Hot off the press.
Media
UBC News, June 2021
UBC political science student Xi Yuan (Cecilia) Pang won the 2021 Lieutenant Governor's Medal for Inclusion, Democracy and Reconciliation in recognition for her contributions to the promotion of democracy.
More coverage by:
Omni TV Live, June 2021 *Mandarin
Canada Today Media *Mandarin
*Photos courtesy of Emma Seckel Photography
Girls20, March 2020
Selected as one of 30 young women across Canada for the Fourth Cohort of Girls20’s Girls on Boards program, Cecilia was matched to the Canadian Park and Wilderness Society (CPAWS - BC)– one of Canada’s oldest non-profit conservation groups.
Miss604, June 2018
The YWCA Metro Vancouver is pleased to announce the recipients of its 35th annual Women of Distinction Awards. More than 1,200 guests and volunteers gathered on June 7, 2018 at the JW Marriott Parq to honour inspiring nominees and their achievements.
Selected amongst 5 other Young Women of Distinction, Cecilia was celebrated for her leadership and accomplishments as the Founder of Art 2 Heart Foundation (est. 2014) and ajourney2success.com (est. 2012).
Surrey Board of Trade (SBoT), May 2016
The Surrey Board of Trade’s 6th Annual Surrey’s Top 25 Under 25 Awards celebrates the incredible initiatives of Surrey’s youth 25 years old or younger. The 25 winners were chosen based upon their business or community achievements, leadership ability, community involvement, professional achievements and uniqueness of their business or community projects.
Plan International, June 2015
Plan Canada is celebrating 20 of Canada’s most outstanding youth with the Top 20 Under 20 award, recognizing young leaders from across the country who have demonstrated significant levels of innovation, achievement and leadership.
Speaking
Working with Canada’s Most Powerful Woman and Becoming a Lifelong Learner, The Empower Podcast
September 2021
Pittsburgh, USA (Virtual)
In the fall of 2019, I had the pleasure of speaking with Emily Kennedy, the President and Co-Founder of Marinus Analytics as well as the Founder of the Empower Podcast. I remember picking up a Forbes 30 Under 30 magazine and being touched by her story and her work. Since connecting and having heartfelt conversations about how she became an entrepreneur, I've often been encouraged on various platforms that she graces as she so easily brings a smile to my face with her impact and most importantly, her contagious positivity and desire to empower others.
It’s incredibly humbling that I get to share this conversation on my day as CEO / President at Canada’s largest retail company and learning from life’s challenges. Still freaking out a little bit because if you've met Emily, you would know what a role model and incredible leader she is. So being interviewed by her is still a dream come true :) I would love for you to check out the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher especially to hear what you think. And of course, would love it even more, if you subscribe to Emily's podcast as there are a little more than a hundred gems of wisdom on there~
*As some of you may know, I also had the privilege of sharing Emily's story on my ajourney2success.com blog back in 2019 on how Emily uses #technology and #empowerment to change the world, check out that blog here!
NeoWay Accelerator, Global Youth Conference
January 2021
California, USA (Virtual)
On January 30th, I gave a talk titled “the Power of Fear,” to youth across the globe on how we can harness our fears to better understand who we are and our untapped potential.
Wisdom means different things to different people, but it is universally admired and can be significantly accelerated via generous sharing of knowledge amongst their own peer group, reinforced by listening to relevant stories told by recognized leaders on a specific topic of interests for their age bracket.
The WAY program focuses on convening a small classroom sized group (max 30) of highly motivated teenagers from around the globe in incredibly beautiful locations such as Venice and Davos so that they can have fun together to bond as a community, learn from world leaders in fields that they find relevant and produce valuable materials to share with as many teenagers around the world as possible.
Ted x Sciences Po Paris, Student Challenge
February 2019
Paris, France
On February 13th, I had the opportunity to be selected as one of five students to present my Ted talk to fellow Sciences Po Paris classmates while on my exchange program.
Taking the competition’s theme of “fear,” I shared my story of unexpected and medically unexplainable health experiences. Building on my personal essay titled “five years,” I touched on how we can take steps to discover the enabling aspects of our fears by honing in on our true values, finding our growth sweet spots, and reconnecting with others around us through empathy.
Fraser Heights Secondary, Valedictorian Speech
June 2016
Surrey, BC
On June 23rd, I had the honour of sharing my and my graduating peers’ stories at commencement. While high school was some time ago, it remains a large contributor to my current interests and shaping me to be the person I am today. Many of my incredible teachers at Fraser Heights empowered me to get involved, fostered my voice, and gave me the confidence to actively pursue learning in all its beautiful forms at school, work, and in life.
Pink Shirt Day Panel
on Cyberbullying : understanding its connection to race and gender
A Hootsuite x YWCA Metro Vancouver panel event
February 2018
In conservation with Noor Fadel (Poet and Activist), Dr. Wanda Cassidy ( Associate Professor, Faculty of Education Director of the Centre for Education, Law, and Society at SFU), Ryan Avola (Program Manager at iGuy), and Cecilia Pang ( Youth Advisory Council Member at YWCA Metro Vancouver).
On February 28th, 2018 YWCA Metro Vancouver and Hootsuite partnered together on Pink Shirt Day (a national day of bullying prevention) to host #Cyberbullying. The interactive panel discussion features experts, advocates, and youth discussing the root casues, effects, and themes surrounding cyberbullying.
International Women’s Day BeaYOUtiful Workshop
March 2018
During International Women’s Week, I had the wonderful opportunity to hold a workshop for BeaYOUtiful– an incredible non-profit started by my friend Taylor Hui to empower young girls and to grow their self-esteem.
As a young child, I was extensively bullied to the point I began to question my self-worth. It was primarily the catalyst for starting my ajourney2success.com website. Therefore, it was such an honour to share my experiences with these girls. To find out the resources I used and developed for the workshop, scroll to the bottom of my resource page here.
Surrey Steps Up
Keynote Speech
City of Surrey’s Annual Steps Up Event
March 2018
After attending the annual Steps Up Event during my Grade 10 and 11 years to present my non-profit Art 2 Heart Foundation, it truly was coming back full circle to speak as the keynote speaker! The City of Surrey has been phenomenal in supporting youth for their projects and in particular, a cornerstone of the work that we were able to do and continue to do at Art2Heart.
That evening, I had teh opportunity to inspire the thousand youth gathered at the City Hall on how they could step up in their communities and believe in their untapped potential to use their own skills or passions to initiate and sustain change.
Sitting down with Sarah Davis at Loblaw Companies Limited Inc HQ (Brampton, Ontario) on October 1st 2019.
As Gretzky says, we do miss 100% of the shots we don’t take. The biggest gift I gave myself was a shot– an opportunity to believe in myself. And that is the start of my story: on how I found myself in Toronto at the Top 20 Under 20 Summit and how I found myself in terms of the confidence to pursue my next steps.