Oakville announces 2026 Youth Awards nominees
Thursday, April 09, 2026
Over 150 youth change-makers to be honoured on May 7 for leadership, creativity and community impact
The Town of Oakville, in partnership with the Oakville Youth Action Committee (OYAC), and presenting sponsor Starlane Homes, is proud to announce the nominees for the 2026 Oakville Youth Awards. More than 150 exceptional youth will be recognized for their meaningful contributions to the Oakville community.
This year’s celebration rolls out on Thursday, May 7 at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. Guests can look forward to a glamorous red carpet-themed evening featuring live music, engaging presentations and inspiring stories. The event promises to shine a spotlight on Oakville’s incredible youth and will serve as a memorable highlight of National Youth Week.
Congratulations to this year’s nominees, with age categories combined.
Youth Artist Award nominees
- Areej Abubakar
- Lourdes Alomar
- Arya Avinash Mosale
- Jack Galloway
- Ishaan Grotra
- Sylvia Han
- Marya Hawari
- Celine Jung
- Manaah Kalra
- Noah King
- Ocean Lee
- Ariel Liu
- Shixian Liu
- Annie Ma
- Isabella Malak
- Adele Moschella
- Arnav Naraharisetti
- Jiyul Park
- Anusheh Rahman
- Elsa Ren
- Cheng Sun
- Meicheng Wang
- Carter Whatley
- Aimee Xu
- Zihuan (Oliver) Xu
- Melody Zhang
Youth Emerging Leader Award nominees
- Mariam Aboutaha
- Bilal Ali Khan
- Haroon Ali Khan
- Ahmed Anjum
- Izma Awan
- Emma Barnfield
- Rayhaan Charniya
- Debadrito Das
- Fares Elhelali
- Omar Elnably
- Christine Erasmus
- Ahana Virmani
- Aashi Malik
- Bhanvi Manne
- Sophie Ryan
- Avaanya Garg
- Krishangi Oberoi
- Emaan Gauhar
- Marinella Ganios
- Aidan Girardo
- Haoming (Gavin) Geng
- Avaanya Garg
- Lucas Hu
- Faith Joson
- Manaah Kalra
- Rishi Kaul
- Hargun Kaur
- Arnnav Kudale
- Rayyan Faisal Lodhi
- Celine Liu
- Betty Luo
- Shrinika Malgan
- Bhanvi Manne
- Sunny Mei
- Arielle Merritt-Murrell
- Aryan Mohanty
- Adele Moschella
- Amelia Moschella
- Marcus Moschella
- Tianne Nan
- Vinisha Nangia
- Krishangi Oberoi
- Dwait Pandhi
- Antonia Romero Ramirez
- Sophie Ryan
- Sarvesh Sathish Kumar
- Diyanka Senavirathne
- Hannan Sohail
- Raya Tailor
- Teresa Tong
- Valentina Urdaneta Garaban
- Ahana Virmani
- Sarina Wu
- Yanina Xie
- Jay Xu
- Qianqian (Rachel) Xue
- Elly Zhang
Youth Environment Award nominees
- Ahmed Anjum
- Leo Yu Cheng
- Ryan Henderson
- Caleb Jiwani
- Steven Li
- Bonnie Luo
- Isabella Malak
- Aryan Mohanty
- Cheng Sun
- Nichole Miriam Vijayan
Youth Involvement Award nominees
- Mariam Aboutaha
- Kelly Antonaras
- Charlotte Andaloro
- Aisha Afshar
- Ahmed Anjum
- William Baker
- Colin Chan
- Leah Chow
- Eason Chen
- Joshan Chopra
- Debadrito Das
- Ibrahim Darwish
- Fares Elhelali
- Farida Elmansoury
- Emaan Gauhar
- Anjali Grewal
- Ishaan Grotra
- Lucas Hu
- Daniel Jacob
- Seamus Kealy
- Arjun Kulkarni
- Manaah Kalra
- Annie Li
- Joy Li
- Tony Li
- Daniel Lu
- Mustafa Lodhi
- Rachel Liu
- Samhita Pallapothu
- Jiayi Peng
- Rehan Mithani
- Amelia Moschella
- Marcus Moschella
- Vinisha Nangia
- Cindy Lin
- Michael Yan
- Alex Sun
- Hongze (Alvin) Shan
- Diyanka Senavirathne
- Dea Skendaj
- Aikana Tao
- Ariana Russell
- Ahana Virmani
- Ansh Virmani
- Annie Xu
- Yuqiao (Joyce) Chu
- Darwin Zhang
- Elly Zhang
Youth Sports Award nominees
- Isabella Aldini
- Noah Guillermo Avecillas
- Zeyuan (Joshua) Chu
- Zili Dang
- Ryan Gantakolla
- Haoming (Gavin) Geng
- Mila Iarossi
- Jeffery Jiang
- Aikam Kainth
- Seamus Kealy
- Katherine Kerwin
- Serenity Le
- Jessica Lee
- Joshua Malak
- Sophie Makrygiannis
- Lily Rochon
- Diyanka Senavirathne
- Hongze (Alvin) Shan
- Sophie Zhou
- Beulah Votu-Obada
- Aaron Wang
- Caleb Zhang
- Jessie Xu
Youth STEM Award nominees
- Imran Allarakhia
- Aarav Bhargava
- Anthony Efthimiadis
- Saanvi Ganesh
- Arnnav Kudale
- Aryan Mohanty
- Marcus Moschella
- Dwait Pandhi
- Maria Polyanska
- Arish Shahab
- Hongze (Alvin) Shan
- Darren Su
- Raya Tailor
- Vihaan Vashishtha
- Ansh Virmani
- Eric Wang
- Sophie Zhou
The Youth Awards will be livestreamed for friends and family who are unable to attend in person. Each nominee will receive a certificate of recognition, and category winners will be honoured on stage.
This celebration is the grand finale of the Town’s National Youth Week, held annually from May 1 to 7. Throughout the week, Oakville youth can take part in free activities, events and learning opportunities designed to spark creativity, leadership and community connection.
For more information, visit the Oakville Youth Awards page or email oakvilleyouth@oakville.ca.