"My family and I were refugees from Iran and I grew up in a single-mother household. We moved to Canada to pursue the education my mother never could and have the freedom she had never tasted. When I was a teenager, my mom was injured at work and became disabled. I had to watch her lose not only her livelihood but her ability to function without pain. This became my motivation to strive for excellence, to repay her for all her sacrifices.

I served as President of the York Model United Nations and won Outstanding Delegate awards at Model UN conferences. I represented York while working internationally in Barbados, in policy development, and was the recipient of the Outstanding Student Leadership Award.

During difficult times throughout my degrees, I would think of all my mom went through to bring me here. This made every obstacle possible to overcome. She gave me the motivation to reach for the stars, and York is where I was able to do it."

Hasti Almasi
Master of Public and International Affairs
Glendon
Class of 2018