A recent graduate of the International Development and Globalization program, Jenn Wani is known for her enthusiasm and leadership; she proudly represents the University of Ottawa among this group of national changemakers.
This year, she will join the 2025-2026 national cohort of Fellows of the prestigious Pathy Foundation and will extend her community engagement efforts to benefit others. This fellowship is a unique opportunity for young leaders who wish to test and develop skills in their respective fields while benefiting from an extensive support network that features engaged peers, seasoned facilitators and experienced professionals. Each fellow is allocated $50,000 for a full year at the start of their career to cover living expenses and the learning experience of implementing a practical, concrete project that benefits a cause or community of their choice.
Jenn Wani’s project is ambitious. A native of South Sudan, Jenn hopes to change the future for members of her community. Her goal? To support South Sudanese youth who are pursuing post-secondary studies in Canada. “As a Canadian of South Sudanese heritage and the first in my family to graduate from university, I understand the extent to which post-secondary education can transform not only an individual, but also their entire community,” she explained.
Jenn is aware of the many challenges that South-Sudanese youth face, including a lack of educational advice, financial stress, and limited family support. Consequently, Jenn has made it her mission to provide mentorship and adapted resources to help these youth overcome such barriers.
“As a Pathy Fellow, I have the opportunity to transform my personal experience into concrete action by investing in youth to build strong leaders and healthy communities,” she said.
This year, the Pathy fellowship will give her the means to conduct several activities: community workshops, mentorship, financial literacy training, mental health guidance and support in reaching key academic milestones. Through these efforts, Jenn hopes to improve university enrolment rates and decrease university dropout rates, and especially, to infuse these youth with a sense of hope, leadership and autonomy, and community reciprocity.
“I want to ensure that South-Sudanese youth have access to the tools, guidance and encouragement they need to confidently pursue higher education.”
Jenn Wani
Jenn will begin her fellowship year in July with four weeks of training on topics such as participatory community engagement, leadership principles, project planning and management, strengths-based approaches, fund development and much more. After this training period, she will develop and implement her initiatives during a ten-month community phase while benefitting from continuous guidance from the program.
Jenn Wani’s initiative and project demonstrate that empathy and engagement can transform lives. Sometimes, all we need to do is look around us to see the impact we could have on others. Jenn’s community engagement serves as a powerful example of mutual assistance and resilience.
To learn more about the Pathy Foundation Fellowship, go to www.pathyfellowship.com.