To say that April was a busy month for Windsor resident Karl Zhu is a bit of an understatement. The two highest awards for volunteers presented by both the Federal Government and the Province of Ontario were bestowed upon 20-year-old Zhu last month.
The first award ceremony took place on April 21 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa during which Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, presented the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers (SMV) to 23 deserving individuals, including Zhu.
This medal recognizes the exceptional volunteer achievements of Canadians from across the country in a wide range of fields. It pays tribute to their dedication and commitment as volunteers. It is the highest honour for volunteer service that an individual can receive within the Canadian Honours System.
For his part, Zhu was selected as a recipient of this medal for establishing himself as a young community leader through his involvement with more than 15 organizations, including the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association and the Chinese Association of Greater Windsor. He was also lauded for organizing Border City Hacks, an annual event that provides students with an opportunity to learn the basics of computer science.
One week later, at a virtual ceremony on April 28, the Province of Ontario recognized Zhu for his outstanding contributions. He was among 24 young people to be awarded the Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers.
Due to the pandemic, the ceremony was not held in 2019 and in 2020. Zhu was among the contingent receiving the award for 2019.
The medal is the highest provincial recognition a young person can achieve for their outstanding volunteer contributions.
“With much pride, as the representative of Her Majesty The Queen in Ontario, I congratulate the recipients of the Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers,” said Her Honour Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario who presided over the ceremony.
“Our schools, our towns and cities, and our world, need empathy and understanding. You are proving that it is possible to find new and relevant ways to make positive change.”
Recognized as a changemaker driven to help others with his passion for technology, Zhu was again credited as the founder of Border City Hacks. Through his efforts, he has helped to bring the power of computer programming and robotics to Windsor students.
As a regular participant in hackathon competitions in Canada and the United States, Zhu recognized that there was a dearth of these events in Windsor. Hackathons are weekend competitions where students come together to create anything technology-related. They can build an app, a website, or something robotic which is then presented to a panel of judges to win cool prizes and swag.
“I went to a few other hackathons across other Canadian cities and the U.S and I saw that a lot more emphasis was being placed on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) in those places. Windsor didn’t offer a lot of opportunities for students to pursue in technology.”
Zhu stepped up and organized two highly-successful hackathon events, the first at Windsor Hackforge and the second at the Windsor Public Library Central Branch. Zhu was given support and mentorship from a number of organizations including WEtech Alliance, St. Clair College, the University of Windsor, Green Shield and Hackforge.
“I reached out to youth through social media, Instagram, Facebook and direct emails to get the word out. I made announcements and posts in school discussion forums and by word of mouth. So many people supported me. I am trying to make this a regular event to be held once a year to keep the interest growing in Windsor and Essex County,” said Zhu.
“It’s a great honour to be a recipient and to be among other dynamic community leaders across Ontario. I want to thank all of the mentors and the amazing people who showed me how to be a community leader and how to give back to the community.”
He suspects that one of the many mentors on his volunteering journey submitted his name for consideration.
So, what’s next for Karl Zhu?
At the moment, he’s hitting the books while pursuing an undergraduate dual degree in Computer Science and Business Administration at the Universities of Waterloo and Laurier. He plans to work in software engineering, product management or venture capital.
Congratulations Karl on a job well done!