Meet the Team: Noura Saylany
Noura Saylany is 10C’s Administrative Assistant this summer. Her role is diverse, encompassing the needs of various 10C initiatives, from data entry and analysis to setting up event spaces. More recently, she has started making playlists for the Guelph Farmers’ Market and other facets of 10C.
Noura’s career thus far has been unique. After growing up in a small town, Noura was inspired to seek out the people and spaces that were aligned with her values. She worked abroad in Israel, New Zealand, Australia, and Samoa. After seeing how communities operate outside of Western culture and the youth involvement in making changes, she was inspired to change her program.
Noura is currently finishing a Bachelor Degree from the University of Waterloo in Social Development Studies with a specialization in social policy and social action and a minor in psychology. She also recently completed the Walls-to-Bridges program, which she described as life-changing. Visiting the women’s prison with the guidance of Indigenous instructors changed her perception about substance use services, the treatment and discourse around mental health, and the importance of human connection. “There are so many missing pieces,” she says.” “Even our connection to nature but especially feeling a part of human family. It’s so important and it’s missing. I think with COVID, people are yearning for that. And I think 10C is doing such an amazing job at lifting people up.”
Beyond her role at 10C this summer, Noura is pursuing a career in social work with the goal of taking a holistic approach to mental health issues that builds community resilience. She is appreciative of the opportunity that her role at 10C offers to work in that field: “If I can be a part of any initiative that is rooting for community resilience and cultivating community spaces and using that as a driver for social change, I think that that’s like where I want to be.”
In her spare time, Noura is creatively inclined and enjoys that 10C “is so creatively energizing and inspiring.”
You can find Noura at the host desk, at the market designing signs, or anywhere throughout the 10C building helping to make the magic happen.
