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Cassondra was born
April 22, 1990 and raised in Stoney Creek Ontario with her
parents Frank and Maryann Paletta and her younger sister
Cristina Paletta. She attended elementary school at
Immaculate Heart of Mary School and is currently attending
high school at Cardinal Newman Catholic Secondary School.
She was co-chair of her student council in elementary school
and was elected class valedictorian. Cassondra is currently
an honours student and is a peer mentor at her high school.
In the future she hopes to study health sciences and obtain
her masters degree. Following this she hopes to be accepted
to medical school to study and become a doctor. She wishes
to specialize in orthopedics and in surgery and once her
education is complete she hopes to be an orthopedic surgeon.
Cassondra has
volunteered as a lector for her community parish, as a
councilor in training at a summer camp where she assisted
campers with their activities and ran her own dance program
and she volunteers in the chemotherapy ward at the
Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton. She has also worked as
an assistant dance teacher at Lois Laxton Dance Studio in
Hamilton, Ontario.
In her spare
time Cassondra enjoys dancing, skiing, snowboarding,
sailing, reading, and swimming. She has been dancing for the
past 14 years and competitively dancing for the past 10
years. She has received her honours status in her Advanced
Ballet Exam and her Advanced Tap Exam and is currently
working towards receiving her credentials for her Advanced
Jazz Exam through the Professional Arts Educators of Canada.
Cassondra has been skiing for the past 12 years and
snowboarding for the past 6 years and is a former ski racer
in an interclub league. She has received her level five
qualifications in sailing. She has also received her Bronze
Cross credentials in swimming and is currently working
toward becoming a lifeguard.
Cassondra is a
great believer in volunteering and giving back to the
community. She believes that life is about perspective and
wants to teach today’s youth that freedom is never letting
your fears stop you from following your heart.
My Charity Platform by
Cassondra Paletta
The national charity
platform I have chosen is the Canadian Cancer Society.
This is a charity that is very close to my heart, because my
mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in October of 2005.
Through this experience I became acutely aware of the
ravages of cancer, and the devastation it causes. This made
me reflect on my own good health and realize just how
fortunate I am. Witnessing my mother go through treatment
was perhaps the most difficult time in my life, but it was
during this difficult time that I truly grew and matured as
a person. It is one thing to watch a person you love
experience this illness and go through chemotherapy, and it
is another to watch a person you love experience this
illness and go through chemotherapy with a smile on her
face. My mother truly taught me the meaning of happiness-
the love and support of your family and friends. In learning
this lesson, I decided that I would support others going
through this disease by volunteering at the Juravinski
Cancer Centre in Hamilton. I foresee further volunteering
and involvement in this cause as a means to further raise
awareness as to how prevalent cancer has become in our
society. I would also like to get involved in helping to
raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society. The efforts of
volunteers and money donors have enabled my mother to become
a two-time survivor. Through my efforts and those of others
I would be working with, I hope to give other people’s loved
ones the same fighting chance my mother was given. The
Canadian Cancer Society is working towards taking control of
cancer by helping to prevent, cure or manage cancer. This
charity covers every aspect of ending cancer and what we can
do to finally control it. These aspects include research,
advocacy, prevention, information, and support. It is my
hope that through our coordinated efforts, we in fact will
make cancer history.
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