"I made it a goal to meet Pinball and tell him how much the scholarship changed my life."

My name is Melanie Amadasun. I am a daughter, a sister, and most of all, I am Alessia’s mother.

What makes this scholarship special for me, apart from it affording me the opportunity to complete my social service worker diploma at George Brown College, is that I received it shortly after becoming a mom at 21 years old. This was a life-changing transition for me, during which the foundation added an immense amount of support for me.

I remember meeting Mr. Pinball a short while after at an event held by a Different Booklist and I was super excited! If you know me, you'll know that I rise to every challenge or obstacle put before me regardless of size. I made it a goal to meet him and tell him how much the scholarship changed not only my life, but that of my family. I walked up to him and spoke with him for a bit, being sure to share that meeting him in person made my day. Would you believe what this amazing human said to me?: that me sharing my story and experience with him made his year! I must have been 22 years old at the time and I remember thinking to myself how amazing this person is. That experience with him was truly inspiring.

Currently, I am working with a group of interns on a special project. We work collaboratively with businesses, organizations, and associations to create workplace solutions with a core mandate of dismantling anti-black systemic racism. I am also working to establish a not-for-profit organization with a mission of supporting Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) to be better engaged within the educational system in the London, Middlesex, and surrounding areas.

I am so grateful for the opportunities that this foundation has afforded me and most of all, the strength and the confidence it gave me to use my story and personal experiences to make a positive impact on the lives of all the people who I encounter.