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The Wellness Project 

Board Members

Arani Naguleswaran

President

Hannah is in her third year of the Business Commerce program, with a major in Accounting and a minor in International Business. She enjoys collecting postcards from around the globe and volunteering in her community with local youth. With a passion for different cultures, Hannah enjoys meeting new people and trying new cuisine. As President of the Accounting Association, Hannah enjoys numbers, problem-solving, and working in a team-focused environment. She looks forward to learning from the Wellness Project Team and contributing to their growth. 

 

Hannah’s interest in mental health began in high school, where she spent a lot of time working on mental health awareness initiatives in her school board. She assisted in running 'Wellness Weeks' every semester, where students would be educated on positive mental wellbeing. This was something Hannah found very fun, but also made her realize that mental health played a much bigger role in our lives. Hannah believes that mental illness can stem from a lot of underlying issues and hopes to help address these by working with The Wellness Project. Hannah’s goal for mental health is to work with school boards to increase board-wide training and funding for mental health initiatives/resources. She currently works with local governments to advocate for better mental health resources in Durham School Boards. As many may know, students who are looking for mental health resources may experience long wait times, poorly trained administration, and a lot of obstacles in accessing help; hence Hannah’s desire to make a much-needed change.

Husna Malik

Vice President

Husna Malik is a recent graduate of the Human Health Science program at Ontario Tech University. She plans to pursue a Master's in Health Informatics. Husna is currently working as a note-taker for accessibility services and volunteers as an occupational therapy assistant at Sunnybrook Hospital. Husna is passionate and dedicated to the cause of mental health and breaking down stigma. She hopes to create a culture of acceptance, unity, and support by working with The Wellness Project.

 

Husna got into mental health after exploring cultural barriers, stigma, and the lack of accessibility that exists in society. She’d like to provide awareness and education on coping mechanisms and draw from her personal experiences with trauma and mental illness. Husna’s goal is to see a change in accessibility to effective resources, as well as building on a multitude of factors that affect mental health. She’d like to reduce misconceptions and stigma around issues such as suicide and addiction to lead to societal change and the betterment of treatment.

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Arani Naguleswaran

President

Arani Naguleswaran is a recent graduate of the Criminology and Justice program, an entrepreneur, and a dedicated and passionate mental health advocate. She founded the Active Minds chapter at Ontario Tech University in 2019, which was later rebranded to The Wellness Project. In September 2020, The Wellness Project was established as a nonprofit organization in the Greater Toronto Area. Arani has been working as a crisis worker with Kids Help Line for almost a year. In addition to her passion for mental health awareness, Arani has her own Makeup Artistry business, Enchanted Beauts, and her own line of lashes, Lashout by EB.  

 

Arani’s interest in mental health first peaked in high school, after losing her best friend to suicide. Upon entering University, Arani learned that mental health was an issue that impacted many people, despite the lack of conversation surrounding it. This ignited her passion to make a positive change in the mental health department. As a student, Arani understood the barriers to accessing mental health aid within a reasonable timeframe. Through peer support, empowerment and advocacy, Arani hopes to create an environment where we can reach out to each other for mental health support.

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Alexandra Campbell

Secretary

Alexandra Campbell is a current graduate student at Ontario Tech University, pursuing a Master of Health Sciences degree in Community, Public and Population Health where she is studying mental health among post-secondary students. Alexandra has been volunteering for the crisis line with the Durham Rape Crisis Centre for over a year. Outside of school, she loves to read and attend Pilates and spin classes. Alexandra is passionate about mental health and aims to pursue further post-graduate education.

 

Alexandra got into mental health through her undergraduate degree, which focused on Forensic Psychology. Her education revolved around psychology, and it's importance with those who come into contact with the criminal justice system. A combination of her education, volunteer experience and personal experience further sparked her interest in mental health. Alexandra’s personal goal for mental health is to help work towards a larger goal of not only destigmatizing mental health but to create accessible support for those who need it. She hopes to see different types of support that appeal to individuals who may not like traditional means because no single type of support will work broadly. Her other goal is to add to the literature in the field of mental health, through her graduate studies.

Savion Calderon

Marketing Executive

Savion Calderon is a third-year student at the Ontario Tech University. He is currently pursuing a degree in Legal Studies and has dreams of working in the legal field. Savion's favourite activity is listening to music and podcasts. He also enjoys travelling and hanging out with friends. A fun fact about Savion is that he knows how to play the saxophone. 

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Savion became interested in mental health after learning about the stigma surrounding mental health in minority communities, especially the black community. Growing up with many of the same stigmas and misconceptions, Savion has been interested in helping people who may not have anyone to talk too. He seeks to have meaningful conversations with people to broaden their understanding of mental health and the importance of opening up open dialogue taboo conversations. He tries to speak with individuals in minority communities to create a flowing dialogue about their mental health.

