Engineers Canada recognizes UCalgary alum for community service

Little did pre-teen Sheliza Kassam know, some rogue ingredients in her birthday cake would change the way she looks at the world.

The daughter of African immigrants was looking forward to her 12^th birthday party, found herself being hospitalized after having a severe allergic reaction to nuts in the cake.

Many kids would fret about a ruined birthday, but Kassam’s parents reminded her that she was lucky just to have a party; many kids her age around the world don’t have that luxury.

This inspired her to start a new birthday tradition: volunteering at a Calgary shelter on her birthday. She continued to making volunteering a priority even while working hard toward her undergraduate at the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering, and has kept at it since graduating five years ago.

And now her efforts have seen her honoured with the Meritorious Service Award for Community Service by Engineers Canada.

“As engineers, we aren’t always told to volunteer as we need to focus on our technical work,” says Kassam, BSc (Eng)’20. “But what people don’t realize is that when we become leaders in our community, we actually become great engineers.”

Finding her passion

Kassam created Children’s Birthday Miracles (CBM) at the age of 16, initially providing birthday parties and gifts for kids living in shelters before expanding to include families involved with Kids Cancer Care Calgary.

All the while, Kassam chased her educational aspirations, which included mathematics and accounting.

After attending Shad, an annual summer enrichment program for high-achieving high school students, and learning about engineering, she decided to change direction, which led her to Schulich.

“I didn’t know too much about the occupation since my family didn’t have any engineers at the time,” Kassam says. “I struggled to keep focus in my accounting classes and, when I saw students building machines and solving complex problems, that’s when I knew that I was in the wrong profession, and I wanted to be an engineer.”

Taking kids parties global

Now a professional chemical engineering with Pembina Pipeline Corporation, Kassam’s commitment to the community continued after she left UCalgary.

She serves on the board of the University of Calgary Engineering Endowment Fund, and frequently mentors students at her alma mater as well as being an active member of Canadian Women in Energy.

But, never forgetting her original inspiration, Kassam also created Party It Forward, a program allowing children to donate their birthday presents to support CBM’s work. The UCalgary Students Union club Birthday Wishes also partners with CBM.

“I love seeing the impact of my work in the community,” Kassam says. “Specifically, I enjoy speaking to the individuals we impact as meeting them truly inspires me to continue the work that I do.”

Kassam and her volunteer team have now hosted more than 350 parties around the world including in Africa and Peru.

She gives credit to those around her for the accolades and awards she continues to receive.

“It is such an honour to share these with my peers and company, Pembina, because it meant all my hard work wasn’t for nothing,” Kassam says. “It’s been challenging – balancing my charity with my field operations-engineering role – but it’s all possible with the amazing support from volunteers, co-workers and my family.”

Kassam and the other Engineers Canada Award recipients were honoured during a gala event on May 22 in Vancouver, B.C.