Quick Escape 
YWCA Hamilton and Zonta Club of Hamilton 1 are proud to announce Oluwafikunayomi Alabi as this year’s recipient of the prestigious Olga Cloke Bursary, first established by the Cloke family in 1971.
Oluwafikunayomi has spent the last four years at Orchard Park Secondary School making a powerful mark on her school community and beyond.
A Women of Distinction awards nominee and recent Student Trustee with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB), Oluwafikunayomi spent the 2024-2025 school year building strong connections while gaining first-hand insight into the inner workings of the educational system. “I now understand why some processes take time,” she says. “Being part of those conversations helps you see how change actually happens.”
Oluwafikunayomi moved here from Nigeria in 2022, and started grade 9 halfway through the school year. Adjusting to a new country and school system didn’t stop her from diving into leadership and community involvement. This fall, she’ll be heading to Carleton University in Ottawa to study Aerospace Engineering, a field she is passionate about.
“I wanted to do something specific, something unique,” she explains. “You don’t see many women in aerospace. I want to help change that.” Her love of math and physics fuels her ambition. She also wanted to see more Canadian-trained aerospace engineers stay and work in Canada, rather than heading to the U.S., where most of the industry currently thrives.
Interestingly, her path to engineering began while helping her family build furniture after moving. “I was just so into it – reading the instructions, figuring out how it all fit together – I was fascinated. That was the moment I thought, maybe engineering is for me.”
With limited access to mentors in her field so far, she’s hopeful that university will open new doors – or that she can become a mentor herself. Either way, she’s already inspiring us.