Fifteen U of T students have been named inaugural recipients of the Young Entrepreneur Scholarship (YES) in-course awards, generously donated by Viral Nation CEO and UTSC Management Entrepreneur in Residence Joe Gagliese, empowering young entrepreneurs to earn their U of T degrees while advancing their new ventures.
The inaugural cohort of YES in-course award recipients (pictured above) includes undergraduate and graduate students representing an array of tri-campus academic programs from management to engineering, computer science, and psychology. View the full list of winners below.
“When I was in university, I felt it added a lot of value, but I never finished school because my businesses started to take off. It can be hard to balance those factors and priorities as a young person,” said Gagliese.
“With YES, I want to create space and a system of support for students who are focusing on their entrepreneurial pursuits alongside their degrees. When they finish, they will get the degree and they’re further ahead in their business. That’s how it works.”
YES In-Course Award Recipients 2023
| Abdullah Ali | UTSC BBA Candidate | Founder, AscenXion Pictures Inc. |
| Micaela (Mica) Consens | UTSG PhD Computer Science Candidate | Founder, TrailMagic |
| Evan Davidson | UTSC Double Degree (BBA & BSc) Candidate | Founder, Standard Software Inc. |
| Narotam Dhaliwal | UTSC BSc Psychology Candidate | Founder, Docenate |
| Antoine Dufour | UTSC BBA Candidate | Founder, Encore & Encore |
| Pedro Faria | Rotman MBA Candidate | Founder, Kelsen |
| Dane Gledhill | UTSC BSc Computer Science Candidate | Founder, Collabung |
| Yaroslav (Yarko) Hrytsiuk | UTSC BBA Candidate | Founder, Yassembly |
| Arlyne James | UTSG BASc Engineering Candidate | Founder, My Dorm Store |
| Claire Ma | UTSC BBA Candidate | Founder, No Merch No Life |
| Sanah Malik | UTSC BA Candidate | Founder, Corporate Mentors |
| Maya Povhe | UTSC BBA Candidate | Founder, idia Consultancy |
| Aliya Ali Shaikha | UTSC BSc Candidate | Founder, Meds for Less |
| Diana Virgovicova | UTSG BASc Engineering Candidate | Founder, The Dressing Room |
| Ji Yuan Wei (Patrick) | UTSC BBA Candidate | Founder, Great Expectations Online |
The YES scholarship is designed to support students in three ways:
- A significant amount from Gagliese’s contribution, matched dollar-for-dollar by the University through the True Blue Program, has been leveraged to create an expendable fund. This combined amount of $300,000 will support students participating in the New Venture Program through The BRIDGE at U of T Scarborough, where Gagliese has been volunteering his expertise as a mentor to budding entrepreneurs. With enrolment open to U of T students from any program across St. George, Scarborough and Mississauga campuses, the New Venture Program delivers faculty-led incubation and mentorship to support young entrepreneurs seeking to launch and grow their own businesses.
- Entrance awards for Management students who are also entrepreneurs and may not have the means to sustain both their academic and entrepreneurial ambitions.
- Participation of YES recipients in an annual retreat to round off their experiential learning and leadership development that comes with being an entrepreneur.
Learn more about the YES in-course awards and future opportunities to apply.