Beedie student and alumnus named to Surrey’s Top 25 under 25 list

by Jevta Lukic

Kyle Krystalowich, a current Beedie School of Business student, and Ashish Gurung, a 2010 Beedie BBA alumnus, have been named by the Surrey Board of Trade to the city’s much-vaunted list of the top 25 individuals under the age of 25. The prestigious honor was bestowed to the two Beedie leaders in the Board’s inaugural Top 25 under 25 awards reception on May 30 at Surrey’s Eaglequest Golf Course.

The inaugural awards, hosted by the Surrey Board of Trade, were created to recognize the accomplishments of business and community leaders under the age of 25 who are making an impact in the City of Surrey, which is one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities.

It comes as no surprise then that the young leaders were recipients of the city honour — as both Krystalowich and Gurung have been noted student leaders at Simon Fraser University and in the wider community, particularly through their work with Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE).

Krystalowich, a 21-year old undergraduate student, is the president of the student-run nonprofit organization — SIFE Simon Fraser — which consists of over 100 student volunteers who manage and take part in 14 different community outreach programs.

One such program, Banner Bags, educates high school students on environmental sustainability and provides students in high school classes with nylon banners from local businesses to turn into reusable tote bags. The program, which has now expanded to the Okanagan and Ottawa, has saved 1400 pounds of nylon, worth over $36,000, from entering landfills and has taught over 800 students about environmental sustainability. (Fellow Beedie Top 25 under 25 recipient, Gurung, founded the Banner Bags program.)

Under Krystalowich’s leadership, SIFE Simon Fraser also runs a fully functioning design company, a small business consulting firm, and a program that teaches low-income women about personal finance and nutrition.

“It is very rewarding to be involved in my community and have positive impact on the people around me. I find that being involved in the Surrey community also provides a great learning experience, whether it is solving problem or just making that connection with people in need and learning more about them,” said Krystalowich.

Gurung, a 23-year old Beedie alumnus, has worn many hats in the Surrey community over the past years. Similarly to Krystalowich, Gurung was also the leader of SIFE Simon Fraser, which under his supervision ran a consulting business, helped at-risk youth with financial management and job searching, and used innovative approaches to teach business ethics to over 500 high school students.

Gurung’s strong entrepreneurial spirit has also inspired him to create an interactive design company called NuXD, and cofound a web and iPhone application named QuikPiq, which allows people to get opinions and recommendations from their friends to make quick decisions in retail or other consumer-oriented environments.

The young leader’s impact is felt far beyond the community of Surrey. He also sits on the Board of Advisors of Kina Social Ventures- a charitable non-profit organization that helps girls and women of rural villages in Nepal.

Gurung notes that the most important component of community involvement is finding a passion. “It’s not so much about being involved in the community. It’s more about using your passions to benefit the people around you. It’s extremely rewarding, especially when you see the results of the projects you have executed,” he said.

“It’s an honour to be recognized. I do hope that this kind of award and recognition can inspire more youth to be active members in the community.”