Eshnoor Cheema

Eshnoor is the daughter of Ishwant Singh and Navjyot Kaur Cheema, and is sister to Eiknoor Kaur and Ikkveer Singh. She is a grade 12 student at New Westminster Secondary, where she founded the Alzheimer's Society of NWSS in honour of her grandmother. Her grandmother's fight with Alzheimer's and COVID-19 has inspired her to pursue a career in medicine–after high school, Eshnoor hopes to become a family doctor.

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Eshnoor's most treasured keepsake is a bracelet which her grandmother handed down to her before she passed away. The bracelet holds a special place in her heart because she thinks of her everytime she wears it and it gives her the strength to overcome any challenges she may have. "I strongly believe it is my lucky charm!" 

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Other than Hyack Festival Week, Eshnoor is most proud of New Westminster's Royal Columbian Hospital. It amazes her to see how much aid the hospital has provided and how many lives have been saved. "The hospital, along with the workers and volunteers that put their heart and soul into helping patients, is a beautiful part of our Royal City because it actively displays how our wonderful community works hand in hand to help those in need. This can be through volunteering, providing donations, or simply taking time to thank healthcare workers!"

 

Eshnoor also enjoys sports and plays volleyball, basketball and hockey. If she could witness a historic event, she would like to see Jesse Owens at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. She would be honoured to witness this because Jesse Owens’ talent won him four gold medals, in the face of increasing oppression and immense disrespect for people of African American descent. Despite being a person of colour in this time period, he made his way through and was labelled as the most successful athlete in the 1936 games!

Eshnoor is inspired by her mother, Navjyot, who left her home in 2000 and immigrated to Canada in hopes of providing a better future for her children. She worked extremely hard, at one point even working three jobs simultaneously to fund her studies. After years of hard work, her mother proudly earned her degree and became a teacher in the New Westminster School District. For the first three years of Eshnoor's life, it was just her and her mom as her father was enlisted in the Indian Army. Eshnoor is beyond grateful to her mom for instilling the value of being a role model through her constant display of hard work. Her mother inspires her to put all her effort into everything I do, because she has shown me that nothing is ever out of reach and no dream is ever too big. 

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Eshnoor thanks her parents and grandparents for always being there for her. They helped her grow into the young woman she is today by instilling morals and helping develop her self confidence. They have taught her that it is important to value freedom, self respect, kindness, and always taking time to help others.

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As a Hyack Ambassador, Eshnoor hopes to become a part of her city's traditions and be a strong and poised female role model for her community.