On November 12, 2022, I attended the Afro-Canadian Awards in Edmonton, Alberta hosted by Diversity Magazine. I was awarded a Junior Achievement Award.
Here’s my speech from that night.
“My name is Mariah and I am born and raised in Grande Prairie. When I was young I felt like I was my community’s diversity. There were maybe a few coloured kids, one being my brother.
I never saw myself represented in media or advertising, or anyone like me out there in business or overall succeeding in my community.
I strive to be a role model for the BIPOC youth of northern Alberta to show youth that they too can overcome adversity and be successful as a person of colour. And they too have a seat at the table and that their voice matters…
Now owning M3M Marketing, I feel an obligation to contribute to changing that. Representation matters and that’s something I want to bring awareness to in my community and beyond. We help businesses who care beyond bringing in revenue, they care about making their community a more welcoming, representative and overall better place to live through social impact.
A great example of this is Care in a Pinch Inc., which helps parents handle life possibilities with flexible childcare. They are giving parents opportunities and that’s huge.
I want you to know you can do it, whether you are someone who is disabled, part of the LGBTQ2+ community or have come from a place of facing adversities.
How I view diversity is a lot broader today. I see it as a duty to be an ally to all these communities.
We are just getting started with this work and we are hoping to enter the Edmonton market to help businesses with social impact marketing. And it’s just incredible to get this recognition. Thank you to Care in a Pinch Inc for nominating me, Diversity Magazine for hosting and the Grande Prairie community who have supported me throughout my career.”
Diversity Magazine is an Alberta-based magazine.
Learn more about the AC Awards here.