Six Beedie students honoured by Surrey Board of Trade

Beedie School of Business students comprised almost a quarter of the recipients of this year’s Surrey Board of Trade’s Top 25 Under 25 Awards.

The annual awards, now in their fourth year, recognize business and community minded people under the age of 25 who are either working in Surrey or working on a related project in or for the city, and are considered role models for the community.

Five of this year’s Beedie recipients have a strong connection with Enactus SFU, the SFU chapter of the global student organization that strives to create self-sustaining social ventures to solve real-world problems.

The winners were presented with their awards at a ceremony held at Eaglequest Golf Course, Surrey, on June 12. The 2014 Beedie recipients include:

Lara Ahmad, co-manager of Enactus SFU’s Entrepreneur of the Year program, which helps aspiring entrepreneurs at Simon Fraser University expand their business ideas and businesses.

Winona Bhatti, project manager of Enactus SFU’s Banner Bags, an initiative that teaches high school students to turn old banners that would otherwise end up in landfill into bags, and founder of HUG (Helping Underprivileged Girls) Charity Canada.

Kevin Cruz, CEO and director of user experience at SynAesthetix Home Atmospherics, a startup that offers an intuitive home system and mobile application that enables homeowners to control the ambient lighting, sound, and smell of their living spaces.

Rae Holgado, project manager of Enactus SFU’s Count on Me financial literacy education program for at-risk youth.

Amar Pangalia, manager of Enactus SFU’s Count on Me program and a member of the SFU Accounting Association.

Cynthia Su, project manager of Enactus SFU’s SFU Entrepreneur of the Year program and winner of the Project Leader of the Year award at the 2014 Enactus Canada national exposition.

“For the Beedie School of Business to be so well represented in these prestigious awards again is testament to the entrepreneurial talents and community-minded spirit of students at Beedie,” said Casey Dorin, Executive Director of Undergraduate Programs at the Beedie School of Business. “These recipients have worked extremely hard in their young lives to make a difference in their community and beyond, and we are very proud of them.”

The Beedie recipients are joined on the list of winners by four other SFU students who have engaged Surrey’s businesses and community through volunteerism, social innovation, and business impact.

For more information on the Surrey Board of Trade’s Top 25 Under 25 Awards, visit http://www.businessinsurrey.com/surreys-top-25-under-25-awards/