"The opinion which other people have of you is their problem, not yours." - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

The Person of the Month Award is specially designed to recognize the dedicated and diligent individuals who have greatly contributed and made positive impacts to the Social Diversity for Children Foundation. For the month of December, we are proud to acknowledge a member of the SDC Youth Team, Sandra Chang. Sandra began her journey with SDC as Executive Assistant, working hard with the help of her passion and determination to reach her current position as the Chief of Staff. Through her work in various projects as well as our programs, she has shown her inarguable commitment towards SDC’s mission and values, contributing greatly to our organization. 

Sandra was born and raised in Richmond, BC and is currently in her senior year of high school, attending Richmond Christian Secondary School. One would most likely find her playing video games and singing 2000’s pop songs in her free time. Growing up, she has always loved the performing arts, including anything related to singing, acting and dancing. After finishing her undergrad, Sandra hopes to one day enter the realm of education and pursue her dream of becoming a teacher. As well, she aims to create her own business or after school program that incorporates components such as English, art, reading, math, and music, for children who struggle in their education and for children with disabilities!

Sandra joined SDC Youth team in the summer of 2020 and began as an Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer. When she got accepted into SDC, she was inspired and motivated to take leadership by Cynthia Gan who was the 2020-2021 CEO for the Youth Team. Sandra started working on logistical work and research, jumping from marketing to operations to finances for projects. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, most of her first term of SDC was online. For the 2021-2022 Youth team, Sandra served as the Executive Assistant to the President, working closely with David Wang. She began working on the POM project and spent long nights editing on the website and revising articles and more. 2021 marked the first time Sandra volunteered at the Once Upon a Shine Gala, which she recalls as a magical experience. This year, she currently serves as the Chief of Staff on the Office of the President branch. Through this role, she has been able to connect with many like-minded students around the lower mainland of students of all ages. Sandra’s biggest milestone was leading the Vancouver Bubble Tea Festival Booth for SDC. Although the sun was scorching hot, everyone was able to enjoy the bubble tea and have fun playing carnival games that were created for children. Additionally, Sandra is continuously inspired by the Youth Team, day by day, and hopes her leadership also does the same for others.

Sandra has been a part of the SDC Youth Team since the summer of 2020. Since then she has filled many important roles, jumping from all of our youth team departments for all big projects. She has made incredible contributions to projects such as the Vancouver Bubble Tea Festival, Person of the Month, and our Annual Once Upon a Shine Gala. She enjoys the bonding moments created by the long nights and hard work put into our events. Sandra has loved seeing the hard work that the SDC team has put into projects integrate into amazing end products. Her fondest memory has been seeing the amazing end result of our 2022 Once Upon a Shina Gala!

Throughout the many years of being a part of the Youth Team in SDC, Sandra has successfully contributed to SDC’s programs; whether it was a group session, or a private session. Regardless, Sandra was able to create a safe space where people of all abilities felt welcome while ensuring that every student would be able to develop many skills in a fun way. Furthermore, Sandra, the Chief of Staff for the Youth Team in SDC, uses her exceptional leadership skills to work with other passionate youths to truly advocate for social justice in our communities. "The opinion which other people have of you is their problem, not yours.", is a quote with a powerful meaning to Sandra, that allowed her to become more independent and confident with her abilities. The concept of listening to your own heart rather than others is what truly allowed Sandra to build more trust in herself; to accomplish anything no matter the challenges that she faces. Thank you Sandra, our Chief of Staff for your hard work and determination towards SDC!