One of Canada’s best

[attach]6178[/attach]Zane Schwartz was sitting in his dorm room at U of T’s Trinity College when his phone rang.

He had been selected as one Canada’s Top 20 Under 20.

“I just jumped up and down,” he says laughing.

Schwartz beat out over 600 under-20s for the honour.

Organizers cited his record of leadership as the reason behind his selection, including his time as a non-voting student trustee on the Toronto District School Board.

Schwartz describes this experience as formative.

“You get to sit at the board table and you do have influence,” the Leaside High grad says.

Schwartz persuaded the Board to reverse its prohibition on smart phones in schools, introduce transparent student fees policies, and limit in-school video advertising. He also successfully lobbied for a $10,000 increase in funding for student leadership programs.

Schwartz was also pivotal in the creation of the Ontario Student Survey which asks students for their thoughts on their education.

“It really gave us the opportunity to say these are the things students are highlighting.”

Before the creation of the student survey, Schwartz says there was a “legitimacy gap” between the adults and the students. While he could say what students wanted, the adults had the numbers to back them up. The survey launched with 69 of 72 provincial school boards taking part.

Schwartz cared deeply about his high school and co-founded [url=http://www.mytowncrier.ca/students-hold-race-to-honour-teacher.html]Run for Rocky[/url] a five-kilometre walk/run in honour of the late teacher Rocky Yeung, who passed away in 2009 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

The run grossed $19,000 for pancreatic cancer research.

Schwartz says Yeung was a big part of his life in grades 9 and 10. He took his classes in addition to being a member of Reach for the Top and the classics club, which Yeung supervised.

“Like many students I was really affected by it,” says Schwartz. “We wanted to raise funds but also raise awareness about pancreatic cancer and about him.”

Schwartz graduated from Leaside High School in 2011. He is now studying international relations and political science.

Being apart of the Top 20 Under 20 makes him hopeful for the future, he says.

“It was a really amazing experience to meet other students from across the country who have such promise,” he says. “Hopefully we can all make Canada better in a variety of ways.”