L.A. Matheson, Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth secondary students named winners of Dhahan Youth Award
From left, UBC Punjabi language and culture lecturer Gurinder Mann; L.A. Matheson Secondary Punjabi teacher and languages department head Gurpreet Kaur Bains; Dasmesh Punjabi School student Mndeep Kaur Sandhu; L.A. Matheson students Arsheep Kaur Sidhu and Navdeep Kaur Gill; Dasmesh Punjabi School student Inderdeep Kaur; Princess Margaret Secondary student Jasmeet Kaur Bassi; Coast Capital Savings Broker Relations Manager Parveen Brar; and L.A. Matheson principal Sunny Deol. (Photo via the Dhahan Youth Award)
Six students from L.A. Matheson, Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth secondary schools are among eight winners of the 2025 Dhahan Youth Award, recognized for their vivid storytelling abilities in Punjabi and English.
Presented by the 11th annual Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature ceremonies on Nov. 13, the yearly youth writing contest showcases the literary talents of Grade 11 and 12 students, and serves as a way for Punjabi youth to embrace their rich cultural heritage through creative writing in the Punjabi language.
This year’s winners from Surrey Schools are:
- Arshdeep Kaur Sidhu, L.A. Matheson Secondary
- Navdeep Kaur Gill, L.A. Matheson Secondary
- Simran Kaur Choongh, L.A. Matheson Secondary
- Jasmeen Rai, Princess Margaret Secondary
- Jasmeet Kaur Bassi, Princess Margaret Secondary
- Ramneet Sidhu, Queen Elizabeth Secondary
Other recipients include Mndeep Kaur Sandhu and Inderdeep Kaur of Dasmesh Punjabi School in Abbotsford.
The Dhahan Youth Award was founded in 2017, in partnership with L.A. Matheson and the Coast Capital Foundation, and has featured numerous Surrey Schools students over the years. (See past winners from 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021.) The Dhahan Youth Award is made possible by a sponsorship from Coast Capital.
The winners received framed certificates, prize money and the publication of their work in Lofty Heights, and anthology of the winning submissions and poetry from this year’s Dhahan Youth Award. Lofty Heights is published in the Punjabi scripts of Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi, as well as in English and French.
The Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature will soon accept submissions for the 2026 Dhahan Youth Award. For more information, visit dhahanprize.com
Congratulations to all of our Dhahan Youth Award recipients and contributors!