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Samantha Clark-Alldread

Marketing Executive

Samantha Clark-Alldread is a third-year Criminology & Justice student at Ontario Tech University. In her spare time, she likes to go hiking and loves spending her days outdoors. Samantha volunteers for Women Resources and plans to pursue a career as a victim advocate in the future. Additionally, she continuously advocates for mental health awareness and aims to destigmatize the misconceptions around mental illnesses.

 

Samantha got involved in mental health after having a friend pass away to suicide. Ever since that death, she has always strived to have people open up about their struggles and never feel alone. Samantha has personally struggled with her own mental health, hence further sparking her passion and advocacy for a healthy mind, body and soul.

Samantha hopes that mental health issues will become more normalized in the future. She believes in normalizing and discussing mental health without fear, because a mental health issue is just as damaging as a physical one.

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Hannah Oegema

Treasurer

Hannah is in her third year of the Business Commerce program, with a major in Accounting and a minor in International Business. She enjoys collecting postcards from around the globe and volunteering in her community with local youth. With a passion for different cultures, Hannah enjoys meeting new people and trying new cuisine. As President of the Accounting Association, Hannah enjoys numbers, problem-solving, and working in a team-focused environment. She looks forward to learning from the Wellness Project Team and contributing to their growth. 

 

Hannah’s interest in mental health began in high school, where she spent a lot of time working on mental health awareness initiatives in her school board. She assisted in running 'Wellness Weeks' every semester, where students would be educated on positive mental wellbeing. This was something Hannah found very fun, but also made her realize that mental health played a much bigger role in our lives. Hannah believes that mental illness can stem from a lot of underlying issues and hopes to help address these by working with The Wellness Project. Hannah’s goal for mental health is to work with school boards to increase board-wide training and funding for mental health initiatives/resources. She currently works with local governments to advocate for better mental health resources in Durham School Boards. As many may know, students who are looking for mental health resources may experience long wait times, poorly trained administration, and a lot of obstacles in accessing help; hence Hannah’s desire to make a much-needed change.

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Tharnia Thavalis

Researcher

Tharnia is an undergraduate student pursuing a major in Forensic Chemistry and a minor in Biology at Ontario Tech University. Tharnia has worked with individuals of various ages who experience every day-challenges due to mental health issues. She is a volunteer at the Scarborough Health Network Centenary Site Hospital. Soon, she will begin working as a facilitator for the “iLeap” program which helps children with learning public speaking and leadership skills. She loves to keep herself busy and challenges herself in any new way possible. Working as a Researcher for The Wellness Project enthuses her, and she trusts that she can contribute immensely to creating a stronger support group surrounding mental health. 

 

When asked what sparked her interest in mental health, Tharnia said “reading, hearing and seeing for myself, mental health issues people I know have gone through so silently, made me feel helpless. It makes me uneasy knowing that alone, I am powerless to help them, especially when I could not see their mental sufferings. They were afraid to reach out because of the many stigmas surrounding mental health. I feel the Wellness Project is a great way for me to bring awareness to this issue, and create a better support group to influence individuals to reach out when they need to". Tharnia wishes to see more awareness about mental health, especially in minority communities. Immigrant families tend to underestimate the effect of mental health and are taught to silence themselves. Tharnia’s goal is to do her part in educating and spreading awareness which she hopes will make a difference in many lives. 

Aliah Paras

Researcher

Aliah Paras is one of the researchers on the Wellness Project Team. She believes in the importance of mental health and educating the public on it as well. She is currently in her fourth year of Forensic Psychology and in her free time, she enjoys searching for volunteer opportunities to better the community. When she's not doing that, she goes on runs, cooks, bakes, and reads. 

 

Aliah’s interest in mental health began in high school when she first started to prioritize her mental health and began practicing self-care. She was not only a part of her school's “Stop the Stigma” team but also ran an overnight wellness event with activities geared towards coping with mental illness. Her goal for mental health is to open new ways of learning. She aims to educate others on communicating with the right resources to get to where they want to be mentally.

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Navpreet Kanda

Researcher

Navpreet Kanda is a criminology graduate and is currently in his last year of programming at Durham College, giving him the ability to examine society while putting his thoughts on a site he has made. He does archery and draws in his free time.

 

Navpreet’s interest in mental health peaked when he began to question what caused people to commit certain actions. He learned that an individual's environment influenced their decisions much more than what he once believed, which led him to pursue a degree in Criminology and Justice. Navpreet’s goal for mental health is to improve the current perception of mental health within immigrant communities. He believes many cultures outside of Canada are raised to suppress one's feelings and issues, thus further weakening their mental health. Navpreet believes that by promoting acceptance and education on mental health, communities will only grow stronger.

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