Many immigrants have made significant contributions to Calgary. Here are the voices of just four after recently receiving Immigrants of Distinction Awards from Immigrant Services Calgary for the difference they have made in their communities.

Claire Du

Claire Du immigrated to Canada from China when she was three years old in 2005. (Ellis Choe/CBC)

Claire Du's family immigrated from China when she was only three years old in 2005.

Today, the 16-year-old already has an impressive list of accomplishments. She invented a device that will soon save the backs of people in her local gymnastics club. She's also the co-founder of a non-profit that aims to connect youth with leaders in the field of artificial intelligence.

"I am so grateful and I think that this award really motivates me to keep on trying to give back to our community," Du told The Homestretch.

After hearing some parents at a gymnastics club complaining about a problem, she set out to solve it.

"At my gymnastics club we have to lift these 100-kilogram carpets every day before and after training. It's tiring and difficult. It was a 30-year problem," she said.

"It's called a carpet-lifting machine that has these foldable flaps and support wheels in the back that make it easier on your back."

She looked online for ideas, went to hardware stores, got help from some robotics mentors and found a workshop that would work with the blueprints she developed.

It's now in the process of being implemented.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is also a passion of the Grade 11 student. She co-founded AI4Youth Canada last summer to make connections.

"We did a national AI conference last year for high school students in Canada. We had around 350 participants. We are planning to do another conference this year at the end of August," Du said.

The field fascinates her.

"It's going to be revolutionary. It can be implemented in basically every single field you can think of and it already is. There are a lot of ways AI can help us improve our lives and help solve problems."

Amy Giang

Amy Giang moved from Vietnam to Canada in 1985. At the time, her family didn't speak English and didn't have winter jackets. (Susan Holzman/CBC)

Amy Giang is known as a serial entrepreneur. She founded two real estate businesses and an online gifting service, not to mention one of the biggest oil change companies in Calgary: Lube Town.

If that isn't enough to keep her busy, she is also devoted to charitable work.

Her family moved to Canada in 1985 from Vietnam.

"My heart is just completely full and overwhelmed. I felt grateful and grateful to be living in Canada," Giang said of winning an award.

Looking back, she says, it felt like an uphill battle.

My family and I came in the 1980s with less than a dollar. None of us spoke any English. We came on Valentine's Day, it was –30 C and none of us had a winter jacket. But we knew this was the place for us. Everyone around us was very welcoming, they offered kindness everywhere we went," she said.

Giang was nine at that time.

"I learned the words 'yes' and 'no' very quickly. Always say 'yes' first and if there is a frown, say 'no' right away. With my Grade 5 education, I soon became the family translator."

She grew up in Forest Lawn and Penbrooke and invested in her first condo when she was roughly 17 years old.

"I was doing that while I was still in school. My mission was to get an education and do the family justice, while doing real estate on the side," Giang said.

"I went to school, became a computer scientist and got a very good job, which made it difficult to begin an entrepreneurship career."

But that's exactly what she did, as the founder of Lube Town, a successful chain of oil change shops.

"I work because I love my village. My village is my family, my staff, my customers, my community. I take care of them and they take care of me."

Wilmer Aburto

Wilmer Aburto left a politically unstable Nicaragua in 1987, arriving in Canada at the age of 10. (Ellis Choe/CBC)

Wilmer Aburto takes a creative approach when it comes to overcoming stress or preparing people for job interviews. He uses art.

He's also a successful artist and photographer who immigrated to Calgary with his family from Nicaragua in the late 1980s.

"There was a lot of political turmoil happening in Nicaragua at the time," Aburto said.

He was grateful for a unique Calgary public school at the time.

"There was only one school in Calgary that offered English as a Second Language classes, so a lot of newcomer youth went to this school. Living in Canada and Calgary has been a very welcoming experience. The system that was in place was very supportive to learn English," he said.

It was a gift at a young age that opened up a world of possibilities for him.

"My parents gave me my first camera at age 10 here in Calgary. That was an introduction for a lifelong passion to capture portraits. I have been working on a series capturing models of colour, to bring some more representation to the city of Calgary."

He's also a social advocate who helps people get past their fears, helping with things like time management and interviewing skills.

"Art can be a great connector for social advocacy," Aburto said.

"I have supported over 252 individuals, and 86 per cent of those people have been able to connect to employment," he said, of his work over the past decade.

Oluseyi (Seyi) Smith

Oluseyi Smith is a two-time Olympian who came to Canada from Nigeria in 1997. He now shows young people the value of sport. (Tracy Fuller/CBC)

Oluseyi (Seyi) Smith is a two-time Olympian who moved from Nigeria in 1997. He's competed in both Summer and Winter Olympics — a rare accomplishment.

His recent Immigrant of Distinction award honours, in part, his volunteer work with the Canadian Olympic Committee around providing a safe environment for children to enjoy sport.

"It always feels good to win awards, it's a nice pat on the back for some of the work you are doing. I think my mom was happiest, she loves this kind of stuff," Smith said with a laugh.

"Either from the safe sport side or from helping with team agreements, it's a wide range of things we do just to make the sporting environment for all Canadian athletes as equitable and fun as possible," he said of his work.

It was the training facilities that brought Smith to Calgary eight years ago.

"I think they are the best in the country," he said.

An interaction with a teacher in his early years helped shape his trajectory.

"I just like sport. If I can't be competing in sport, it is nice to be around it. My entire life has been shaped because a teacher got me into sport in Grade 4, so I want to get other people engaged in sport, too. It was Olympic day at school. I did well. She said, 'Hey, you should join the track and field club.' I said, 'Why not?' It was as simple as that. It started two days a week. I made friends, I got better, I got into competitions and here I am today."

And sport, to this day, can help ground and balance a young person, he says.

"I would say take the risk, get out of your comfort zone, because that is what sport is. You will be surprised, all of the skills and people you will meet when you engage in sport. I think it makes us well-rounded people," Smith said.

"It gave me humility because I lost so much. Being able to lose is something I have honed after 15 years. If more people are able to lose and learn from that and figure out how to not to lose so badly next time, that's a good thing. Sport also introduced me to different countries and different people and gave me some perspective I didn't have before."