Ivneet Singh Bains makes Canada's Top 20 Under 20

From today's Globe and Mail:

Ivneet Bains, 19, Surrey, B.C.

Ivneet Bains’s parents immigrated from India to Canada in 2007 to help their only child improve his possibilities, but the road to scoring perfect marks in high school in Surrey, B.C., while inspiring other students was bumpy at first - including being bullied for his accent.

Today, the Bachelor of Commerce major at UBC’s Sauder School of Business is reaching hundreds of students through Math4Me, an innovative tutoring and mentoring program that began in Surrey and is expanding to Vancouver this fall.

Aided by about ten other university or high school students who act as mentors, and with the help of community leaders who serve as guest speakers, Mr. Bains says Math4Me helps Grade 3 to 12 students improve their math, science and English skills, and links them with volunteer work to better themselves and the world.

“We try to inspire students and help them boost their self-esteem from every single perspective that we can … to give them that ah-ha moment about what they want to be in their life and … help them contribute to global issues,” says Mr. Bains, who founded Math4Me after tutoring students for three years.

After entering Panorama Ridge High School in Surrey, he gained confidence volunteering with Surrey’s parks department, joining the school’s drama program and becoming a star batsman in the B.C. Mainland Cricket League.

Although in Grade 12 he earned 100 per cent in math, calculus, physics, biology and chemistry, and in 2009 received the Governor General’s Academic Medal for Excellence, he’s most proud of his 90 per cent in the English provincial exam. His academic and volunteer prowess earned him scholarships from UBC and various organizations that will more than cover his university education.

Despite his busy life, and commuting an hour-and-a-half each way from Surrey to UBC in Vancouver, Mr. Bains sees no end to his work as a “social entrepreneur.” After university graduation in 2013 and possibly earning an MBA, he hopes to focus on philanthropic work, and integrate Math4Me with his passion for finance and economics.