Surrey Student Alisha Sharma Receives Voice of the Future Award

A Grade 11 student from Surrey’s L.A. Matheson Secondary School, Alisha Sharma, has been honored with the 2023 Voice of the Future Award by the Progressive Intercultural Community Service (PICS) Society. The award was presented during last month’s NextGen Youth Impact Summit, recognizing her significant contributions to disability advocacy.

Sharma, who is visually impaired, has played a crucial role as a founding member of the L.A. Matheson Disability Student Union. Her efforts focus on promoting awareness and inclusion for individuals with disabilities. According to a release from Surrey Schools, she has delivered numerous presentations to students, sharing her experiences living with visual impairment and challenging societal stigmas.

Her teacher, Annie Ohana, praised Sharma’s commitment, stating, “Her willingness to speak up for equity, true inclusion, and bluntly point out ableist structures and mindsets are amazing to see from someone so young.” Ohana further noted that Sharma’s resilience stems not only from her daily challenges but also from her determination to advocate for change.

Sharma has been living with bilateral retinal coloboma, iris coloboma, and nystagmus since birth. These conditions significantly impact her eyesight. Through her presentations, she aims to clarify misconceptions about visual impairment, explaining that it encompasses a wide range of experiences. “For people with visual impairment and blindness, there’s a huge spectrum,” she said. “My visual acuity is about 20 over 200, meaning I can see anything and everything, but the issue here is reading very small text or text that’s farther away.”

To accommodate her needs, Sharma often relies on larger text and prefers digital formats for her work. She highlighted the importance of creating a supportive environment for students with disabilities. “When you have a disability, especially one that’s either very visible or not visible enough, it’s a difficult experience in high school,” she noted. “Our goal is to make students with disabilities feel more comfortable, more heard, and more seen, and to stand up against ableism.”

Sharma’s advocacy extends beyond her school. She is currently collaborating with Blind Beginnings, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting blind and partially sighted children and youth in British Columbia. Together, they are working on an accessible children’s book aimed at visually impaired youth. Additionally, she plans to engage with BASES (Building Academic, Social and Employment Skills) students and Grade 8 classes to raise awareness about the purpose of the student union.

As she continues her advocacy efforts, Sharma emphasized the importance of sharing her story. “I know that the only way I’m going to get my point across is by speaking up and sharing my experience,” she said. “As I grow and do more for the disability student union, I can affect more positive change for myself and other students.”

The positive response to her initiatives has motivated Sharma to explore more opportunities for promoting inclusion. Her work stands as a testament to the impact young advocates can have in fostering understanding and acceptance for individuals with disabilities.