Chisom Ezeonyejiaku

Chisom is a 16-year-old, Grade 11 student at St. Ann’s Academy. She wants to give a huge thank you to her sponsor, InspireHealth, for their support.  Chisom is also supported by her wonderful parents, her siblings: Chizzy, Chidimma, Chidalu, and the amazing prayers from her Grandma, Mrs. Anunobi. At school, you will find her either on the basketball court – she has been on both the junior and senior teams – or performing with both the Concert and Jazz Choirs!  You will often hear her on the school’s announcements as she is the proud founder and President of her school’s Multicultural Club, a member of the retreat teams and an active volunteer around Kamloops. She joined the Ambassador Program to deepen her understanding and connection with this community. As someone not originally from here, it can be really easy to feel disconnected.  Chisom feels this program has truly helped her fall in love with our City. She has realized that the best parts of this community are not found inside the house, but are in the way you all show up for one another.  And it is that same spirit that she wants to pass on to the youth watching us today. In the future, Chisom plans to pursue a career in nursing as either a Certified Registered Nurse An-eest-the-tist or a Nurse Practitioner. To her fellow candidates she says, “whatever your reason for being here, whether or not you end up as an Ambassador, she hopes we can all promise to be the light to others in our community. Good luck to you all!”

Addison is proud to be sponsored by her incredible employer, Wishing Well Parties and Events. She would like to thank Janet and Paige for supporting her not only throughout her journey as a candidate, but also for their unwavering support in all of her endeavours.  She is 16 years old and attends Kamloops School of the Arts, currently in Grade 11. Addison is the youngest of three in her family, having two older brothers, Jarrett and Ethan. She has been dancing since the age of 2, acting since she was 7, and singing all of her life, attending professional lessons since she was 13. For the past 14 years, she has been dancing at The Academy of Dance, training in styles such as ballet, pointe, musical theatre, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, and more! Addi takes vocal lessons from the fantastic Heidi Muendel, training in both classical singing and musical theatre vocals. She started in theatre with the Laughing Stock Theatre Society and has since performed with her employer in a multitude of stage musicals. Looking to the future, she hopes to pursue post-secondary studies in either life sciences or musical theatre. When Addison has spare time, you can find her singing and dancing (surprise surprise)! She joined the Kamloops Ambassador Program because she wanted to make new connections. Addison felt she is very active in a small section of our community and wanted to extend that activity to other parts of Kamloops. She wants to express her gratitude to her fellow candidates for making this such a welcoming environment and giving her a few more people she can call friends! She wishes her fellow candidates the best of luck!

Addison Mirtle

Kimika Herman

Kimika is in Grade 11 at Kamloops School of the Arts, and she is sponsored by DSI Mechanical Ltd. A special thank you to Shane for supporting her journey. Kimika often spends her time in her room, cuddled up on her bed with her dog and a good show. She adores film, movies and shows, which is why she is a media major at her high school. Another hobby of Kimika’s is dance. She’s been dancing on and off since she was two years old, now with Kamloops Dance Academy. Outside of the program, Kimika already has almost 50 volunteer hours from helping out at her school with sports events and orientations alike! She wishes to pursue a career in Dental Hygiene in the future. Kimika would like to thank some people who have supported her thus far, as she wouldn’t be where she is without them. Her parents, Masami and Jon, who gave her the sense of justice and logic she has, and her sense of humor and impulsiveness. She would also like to thank all of the teachers who have taught her what she has learned so far throughout her life. Her kindergarten, first and seventh grade teachers, as well as some special teachers at her high school. She is where she is today because of them! Kimika joined the Ambassador Program because she wanted to broaden her horizons, get more involved in her community, and learn more about herself. She would like to wish good luck to the 2026 Candidates, she is rooting for every single one of you.

Taylor is 16 years old and has one little brother named Henry. She attended Twin Rivers Education Center and she is supposed to be Grade 11. TREC allowed her to be able to do work at her own pace and graduate a year early!  So she is actually just finishing up Grade 12! She would love to thank Extreme Excavating for being her sponsor and supporting her in this incredible journey.  She couldn’t have done it without your team. After high school, Taylor would love to take a year off to explore more of the world before coming back to study law and eventually become a detective. In her free time, she loves to craft while watching “The Rookie”  or the Edmonton Oilers!  Taylor also enjoys taking time to walk around Kamloops with her friends!  There is so much to see and do!  When she’s not exploring the City, she also spends time practicing her tattooing and photography skills…both passions of hers. Taylor’s “why” for  joining the program was to gain the skills to be a stronger and more independent version of herself. She knows the biggest gain from the program will be building lasting connections with the community. Taylor wishes all of her fellow candidates big congratulations…we are all in this together!

Taylor Anderson

Isabelle Cyr

Isabelle is 17 years old and attends St. Ann’s Academy in Grade 11. She is grateful to her sponsor, Can21 Project Development. Isabelle lives at home with her parents and 4 siblings.  She loves the arts and you can easily see this, as she is involved in dance, band, choir and her school drama performance.  Her upcoming production at St. Ann’s is called “You Can’t Take it With You”, where she is part of the amazing cast!  Isabelle would love to be involved in the arts in her future, but she is also considering a career in either hairstyling or esthetics.  She calls herself an old soul as she loves comfort activities like crocheting and reading.  Isabelle currently doesn’t have a part time job, but she is on the lookout for a great fit (you know where to find her!!). She joined the Kamloops Ambassador Program with two main goals in mind: to expand her horizons and her personal networks. Isabelle also hopes to gain a greater understanding of our community’s needs, to give back through service and to expand her volunteer experiences. She has loved getting to know her fellow candidates and is enjoying her journey so far!

Lola is 17 and in Grade 11 at Kamloops School of the Arts. She would like to thank her incredible sponsor, the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation.  She is very grateful for their support of her journey in the program. Lola loves to draw, sing, and act, and has been in many musical theater productions. And this year, she acted in her first school drama. Her extracurriculars and career goals reflect her passions and she is currently in after-school theater with Stage-One, her school choir, and voice lessons.  When she heads to university, she will pursue either singing or acting. Music is especially important to her; she has lyrics written for at least an album’s worth of songs and is currently working on a song for her Capstone project.  She lives with her parents and brother, who support her hobbies, even if they get a little annoyed when she decides to practice her singing in the living room!  She decided to become a Kamloops Ambassador Candidate after a mentor told her about the Ambassador Program in her previous community.  After moving to Kamloops, she was eager to join ours!  She is excited to meet new people, learn new life skills, learn about her new community of Kamloops, and take classes about things she has never done before. So far, she has done all of that while being here and is excited to see where this experience takes her!