Young Innovator Award (2022). Other honours include the Rotary Club of Victoria Award for Environmental Excellence (2023), ASHRAE Distinction Award (2023), and Excellence Award for Engineering and Geoscience (2022).

Innovation in Technology: Daisy Zhang

Daisy constructed sustainable wooden structures and a disc golf course, and designed benches for Heart Lake Conservation Park using Miro and SketchUp (adding bike storage). In the Jamhacks hackathon, she created Bin to Bite, a website that helps families use all available ingredients to minimize food waste. She has also prototyped affordable vertical garden planter kits for urban homes. She enjoys combining engineering and sustainability to solve problems, and actively participates in her school's robotics and eco clubs, conservation park programs, and the GEM mentorship program. Her dream is to be an engineer using technology to create innovations that help others and improve sustainability.

Journalism & Communications: Rianna Panuelos

As a Project Lead at the Calgary Immigrant Women's Association (Aug 2023–May 2024), Rianna led a campaign to raise awareness about family violence, managing budgeting, organizing, hosting and promotion. She created a podcast exploring the impact of family violence and resources to help those affected. As a Student Apprentice with the Creative Destruction Lab (May 2023), she observed how start-ups pitch to investors, sparking her interest in digital media and storytelling.

Leadership: Erick Yang

Erick became the youngest and only public school champion of the 2023 World Individual Debate and Public Speaking Championships. His Atlas initiative created an online tournament that welcomed 300+ debaters nationwide, directing $7,500 to UNICEF Canada and other charities. As in-person gatherings resumed, he helped Churchill debate transform Atlas into Alberta's largest annual tournament. At the 2023 World Schools Debating Championships, he served as the youngest tab director, managing ballots for 50 teams through the disruptions of Typhoon Talim. Erick was invited to speak at the Ceremony Marking the 100th Anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Overcoming Adversity: Virginia Cai

Diagnosed with lupus at age 10, Virginia was told the physical demands of high-level Wushu would be too much. Instead, she competed the following year at the World Junior Wushu Championships, earning a silver medal for Team Canada. She has since held the national #1 ranking in her division and represented Canada four times internationally. As a coach at the Calgary TaiChi and Martial Arts College, she led teams to the Can-Am International Wushu Championships for three consecutive years. In 2023, her students earned six Grand Champion titles; in 2024, two Grand Champions and one All-Around Champion. This year, her team earned six more grand champion titles. Virginia hopes to demonstrate that resilience means choosing to rise, and to help others rise with you.

Huge thanks to everyone who applied for a Jean Lumb award this year. We had our biggest year ever, and it's all thanks to you! These scholarships help support the next generation of Chinese Canadian students, and we couldn't be more proud to play a small part in helping these extraordinary students achieve success. Thanks to Arlene Chan and the rest of the Jean Lumb Foundation team for putting this long-standing awards program together.

See you in the spring for next year's applications!