Bianca Salvo loves getting involved and has found plenty of opportunities to volunteer and help others at Humber as she pursues her post-secondary education.

Salvo is a second year Early Childhood Education (ECE) student who plans on getting her Honours Bachelor of Applied Science in Early Childhood Studies from the University of Guelph-Humber with an eye on attending teacher’s college afterwards.  

Salvo – who says her mother, father, grandmother (who taught her how to crawl) and sister are her biggest supporters – is living with mild cerebral palsy. She’s thankful for the support she has received from Accessible Learning Services, her professors and the Humber community in general as she pursues her post-secondary education.  

When she was born, doctors told her parents that she would never walk. However, her parents took her to Hungary for six years. While there, she received intensive therapy for eight hours a day, five days a week; as a result she did learn how to walk. The doctors also said she would never attend post-secondary but, as Salvo says, she is and has proved them wrong.

It was this early adversity and her ability to overcome it that inspired her to give back to others.

Salvo volunteered at the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital where she would spend time with and help children receiving treatment. It was there she realized she thoroughly enjoyed working with kids.

Ultimately, she hopes to work with children when her educational journey is complete.

Salvo is enjoying what she’s learning at Humber and has been busy volunteering her time on various fronts. Inspired by the Friendlier reusable container program, she got involved with the Office of Sustainability. Salvo is passionate about protecting the environment for future generations and just doesn’t understand why anyone would use a single-use item instead of one that’s reusable.

She also volunteered with First Year Experience, a peer mentoring program for Humber first year students that pairs them with an upper year student in a similar program to help with the college transition both academically and socially.  

“When I heard about it, I jumped at the opportunity to help the first years. I really like helping other students,” said Salvo. “I love being a volunteer.”

Salvo is also a facilitator on the Advocacy Committee for Humber and UGH students in the Early Childhood programs where she brings forward issues students are experiencing to the dean or program coordinator. She gets to help plan events such as International Women’s Day, ECE Appreciation Day and Have a Heart Day as well.

She’s also involved with Transition to Success, where students have an opportunity to interact with current students connected with Accessible Learning Services and get to know their campus resources and learn tips to manage their wellness in anticipation of the new semester.

Her desire to help others is continuing as she completes her work-integrated learning experience at the Carol Reid Early Childhood Education Resource Centre. Salvo says she’s enjoying the experience tremendously as it’s another opportunity to interact with her peers and help them as they pursue their education.