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UCDSB Celebrates International Day of The Girl With Student Trustees Profile - Janevra Pier
UCDSB Celebrates International Day of The Girl With Student Trustees Profile - Janevra Pier
Posted on 10/11/2022

With October 11 being the International Day of the Girl, the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) wants the community to get to know two strong female student leaders in our board student trustees Janevra Pier and Olivia Pereira.  

Meet Janevra Pier 

I am a Grade 12 student at Gananoque Secondary School. I've lived in the Gananoque area my entire life and attended both local elementary and secondary schools.  

I usually spend my free time hiking with my two dogs, Scarlett and Archer, reading novels, and I especially love reading the New York Times Magazine, and I like baking with my sourdough starter. I got into both hiking and making sourdough during the pandemic. Initially, the hiking was because we just got our two puppies and we needed to tire them out, so hiking was the perfect way to do that while also getting outside, which was also beneficial for me.  

What are some interesting facts about yourself? 

This summer, I started a bagel business with an emphasis on locally sourced flour as part of a youth entrepreneurship program with the Government of Ontario. It was a grant that I applied for through the Leeds Grenville Small Business Centre - since I love sourdough baking and I was also interested in business and math, I thought it'd be a really cool program. And so, I interviewed for the grant and was awarded it. I got to work with mentors in the community to start up my business, which I called Bakery by the Pier since we also live by the water in Gananoque.

I'm also a pescatarian and both of my dogs are Rhodesian Ridgebacks.

Profile continues after photo gallery.

    What made you want to become a student trustee?

    I've always had an interest in leadership and representation. Ever since I was young, the idea of getting to positively shape the school experience for my peers seemed like a project that I would never get tired of. I thought the position might be a good fit for me and I decided to run because I wanted to be able to have conversations and interactions with people that would really create meaningful progress and contribute to that level. I was also interested in the inner workings of the school board.

    What do you or have you done in your school and/or community?

    I feel very lucky that my school and community have never had a shortage of opportunities for me. I'm so grateful for the overwhelming support of the school staff during my various leadership roles. For example, in intermediate school, I was elected co-leader of our Intermediate Student Council and we ran fundraising events and took part in WE Day. I also took a position on the Gananoque Library’s public board of directors for four years, during which I brought a student's perspective to library programming and helped design a creative writing contest. This year, I was elected co-president of High School Student Council, which is like a graduated level of the Intermediate Student Council.

    What does women’s rights and empowerment mean/look like to you?

    To me, female empowerment has always been about ensuring that women aren't held back by stereotypical feelings of inadequacy or lack of confidence and that they have enough self-assurance to take on roles that appeal to them. I want women to feel that they can speak up and that they aren't dependent on others to make their voices heard. And especially, that what they have to say is valuable. This year, I am part of a mentorship program called Girls SysTEM, which is a STEM-focused mentorship that pairs girls from high school with a professional STEM mentor, with a goal of tackling the under-representation of women in STEM-related fields. (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.)

    I feel like with all the roles that I have taken over my lifetime, so far, I feel that the fundamental beliefs, the right to learn and women's rights are definitely something that motivates me, in every facet of my leadership roles.

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