Ashionyedue JoyGold Goodluck, a Grade 12 student at Toronto's Father Henry Carr Secondary School, is one of 35 Canadian high schoolers named a 2025 Loran Scholar. 

The scholarship is one of the most prestigious awards a student can receive in Canada and honours recipients for their deep commitment to service and exceptional leadership potential. The award is valued at more than $100,000 over four years of undergraduate study. 

Staff, students and family gathered at the school May 13 for a special celebration and formal award presentation for Goodluck, who is co-chair of the Catholic Student Leadership Impact Team at Henry Carr. 

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Together, the school community joined in celebrating Goodluck’s recent scholarship and her many years of leadership and service to the community. 

“ I am not really the type to be very loud about my accomplishments, so when I heard  there was a whole assembly and that all of second period was about me, it felt like too much,” said a modest Goodluck, who hails from Nigeria originally.

“There were big balloons, a bouquet of flowers that was bigger than my face, I thought it was insane. Midway through, I was more grateful than anything and I was about to be thankful for the people that helped me. I wanted to express my appreciation to the village that helped me to be there.” 

Chosen from a pool of more than 6,000 applicants across the country, Goodluck was honoured for a list of initiatives and responsibilities that grew each year over her four years at Henry Carr. While the first step in her leadership journey was donating  Christmas boxes through Operation Save Canadian Youth in Grade 9, Goodluck’s unwavering commitment to uplifting others began long before when she was a child. 

“ It starts with me being the oldest (sibling) in my family. I have always had a thing for helping others and being more empathetic in figuring out situations. I remember loving seeing people smile and I loved working for people, I soon realized that it was something that I wanted to be involved in,” she said.

After joining her Elementary Catholic Student Leadership Impact Team, Goodluck recalls seeing a student trustee on a local news program who had been advocating for menstrual products.

“It was this instant thought of ‘This is so cool, he just made a difference, I want to be like that,’ ” she said. 

By Grade 10, she combined her soft skills and volunteer experience with her role as student trustee to begin working on real life projects that gave back to her local Rexdale community. From there, she  began working at the city level with the Toronto Youth Cabinet.

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Francesco Malfitano, principal at Henry Carr, addressed the school during Goodluck’s celebration, congratulating her on her many accomplishments that resulted in the Loran scholarship. 

“Her commitment to student life extends far beyond the realms of the classroom as a member of the school Gospel choir, singer and songwriter for the FHC Drama Team and as captain of the varsity girls soccer team,” he said. “In her role as the TCDSB Student Trustee, she has worked directly with superintendents, associate directors and directors to assist in ensuring that student voices are heard and embedded in the values and teachings of the Toronto Catholic District School Board.” 

After securing a community crisis grant, Goodluck co-launched a new initiative, Project G.I.A., aimed at empowering young girls by building their confidence, leadership capacity and self-advocacy skills. 

“ I always wanted to do something for the girls in my community, as often we are not noticed or heard, so I found that a lot of girls need that leadership spark. As the first black female student trustee, that already breaks a lot of barriers, and so I wanted the girls to see that there's nothing that they can't do,” she said. 

Project G.I.A has allowed for weekly discussions where the group can tackle certain topics, whether it be mental health, nutrition, leadership, finance and more. Goodluck says each girl has been able to imagine a space for themselves in the world, while also advocating for initiatives and policies they want to see. 

With her list of duties often overlapping her responsibilities as a student, Goodluck said her ability to stay grounded and focused goes back to her unwavering faith. 

“ I place my humility on the examples of Jesus. It reaches a point where you are being praised for a lot of things, but I think when I take a step back to understand and be grateful and why I am here in the first place. Everything that I am doing is based on servant leadership and making sure that I'm being Christ-like in my actions,” she said. 

“At the end of the day, I want everything to be for God's glory, and I want everybody to see that whatever I'm doing, it’s from God, not just me. My talents come from Him in the first place.” 

Present during the presentation were a handful of the G.I.A. girls that Goodluck mentored, a special moment to share.

“I wanted to tell them that this is not just about me but about everything we built together. I wanted to prove to the Rexdale kids that you cannot go wrong with trying your best and reminding them that they are in control of everything in their lives.” 

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Looking ahead in the short term, the soon-to-be-graduate says she plans to  use her connections to return to her high school and hold mentoring sessions for current students while continuing to advocate for young female leadership in her community. 

“If a girl like me from Lagos, Nigeria, can do it,  anybody can,” she said.