Hannah Xu

Founder,
Global Citizens Generation

Hannah Xu is a 15 year old high school student studying in the US. She has interests in the areas of law, economics and business, and aims to apply her skills in these areas to drive multi-stakeholder action. 

When Hannah was very little, her family made the decision to immigrate to Canada from China. This decision has played a fundamental role in Hannah’s life, especially in terms of her identity. Growing up in an English-speaking community, Hannah has always been fluent in English. Unlike other international students that immigrated in the later years of their life, Hannah has never struggled with English in school. Ahead of high school, Hannah harnessed her volunteer experience and became a debate coach, teaching debate to international students from China. Throughout the course of a month, Hannah was able to use her debate skills to help students improve their language fluency. At the end of summer, Hannah realized the importance of oral language in making connections with others. 

From the young age of 5, Hannah has had an avid interest in music. With dedication, Hannah picked up both the piano and alto saxophone. Throughout the course of her musical journey she has competed and won various music competitions on the national stage, traveled the world to attend masterclasses, and played for many fundraising events. Furthermore, at the start of grade 8, Hannah chose to further hone her speaking skills by taking on a diverse range of public speaking activities. In two years, Hannah has participated in over 50 debate competitions internationally, and is ranked top 40 in the United States.

Outside of school, Hannah is a passionate political advocate. Every year during election time, she volunteers in campaign voter identification groups and acts as a translator to communicate election information to non-English speakers. In moving to New York for high school, Hannah has attended rallies such as the climate strike, and has written letters to New York City Council members proposing needed change.

In the near future Hannah hopes to major in political science to learn more about the political system and the ways it affects citizens. Upon graduating, she would like to further pursue a career in law and find her voice in the justice system. In a world with many problems, Hannah wants to be the change she hopes to see.