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FCT recently had the honour to award the annual William G. Davis Scholarship to Menna Gebril on June 25. Menna is a passionate and impactful leader with a clear vision for the future. This fall, she’ll begin her studies in Commerce at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
“I chose Rotman School of Management not just because of its academics but because of how connected the program is to what’s actually happening in the world,” she shared. “Being right in the city gives me access to professionals, events and opportunities that most students wouldn’t get in their first year.”
Menna’s thoughtful approach to leadership, strategy and impact is already evident in the work she’s done. “Most of the work I’ve done has been about building things that last,” she wrote. That includes co-founding LifeBridge, a project that registered over 500 new stem cell donors from racialized communities in partnership with Canadian Blood Services. “We were fixing a gap in the healthcare system.”
She’s also mentored youth through Seeds of Leadership, helped improve volunteer systems for the Nisa Foundation and supported programs for adults with disabilities at DEEN Support Services—all while taking on coordination, training and system-building roles across communities. “This is where I plan to sharpen my ability to lead at a higher level, to manage teams, build better strategies and take on challenges with more complexity and reach.”
The William G. Davis Scholarship is part of FCT’s Community Investment Program, made possible through a meaningful partnership with the Halton Learning Foundation. Together, we aim to support young leaders in the Halton Region who are pursuing post-secondary education and working toward a brighter future.
“In Halton, nearly 6,500 students live at or below the poverty line,” said Rob V. Budhwa, Vice President, Legal and Compliance at FCT. “Our Pay it Forward value is central to who we are. The William G. Davis Scholarship is about investing in youth who are already investing in their communities.”
With the support of the scholarship, Menna is ready to explore new initiatives and keep building what she’s started. “This scholarship gives me the flexibility to focus on things that actually matter to me,” she said. “I also want to explore how I can bring accessible strategy support to nonprofit organizations that don’t usually have access to it. That’s something I’ve already started doing and I want to take it further.”
Her long-term goal? “I want to build a consulting initiative that helps community organizations run more effectively. A lot of important work fails not because people don’t care but because the systems behind it are weak. That’s the kind of problem I want to keep solving.”
For Menna, business is a tool for impact. “It actually started when I was working on community projects and realized I naturally gravitated toward the behind-the-scenes work,” she explained. “Over time, I realized that’s what strategy is, and that business could give me the tools to do it more intentionally.”
Looking to the future, Menna is eager to get involved in student-led initiatives. “I don’t feel tied to one industry right now but I know I want to be in rooms where decisions are being made and where there’s room to rethink how things are done.”
She steps into that future with confidence, knowing that the way she’s led and the work she’s done so far is seen and valued. “It reinforces that the way I’ve led and the work I’ve done so far is seen and valued. I’ll walk into university knowing that I was chosen for this before I even started and that gives me the confidence to take risks, speak up and aim higher from day one.”
She offers this advice to others who want to lead with purpose: “You don’t need to have a perfect plan to start doing meaningful work. Most of what I’ve learned came from trying things, figuring it out as I went and staying honest about what mattered to me. Just take the next step, even if it’s small and let that teach you who you are and what you’re capable of.”
We’re invested in our community, which is why helping Menna and others like her access the education they need to reach their full potential means so much to us. Learn more about our initiatives and how our colleagues are working to make a difference in the communities where we live and work.
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