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- February 25, 2008
Ellen Xi Yang
2008 New Pioneers Award Recipient
by Nicholas Keung
Immigration/Diversity Reporter
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Raised
in a privileged household, Ellen Xi Yang had a lot to adapt to
when she moved into a rodent-infested basement apartment in
Toronto with her engineer father and accountant mother from
China.
With little knowledge of English, the 13-year-old was constantly
taunted by her peers at Riverdale Collegiate Institute. But that
only motivated her more to overcome the barriers she and her
parents had to face.
Believing that "practice makes perfect," Yang stepped out of her
comfort zone to interact with other students, even challenging
her teasers to teach her English, a job that many surprisingly
accepted.
After spending a month in an English-as-a-Second-Language
program, Yang was assigned to a regular class. She has been an
honours student in the school, earning top marks last year in
biology, physics, art, psychology/sociology/anthropology, math
and accounting.
The immigrant experience has also forced Yang to grow up much
faster than her Canadian peers, given her responsibility as an
interpreter for her parents who struggled with the language
barrier and hardship in obtaining gainful employment.
"Like all immigrant children who often adapt much quicker than
their parents, I take on the parenting role and help translate
for my parents, so they can communicate with the outside world,"
Yang, now 17, said matter-of-factly.
The price of migration has been high: Yang has to work part-time
to help support the family. Her parents split because of the
stress their unemployment put on the marriage. Her mother has
given up hope of being a chartered accountant here and now works
as a dry-cleaning presser.
Yet, Yang is glad that her parents made the decision to come to
Canada so she could enrich her life experience.
One of those valuable experiences came from volunteering with
different community groups, and helping immigrant elderly and
youth. She also works 15 hours a week with two autistic children
and tutors Mandarin for a three-year-old Chinese girl adopted by
a Canadian family. In school, Yang leads the recycling, science
and debating clubs.
"I'm really honoured with the New Pioneer Award. It recognizes
not only my successful integration into society, but also
thousands of others who have done what I've done to overcome
hardship to excel in school or at work," she said.
An overachiever, Yang has already been accepted by the
University of Western Ontario and said she would like to study
to be a cardiovascular surgeon to help people like her maternal
grandparents, who suffer heart problems.
