Loizza Aquino is a Canadian mental health activist. She speaks publicly on mental health and women empowerment and founded Peace of Mind Canada.

Early life and education

Loizza Aquino was born in 1999, in

Manila, Philippines Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

, but a year later moved Canada with her family. She has two siblings, Gian Aquino (Brother) and Lorhiz Aquino (Sister) and her parents are Lorna Ilag Aquino (Mother) and Rizalino Aquino (Father). She attended high school in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada as well as the Institut Collegial Vincent Massey Collegiate. In 2017, she began her studies at the

University of Toronto Scarborough The University of Toronto Scarborough, also known as U of T Scarborough or UTSC, is one of the three campuses that make up the tri-campus system of the University of Toronto. Located in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the campus is set upo ...

. Loizza Aquino tol
Flare
In an interview that her first job was at a

Dairy Queen Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn and G ...

at the age of 14. She expanded that she was excited about her salary. Being an immigrant from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

has impacted Aquino's life and provided a lot of challenges. Aquino believes that there is always a lesson to be learned from challenges and uses this belief to infuse her work in mental health advocacy. Loizza received an Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Health Sciences from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 2021, with a double major in International Development and Mental Health, a minor in Media Studies and a certificate in Global Development, Environment & Health.

Activism

Peace Of Mind

When Aquino was 15 years old, a sophomore in high school, she lost her best friend to

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Her friend was one of four students in Winnipeg who had died by suicide within the span of one month in 2015. After these traumatic events, Loizza Aquino wanted to create a place for community members to grieve and cope together. Aquino has founded a group titled Peace of Mind, aiming to create a mental health advocacy group in her high school. The organization implements programs for teens in

and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, which involves planning events that provide a safe space for youth to share their personal stories. What began with just ten students has now expanded to multiple high schools across

and

, with over 2,000 students participating. Loizza Aquino brought her organization Peace of Mind onto her college campus at U of T Scarborough with the hopes that her organization may provide another source of mental health support on campus. One of the main goals of her organization is to bridge the gap between peers and keep the conversation going. Aquino's organization, Peace of Mind Canada, holds an event called ''Youth Against Mental Health and Illness Stigma'' (YAMHIS). The goal of this organization is to create a safe space for youth to talk about their experiences with mental health issues. Aquino advocates for mental health resources in Universities under the belief that a degree “doesn't really matter” without the tools to cope with mental health issues.

Awards

* In 2014 Loizza Aquino received a young humanitarian award from the Manitoba Teachers' Society * In June 2017 she received a $70,000 community leadership scholarship from

TD Bank Toronto-Dominion Bank (french: links=no, Banque Toronto-Dominion), doing business as TD Bank Group (french: links=no, Groupe Banque TD), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. T ...

to pursue her post-secondary education in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Due to this she left home in

and moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. * On June 19, 2018, Aquino was named a recipient of the

Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards The Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards is an annual campaign by ''Canadian Immigrant'' magazine that recognizes outstanding work by immigrants who "have come to Canada and have made a positive difference living in the country." Overview First ...

. * Later in 2018 she received a peace medallion presented by the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

Greater Toronto The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...

alongside Police Constable Dale Swift and President of the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

Masai Ujiri Masai Ujiri (born 7 July 1970) is a British-born, Nigerian-Canadian professional basketball executive and former player and is the president of basketball operations of the Toronto Raptors in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a m ...

References

External links

Loizza Aquino's personal Website.

Peace of Mind Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aquino, Loizza 1999 births Living people Canadian health activists Filipino emigrants to Canada