Sneha Choubey

Meet Sneha Choubey

We are excited to announce Sneha as a recipient of the 2024 SENIA Student Award! A grade 11 student at Berlin Brandenburg International School in Germany, Sneha has been a passionate advocate for social justice from a young age.Her advocacy shines through in her co-authored articles for InterAct and TIE Online, the website she created for her school’s Social Justice Committee, and the numerous workshops she leads on neurodivergence and ableism. Sneha also interns with AIELOC (Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color) and presented on a youth panel at their conference. Additionally, she serves as the DEIJ officer on her Student Council Executive Team and is a member of the Sunflower Club, which celebrates neurodiversity.When asked about her goals for advocating for herself and her neurodivergent peers, Sneha simply stated, “Change!” She aims to change misconceptions surrounding neurodiversity and disabilities, believing that “students deserve to walk tall and proud in their school.” Her determination to “tear down and rebuild our world” reflects her incredible vision for a more inclusive future. Sneha’s passion, fearlessness, and relentless pursuit of inclusion will undoubtedly transform the world. Keep breaking down those barriers, Sneha! Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition!

Aly Saleh

StudentAwardWinner

Meet Aly Saleh

Congratulations to Aly Saleh as 2023’s recipient of the SENIA Student Award! Aly is a grade 10 student at an international school in Thailand who spreads awareness about disabilities. Aly explains how his disability has allowed him to have empathy for others with disabilities. He felt that he “had a voice” and that is was important to use his voice for “those that may not have a voice of their own” in creating awareness. Aly started the Operation Smile service group at his school to help spread awareness of children born with cleft lip and palate issues. He is also participated in the PhuLiPhay which is a service group focusing on supporting Burmese refugees, especially individuals with disabilities. He is organizing a Color Run in January to help spread awareness about Operation Smile and PhuLiPhay. Aly’s journey of service to create awareness of the intersectionality between marginalized people and disabilities had him present as a Keynote speaker at the ServICE conference in Bangkok in 2022. Not only is Aly very involved in service projects he also excels academically at school. One quote that sums up Aly perfectly is “If I don’t do it, then who will because everyone is busy.
A big congratulations to Aly as this year’s SENIA Student Award winner.

Meet Charlotte and Brigette

StudentAwardWinner

Meet Charlotte and Brigette

Congratulations to our two wonderful SENIA Student Award winners for 2022 – Charlotte Holme and Brigette Yasin!

The SENIA Student Award is awarded annually to students who embody SENIA’s mission and vision of promoting inclusion in their communities. Each winner will receive a plaque, a monetary scholarship and a certificate to show our appreciation of the important work they are doing.

Charlotte Holme has finished her schooling and training and found supported employment at Steps Business Service Center. Here she has been able to shine as an employee with so much to give. Some words her employers and colleagues use to describe Charlotte are reliable, hard worker, impeccable attention to detail and dependable. She mentors other trainees during her work day and has become a role model for her work ethic and flow of work. She has helped to trial non verbal communication systems that let her supervisor know when she needs support or has completed a task. Charlotte is leading the way in encouraging more employers to hire individuals with disabilities and showing that with a few accommodations, individuals with disabilities can be valuable, capable members of a team. Congratulations, Charlotte!

Brigette Yasin is an avid athlete who represents her school, Keningau Vocational College, at national track meets in Malaysia. She recently set a new state record of 54 second women’s 400-meter sprint and won both the gold and silver medals in sprint. She actively promotes inclusive athletics in her state and has become a role model for disabled athletes. As Brigette is hearing impaired, she wants people to know that she has a voice to be heard and included. Brigette uses her voice to promote equal representation for athletics as her non-disabled peers so that she may realize her dream of representing Malaysia in the Paralympics. Congratulations, Brigette!

Sasin (Emmy) Thamakaison, recipient of the 2021 SENIA Student Award.

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Sasin (Emmy) Thamakaison, recipient of the 2021 SENIA Student Award.

Congratulations to Sasin (Emmy) Thamakaison as the recipient of the 2021 SENIA Student Award.

Emmy has been involved in inclusion work for many years. She was the co-chair for an inclusive club called “InvisAbilities” at the International School of Bangkok. Her club hosted many activities at her school to help create awareness of disabilities and advocate for all students. She headed SENIA Youth chapter in Bangkok and worked tirelessly to create an Inclusion Club Starter Pack to share with other inclusion clubs around the globe. In addition to this, she wrote an English-Thai children ‘s book “JJ Squiggly Mind” to explain ADHD. The proceeds from her non-profit projects has allowed her to provide resources to children from underprivileged backgrounds. Emmy is continuing her inclusive work with the MARIO Framework as their Marketing Coordinator, while attending Stanford University.

As a SENIA Student Award recipient, Emmy will receive a certificate, a monetary scholarship and a plaque. The awards ceremony was virtual and Emmy provided an inspiring pre-recorded speech.

Also recognised at the ceremony are the following honorary award winners who are promoting inclusion and making a difference in their communities:

Advaith R. Menon
Lokawya Lakshmi Kantha Raju
Sanjana Nagraj

Seferina Engen Recipient of 2019 Student Student Award

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Meet Charlotte and Brigette

Congratulations to Seferina Engen from Taipei American School as this year ‘s recipient of the SENIA Student Award. This award recognizes a student for advocating awareness for differently abled individuals.

At a young age, Seferina was diagnosed with a rare genetic syndrome. As the doctor explained her diagnosis, she listened to him talk about neuroplasticity and her brain. He explained that with the right strategies and a lot of effort, there was nothing she couldn ‘t accomplish. Teachers supported her by teaching strategies to become organized and how to break down any problem into smaller, more manageable pieces. They taught her to have faith in herself and the learning methods that were successful for her.

Through learning more about herself and advocating for her needs she began to realize that she needed to celebrate her differences and wear them with pride. She set out redefining what is “normal.” She realized long ago it is not enough to hope society changes; she needed to bring about the changes herself””or at least try her best to help others in any way she could. She organized more than 100 volunteers to run the Hero Games, a Special Olympics for special needs children in Taiwan. She also became President of Operation Smile, an association which raises money and awareness for kids with cleft palate. Finally, she founded “Make it Shine” in partnership with a local NGO to help special needs kids explore their creativity through art and sports.

Next year she will be attending university in the UK and she will continue to pursue her passion for advocating for children who are different. In her own words: “I reject this whole label ““ “˜disability. ‘ We are not disabled and we are not dumb, we just think differently. Neurodiversity is a gift to the world, not a problem to be overcome.”