Meet Bella Shulman

BELLA PRIDE’S HERSELF ON BEING A ROLE MODEL AND A HELPING HAND TO OTHER LGBTQ STUDENTS.

In the past year, Bella took over as co-president of her secondary school’s “SPECTRUM Club.” SPECTRUM is a club that provides a weekly safe space for students in the LGBTQ community. The club is an inclusive space that takes first-hand experiences of LGBTQ students in order to improve the school environment.

During this past year, Bella and her co-president have begun the process of implementing gender-neutral washrooms in their school, as well as educating teachers and staff on the importance of gender-neutral pronouns and language via a seminar. They’ve hosted an LGBTQ inclusive sexual education program that highlighted the importance of consent and terminology. During the winter holidays, they also coordinated a sock drive in which 127 pairs of socks were collected and donated to the YMCA Sprott House in Toronto, a transitional housing program for LGBTQ youth.

The experience of running a club that is built on acceptance, guidance, and love has not only brought Bella enjoyment but has also sparked her own self-acceptance. This is why Bella would love to take the experiences she's had first hand and use them to help those in similar situations. Bella wants to immerse herself into the world of the social sciences in hopes of getting her master’s in social work one day.

As a social worker, Bella wants to help make a difference in the lives of LGBTQ youth who are struggling.

(This profile was written in 2017)