Leadership in Action: RSI Students Honoured with 2025 U of T Student Leadership Award
The Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (RSI) at the University of Toronto is proud to announce that three of its exceptional students, Momo Lin, Sarmitha Sivakumaran, and Insiya Bhalloo, have been named recipients of the 2025 University of Toronto Student Leadership Award (UTSLA). This prestigious honour recognizes students who exemplify outstanding leadership, dedicated volunteerism, and meaningful contributions to the university community.
The UTSLA continues the legacy of the former Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award, which ran from 1994 to 2019, and celebrates students who have made a significant impact on their peers and the wider university environment. Recipients become part of a distinguished community of student leaders who have demonstrated commitment to service and inspired positive change.
When asked about receiving this recognition, each student reflected on how their journey in rehabilitation sciences and time at RSI helped shape their leadership path.
Momo Lin (MSc, 2025)
Supervised by: Dr. Nancy Salbach
A second-year MSc student, Momo has shown exceptional leadership through her involvement in the Rehabilitation Sciences Graduate Student Union (RSGSU) and her volunteer work on the Inpatient Stroke Unit at Toronto Rehab. During her undergraduate years, she also served as Co-President of the Immunology Students Association.
Despite her humble perspective, Momo’s commitment to fostering community hasn’t gone unnoticed. “I don’t think of myself as a leader,” she shared. “I just really enjoy meeting new people, helping when I can, and listening to others’ stories. I'm just happy to see that the people I support are happy too.”
She attributes her increased engagement to the influence of peers during her undergrad, and notes that RSI offers many opportunities for students to get involved: “There are so many committees at RSI, it's easy to join as a member if you’re not ready for a big commitment. You can always build from there.”
Sarmitha Sivakumaran (MSc, 2025)
Supervised by: Dr. Sander Hitzig
Sarmitha’s research explores the housing experiences of individuals living with spinal cord injuries in Ontario, a project that has given her insight into the power of lived experience in shaping rehabilitation care. “Listening to their perspectives has been incredibly eye-opening and has reinforced my commitment to making a difference.”
In addition to her academic work, Sarmitha has contributed significantly to student life. She serves as Secretary of the RSGSU, co-chairs the Social and Service committee and is an active member of RSI’s Communications and Community Relations Committee (CCRC). She also brings her leadership to the broader U of T community as the current Head of Promotion for the Health Occupations Students of America, University of Toronto St. George (HOSA UTSG) chapter, where she supports the planning and promotion of large-scale student-led academic and social events, engaging over 600 attendees annually.
"RSI is such a tight-knit, supportive community,” she says.
It’s encouraged me to keep volunteering, connecting, and learning from the amazing people around me. My advice to others is simple: put yourself out there, everyone here is so supportive.
Insiya Bhalloo (PhD, 2025)
Supervised by: Dr. Monika Molnar
Insiya is deeply committed to equity in academia, especially in representing first-generation and linguistic-minority students whose voices often go unheard in research. Her leadership spans multiple levels, organizing conferences, creating the Multi-Literacies Open Network (M-LION) for scholar-community collaboration, and leading outreach with advocacy and government organizations.
Insiya’s contributions include co-chairing the Theory-to-Therapy and Language Research Day graduate conferences and organizing community film screenings in collaboration with the Canadian Stuttering Association, Ontario Ministry of Education, and OISE.
Now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta’s Multilingual Families Lab, Insiya’s work explores the potential of AI-powered home-language translation to improve early language assessment for multilingual children. Her research addresses the critical gaps in current English-centric assessment models, aiming to reduce linguistic bias and increase access for children from diverse language backgrounds.
RSI is proud to support its students not only as researchers and scholars but also as changemakers. Through initiatives like waived registration fees for international conferences, committee participation, and leadership development opportunities like Leadership Rehab Rounds, the institute fosters an environment where student voices are heard and amplified.
We extend our congratulations to all recipients of the 2025 U of T Student Leadership Award. To view the full list of honourees, please visit the UTSLA webpage.
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