Humans of UAlberta: Yaël Witvoet

At twelve years old, Yaël Witvoet knew what she was going to do with her life. While at a career fair hosted by her school, Witvoet developed an avid interest in criminology. An interest that has remained to this day, as she is currently finishing up her University of Alberta degree in a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in criminology. 

However, criminology is not her sole passion. Witvoet works as a mental health speaker, as well as an afterschool programmer for an elementary school. Additionally, she works as a wish granter for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Witvoet’s drive to contribute and support her community comes from her childhood, as she “was a club kid” herself before becoming a volunteer staff member with the Boys and Girls Club (BCG). According to Witvoet, she joined when she was twelve years old during “a very vulnerable time” in her life. 

“My family and I were grappling with poverty. I became a caretaker in the household and I was also helping with the financials of it all at a very young age,” Witvoet said. 

Having started working when she was young, Witvoet said she became “very aware” of the “social inequalities that people were dealing with.” Through her personal experiences and her work with the youth center, Witvoet said she “became more and more passionate as the years went on.”

Witvoet started her journey in mental health support in high school

Witvoet started a mental health club at her high school in 2020 by working with Jack.org. Jack.org is a Canadian non-profit focused on youth mental health and suicide prevention.

“Through Jack.org, any student can start their own club within their schools. So I did that in my graduating year and we called it ‘Psych Clarity.’ The point of it was to help break down barriers within [the] school that might prevent people from reaching out for help,” Witvoet said.

When she turned 18, she started working as a mental health speaker for Jack.org, giving mental health talks for youth.

“I go in and I do a presentation about how to be there for yourself or be there for others. It can be about local resources, about what to do in a crisis, or if you find yourself needing to help someone else in a mental health crisis,” Witvoet said. 

In her role as a wish granter for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Witvoet works with children to give them a ‘wish booster.’

“Wish boosts are a way to get them excited for the wish. Oftentimes there’s a year or even more in between when you learn about the wish and when you get the wish. I get to put together a box with toys, books, cupcakes, cookies, and stuff like that. Then I get to deliver it to the kid alongside another volunteer,” Witvoet said. 

Her work in supporting children doesn’t end there, as she also works as an afterschool programmer for the BGC. She works to help run the afterschool club at an elementary school through the BGC program. 

Witvoet awarded the King Charles III’s Coronation Medal

Recently, Witvoet was awarded the King Charles III’s Coronation Medal. To be eligible, one has to have made a significant contribution to Canada or a particular province, territory, region, or community. Witvoet’s contribution was to the Edmonton community. Additionally, she also won the BGC’s Youth of the Year award for 2024. 

“I do represent Canada nationally as one of their Youth of the Year for BGC. When I won Youth of the Year, I was able to secure some funding for our specific club site. By doing that, we were able to change from running four days of the week to five. So we were able to add in a whole extra day of programming,” Witvoet said. 

Witvoet graduates from the U of A this year, and plans to continue her work with BGC after graduating. Her passion in criminology is specific to anti-trafficking.

“When I was at the youth center I met girls who were victims of human trafficking. I met people who had their sisters taken away and [that] really drove it home for me. I became very angry with how little people were talking about it, [despite] how clearly local it was,” Witvoet said. 

In the future, Witvoet hopes to open a non-profit organization to help victims of human trafficking.