Kate Haiyun Mossop (MLCE ’21) is a community builder with a lifelong passion for strengthening communities and helping people overcome barriers. It was this passion that guided her to York University.
“My earliest memories include a variety of community experiences,” says Kate. “From wrapping donated medical supplies that my mother shipped to Vietnam, to fundraising for families experiencing hardship, to volunteering for various elections. Community engagement is a core theme in my life, which is why I was drawn to the Master of Leadership and Community Engagement (MLCE) program at York’s Faculty of Education.”
Taking what she learned at York, she served as a YWCA Canada delegate at the United Nations (UN) and World Health Organization’s (WHO) Big Six Global Youth Summit where she was a member of the #ImpactCOVID project, a pan-Canada youth-oriented pandemic recovery plan at the Canadian Council for Youth Prosperity.
“As a Chinese-born Canadian, my interests concern the Asian diaspora, with anti-Asian hate crimes skyrocketing since the onset of COVID-19,” says Kate. “In a post-pandemic world and with the influences of extremism via social media, young people are being impacted in ways we have never seen before. Community engagement plays an integral role. People are healthier when they feel connected, supported, friended and contributing to their own growth and community.”
Further developing her leadership skills, Kate took part in the UN Association in Canada’s Building Young Entrepreneurs Programme. While participating in the program, Kate developed Zillennial Women in Leadership, a community of practice supporting young emerging leaders.
“After completing the United Nations Association in Canada’s Building Young Entrepreneurs Programme, it sparked my entrepreneurial interest,” recalls Kate. “I hope to start an initiative supporting and empowering people of diverse backgrounds to enact social change.”
Currently, Kate serves as the director of Community Programs at University Settlement, supporting newcomers, children, youth and seniors. She has taken her passion of community building into volunteer roles as an active member of the community, volunteering on the Board of Directors for the Toronto Council on Aging and Toronto Intergenerational Partnerships.
Kate hopes to inspire future changemakers at York to pursue leadership positions in community building. “As a BIPOC woman, I want to be a role model and influence other generations to disrupt the status quo,” she says. “Now is the opportunity to unite and celebrate equity, diversity, and inclusion.”
Kate was named one of York University’s 2023 Top 30 Alumni Under 30. Learn more about the program and the impressive young alumni on the list.