Nahema Mombeuil: A Beacon of Community Engagement and Leadership

In her free time, Nahema volunteers on a monthly basis with Meals on Wheels, a community service initiative to deliver meals to individuals unable to prepare food themselves due to age, disability, or illness. Aside from delivering food, she provides wellness checks and meaningful conversations, offering companionship.

“This experience has become a personal mission for me, a way to contribute to community care and reaching out to those who need it most,” she reflects.

Her willingness and initiative to help others in her community extends beyond Meals on Wheels; she is also involved with Little Kickers, a globally recognized youth soccer organization with a mission to introduce young children to the sport, working as a marketing intern.

Having been actively engaged in sports, particularly soccer, throughout high school, Nahema loved the mission of the franchise. Upon learning about the program through one of her classmates, she expressed interest in helping out in any capacity, bringing her marketing skills to the table. “Me and my friend brought a marketing proposal to the franchise owner and he was interested,” she adds. 

Nahema also offers mentorship for students of her high school, sharing her knowledge of improvisation, effective management, and the implementation of creative ideas within the school-run announcement club—an initiative that she helped implement within her high school.

“I take immense pride in the opportunity to share my knowledge, cultivated through experiences in sports, arts, and public speaking,” she adds. She regularly visits the school and interacts with students virtually to help facilitate a mentorship relationship with them.

Her initiative to serve her community extends beyond her volunteering efforts - she is also actively involved within the TMU community. 

When it comes to staying involved within academic settings, Nahema is no stranger to that, having been super involved within her high school community with extracurriculars and sports, playing volleyball for five years throughout grades 7-12.

Initially she planned to dial her involvement back a bit, focusing on her studies, community involvement, and job. However, after joining the TMU Recreation’s team as a Drop-In Supervisor, she started meeting her co-workers who are heavily involved in school and was inspired to do the same. Currently, she is involved in French for ALL, the Ted Rogers Sales Club, the Caribbean Student Association and the Black Business Student Association.

When asked about how she discovered these opportunities to get involved, she replied, “You meet people, they invite you, and you show up.

“Most of the events I’ve attended like CASA (Caribbean Student Association), I was invited by people I met around campus who seemed nice.” With CASA, she was able to find a sense of community, and make new connections with people of a similar background, which was hard for her as a commuter student. 

As many commuter students know, it can be difficult to balance school, work, commute time, and getting involved and making friends all while staying active, which Nahema found was the case in her first semester, that is, until she learned about Recreation programming.

She reflects: “going to Drop-In one time, and building that community has led me to working here and giving me so many opportunities in school and opened my involvement so much,” adding how she became involved in the Ted Rogers Sales Club through her co-worker.

Speaking more on Drop-In, she adds: “It’s a safe place to get to know people and make friends.” 

She is a strong advocate for students, especially commuter students to get active as a way to get involved and make friends. “For commuters, it’s a great way to not feel imposter syndrome within the school. You feel a part of the community and not like a visitor,” she adds.

Currently, Nahema splits her time between facilitating Drop-In sessions and actively participating in TMU's intramural and group fitness programs. Despite her busy schedule, she manages to attend sessions three times a week, finding ways to incorporate physical activity into her routine.

As a supervisor, Nahema is an integral part of supporting a community culture of diversity and active well-being. She is committed to making conversations and building relationships with all participants, making sure everyone feels included. She’s always inviting people to come try out the programming and build relationships. “Go out and try something you absolutely never thought you could do. It’s always worth it. If you fail you can always try something else,” she advises.

Nahema’s unwavering efforts are truly inspiring and shows other students that they too can find ways to get involved within various sectors of their communities and build connections with others. Her commitment and initiative leaves behind a legacy marked by connection, compassion, and active involvement.