School Captain Fiona Shen’s Havergal Journey
Fiona Shen joined Havergal in Grade 3 after arriving in Canada from Beijing with her mom and younger sister. As the only English speaker in her family, Fiona had no choice but to serve as their primary communicator. Despite being only eight years old and still learning the language, she found herself responsible for navigating doctor’s appointments, translating parent-teacher interviews and even setting up playdates for her sister—all while trying to adjust to the culture shock of landing in a new country and a new school.
“We hadn’t initially planned to stay in Canada beyond a few years, but I would say it’s Havergal that kept me here,” says Fiona, now a Grade 12 student and this year’s School Captain. “The community was so welcoming and I received so much support from the school.” Still, that first year was challenging. “I also realized that language wasn’t our only barrier; we all had to adjust to the values, culture and ideologies of a new country.”
It wasn’t until Fiona joined a local girls’ hockey team that she truly felt like she belonged. “A Havergal friend introduced me to the Leaside Wildcats. While I had taken a year of figure skating in China, I’d never played hockey before,” she recalls. Joining that team marked not only the beginning of a lifelong passion for sports, but also provided the sense of connection she had longed for.
What I love about this school is that everything is celebrated. It’s not weird to be a debate nerd. I always felt safe in the debate community; I was never judged and always had a lot of fun.
Today, as School Captain, Fiona works to ensure other students feel that sense of connection within the Havergal community and beyond. She is a valuable resource for students, listening to their concerns, providing guidance and advice, liaising with clubs and alliances, speaking at school-wide events, leading Prefect meetings and representing student voices.
The communication skills she acquired as a young student have been particularly beneficial in this role. “As the School Captain, you have to take initiative and step up whenever you can,” she says. “In some ways, it’s about changing and moving the school culture, and it’s also about fostering leadership and supporting all the wonderful groups within the school.”
Since joining the Leaside hockey team in Grade 4, Fiona has continuously been an active member of teams and organizations within the school and the greater Toronto community. Each opportunity has contributed to her identity and sense of self. “I played hockey competitively until Grade 7, but unfortunately, I had to take some time off to recover from ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] surgery,” she recalls. “It was then that I developed new passions for public speaking, debate and Model UN.”
Public speaking turned out to be just what she needed. In Grade 7, Fiona participated in debate competitions outside of school, and in Grade 8, she joined the Havergal team. “What I love about this school is that everything is celebrated,” Fiona says. “It’s not weird to be a debate nerd. I always felt safe in the debate community; I was never judged and always had a lot of fun.”
She credits her debate experience as being the foundation for her advocacy work, sparking her desire to amplify others voices. “In Grade 9, I joined a not-for-profit called United Speakers Global, and that became my third big community, after Havergal and hockey.” The youth-run organization offers students an opportunity to practise and improve public speaking skills while gaining leadership experience. “I became the President of United Speakers Global last year as we were just bringing back in-person events, and I was able to run a public speaking summer camp for newcomers at the Canadian Immigrant Youth Centre.”
Thanks to topics covered in debate and Model UN, Fiona developed a passion for feminist issues. As an advocate and activist, she co-founded Havergal’s Feminist Alliance in Grade 10. “Through this alliance, we have created a safe space to talk about feminism and its intersections and issues students are facing.”
Simultaneously, her role on the school’s rugby team became a source of confidence and empowerment. “Women are often socialized to be polite, but what rugby encourages is being strong, aggressive and confident. It challenges the narrative that girls are often fed, and the confidence I’ve gained through the sport has been reflected in my public speaking and activism.”
What attracted Fiona to rugby was the physical nature of the sport. She loved the idea of playing a contact sport on an all-girls team, where you could get dirty and not worry about it. She credits her coach, Tamara Curtis, with having a huge impact on her rugby journey. As an athlete, Fiona has been able to merge her passion for activism and social justice with something that truly brings her joy and fuels her body. She often finds connections between the two. “In 2017, I was back in China for the summer, and I played on the Beijing team’s first-ever girls’ hockey team,” she recalls. “Not many girls played hockey in China, and when I came to Toronto, I was surprised to find girls’ leagues and lots of other girls like me playing the sport.” That experience in China was a big deal to Fiona. While they had to play all of their games against boys’ teams, she felt empowered because there was only one team for girls. “Havergal has always taught me to speak up for what I believe in, so when I was interviewed by the media about that Beijing hockey team, I talked about the inequalities girls faced and the importance of equal access.”
I believe that within Havergal, every environment holds the potential for cultivating care, forming strong alliances and nurturing a sense of community.
Recognized as Best Delegate at Harvard and Oxford Global Model UN conferences, Fiona stands out not only for her participation in Model UN, but also as a Canadian UNESCO Youth Advisor. Her role involves presenting at significant events such as the UNESCO International Women’s Day event and the National UNESCO Steering Committee and representing the Canadian youth delegation at the G7 Japan Ministerial Meeting on Food and Agriculture. Her varied involvements set a strong path as she heads to Brown University next year to study International and Public Affairs.
Fiona plans to continue speaking up, raising her voice and encouraging others to do the same at Havergal. “I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to be the School Captain and I want to be the person any student can come to with thoughts and ideas. Someone they can speak freely around and be themselves. I believe that within Havergal, every environment holds the potential for cultivating care, forming strong alliances and nurturing a sense of community.”
Published April 2024
2023–24 Issue
