Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aliquam libero lectus, efficitur at accumsan maximus, accumsan quis erat. Quisque venenatis maximus lacus, at rutrum metus laoreet sit amet. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Aenean ut posuere eros, vel suscipit est. Sed non iaculis velit. Cras ornare turpis accumsan turpis elementum, eu eleifend magna finibus. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Vivamus dignissim arcu ac tellus consequat gravida. Aliquam vel urna nisl. Curabitur rhoncus condimentum nibh, sit amet varius odio. Donec ornare diam sit amet arcu volutpat, ac lacinia lorem aliquam. Nulla vel odio non arcu lacinia egestas. Etiam ipsum neque, facilisis vel faucibus accumsan, bibendum in lectus. Curabitur dolor lectus, tincidunt quis est a, iaculis dignissim sem.Etiam gravida cursus tellus ut rutrum. Aliquam fermentum facilisis libero. Etiam vel risus erat. In sed sem et sapien mattis tincidunt non at tortor. Integer nec tincidunt purus, vitae vestibulum justo. Donec lectus nisl, accumsan sed magna ac, egestas euismod nisl. Donec tellus felis, volutpat vel dictum a, efficitur eget nisl. Cras congue ex at enim interdum consequat. Nam condimentum ac nunc in lacinia. Suspendisse quis tellus venenatis, accumsan dui ut, luctus massa. Mauris ultrices ornare eros, vitae lacinia mi vehicula quis. Praesent ac diam id magna varius accumsan. Duis ut lectus nec neque aliquet congue ac at eros. Duis ut ultrices justo. Praesent bibendum suscipit diam in feugiat. Nunc aliquam felis in mauris bibendum mollis. Nulla pulvinar facilisis feugiat. Fusce interdum.

Heading

TIES Scholarship Recipient Dedicates Award to Immigrant Grandmother

News

At just 22 years old, Demitra Selimos is already a force to be reckoned with.

Not only is she in medical school, but she’s also busy helping women — especially immigrant women — access better healthcare.

It’s for those efforts that Demitra has been honoured with the 2026 TIES Founder’s Scholarship.

“I’m just so thankful,” she says.

“I really did this for my family, especially my grandmother for all that she’s gone through.”

Watching her get the award, family matriarch Vicky Giannopoulos. An immigrant from Greece, her eyes glistened with tears of joy.

“Very proud for my granddaughter,” she said.

“I know what it means to be an immigrant. I came here in 1970 and I have nothing — nothing at all.”

“She worked incredibly hard for my family to have what we have, and for that I’m so grateful,” Demitra said.

“I know that her journey was not easy.”

Journey to Better Healthcare for Women

The University of Calgary student also knows how difficult the healthcare journey can be for many women. Her own sister found it difficult to navigate the system.

“She went through a very long journey to get her diagnosis,” she says. “It was very difficult, because I feel like she was dismissed a lot throughout the way.”

Demitra says add in language and culture barriers, and the journey can seem insurmountable.

“Women face a lot of stereotypes and stigma,” she points out. “If you’re an immigrant on top of that, there are a lot of unique challenges that you have to go through.”

As a volunteer with a student-run clinic, she’s witnessed a lot of troubling experiences. Those experiences lead her to found Her Health Empowers in 2023.

It has created more than 50 health infographics and donated pamphlets, self-care packages, menstrual products, and handmade items to several partner organizations in the city.

“The feedback we have received from women in these organizations reflects what matters most: they feel less alone and more capable of taking action over their own health,” she says.

Demitra is now proposing a Community Health Navigator and Ambassador Initiative to Improve Immigrant Health — a proposal that won her the scholarship.

“My goal is to honestly help all women to have access to healthcare — that’s something that is so important to me.”

“Hopefully I can be that physician one day that can help everyone get the healthcare that they need.”

TIES Founder’s Scholarship

The TIES Founder’s Scholarship, a $1,000 award, has been offered by the not-for-profit since 2018.

It honours The Immigrant Education Society’s founder Salim M. Sindhu and supports Calgary-based students who are pursuing education or training in fields that directly empower and aid newcomers to Canada.

TIES President & CEO Sally Zhao congratulates Demitra on being the 2026 recipient.

“We’re very happy to help and support Demitra expand her initiative,” Zhao says.

“We hope it enables recipients, like her, to complete meaningful training or education that open new opportunities — while also empowering them to give back and support others on a similar journey.”

Demitra says the money will go a long way, and she hopes to collaborate with TIES in the future.

“I'm going to put it towards trying to grow Her Health Empowers. I also want to work with TIES to see if we can try to create and pilot a program to talk about common healthcare issues and expand outreach.”