sustainable, local production of limited-edition apparel<\/a>. Along the way, students built their own brands and designs and learned about the industry and themselves. <\/p>\nSurrey Schools said the students\u2019 connection with the former mayor started with a surprise when they received the certificate shortly after the program wrapped up last year. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t do any of that. That just came unprompted,\u201d said Michael Sosnowsky, WRAP family coordinator with the district\u2019s Safe Schools department.<\/p>\n
Surrey Schools shared Sosnowsky had the certificates framed and he then gathered the students for a group photo to send to Locke as a thank-you. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought, okay, that\u2019ll be it,\u201d he told Surrey Schools. <\/p>\n
Sosnowsky then shared that a few weeks later the invitation for the in person meeting with the then-mayor at city hall arrived. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe was just really excited to meet these guys,\u201d Sosnowsky recalled. \u201cI can\u2019t really describe how impactful it was for the youth. They were so excited.\u201d <\/p>\n
According to Sosnowsky, when the meeting day finally arrived, Locke sat with the students for 45 minutes and they came ready to speak. <\/p>\n
Sosnowsky shared that the students raised how hard it is for young people to find work and how few opportunities there are to gain hands-on experience in a field they\u2019re passionate about, as they had with fashion. <\/p>\n
\u201cEach of them had something to say,\u201d said Sosnowsky. \u201cEverybody was attentive and well spoken. It was ear-to-ear smiling the entire time.\u201d <\/p>\n
Surrey Schools shared that at the end of the meeting, Locke told the students they could list their certificates on their resumes as a character reference and that the city hall would back that up. She also told them she was interested in inviting them back to share their perspective as part of a youth council. <\/p>\n
For Sosnowsky, that invitation matters as much as the recognition, he explained to Surrey Schools. <\/p>\n
Two of the young men who were a part of this cohort have already graduated and Sosnowsky sees this opportunity as a chance for them to picture themselves as community leaders. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey might get to have an input into where the next park or playground goes, or what youth groups could really reach young people,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, I did this, and it wasn\u2019t for nothing.\u2019 Their voices are meaningful.\u201d <\/p>\n
Sosnowsky added that for many of the students, a moment like this can shape what comes next. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey are the future of Surrey,\u201d he said. \u201cAny kind of leg up is super meaningful.\u201d <\/p>\n
As for what\u2019s next, Surrey Schools says that Sosnowsky and the program\u2019s two facilitators, Pam Gutierrez and Jshandeep Jassal, hope to launch a new cohort for girls next spring. <\/p>\n
The students are said to follow the same model, pairing hands-on skills such as nail art, lash applications and perfume blending with lessons on sustainability and how to safely set up a small business. <\/p>\n
Similar to the first cohort, Surrey Schools explains that it will end with an exhibition for families and school staff. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you believe in someone, support them, and give them the space to grow, they can go the distance,\u201d said Gutierrez.<\/p>\n
Jassal said the cohort shows \u201cwhat can happen when young people who are typically stereotyped or underestimated are given a chance to find an alternate path and claim their power.\u201d <\/p>\n
Learn more about Surrey Schools WRAP program at surreyschools.ca\/safeschools\/wraparound<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Surrey Schools fashion students recognized at city hall Published 3:00 pm Tuesday, October 20, 2026 A group of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":940643,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-940642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=940642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/940643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=940642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=940642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=940642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}