Engineering grad from the Sault earns province’s highest volunteerism honour

Nik Provenzano might be pretty chatty, but when he learned he was a recipient of the province’s highest honour for volunteerism, words suddenly became hard to come by.

The biomedical engineering grad from the Sault was among 24 winners of the 2022 Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers, which was just announced by the province earlier this month.

The award is given to volunteers between the ages of 15 and 24 for outstanding contributions to their communities and province.

Nominated by his younger brother Zak, Provenzano was one of only two recipients from northern Ontario who received the honour.

“I had no idea he nominated me for it,” he said. “I was shocked at first. It was a huge honour considering the calibre of people I was listed alongside, as well as the alumni of the award. I didn’t go into volunteering for the recognition, or with a goal of getting this award, so I was definitely honoured.”

A 2017 graduate of Korah’s International Baccalaureate program, Provenzano is no stranger to receiving giant accolades.

SooToday last spoke with him when he received the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award in 2021 — one of the country’s most prestigious scholarships.

Last year, he won the Queen's Platinum Jubilee award, and he was also presented with the David C. Onley Award for Leadership in Accessibility at the Lieutenant Governors ceremony in Toronto.

Born without a left hand, Provenzano’s way of giving back to the community in recent years has centered around supporting young amputees.

During his time at the University of British Columbia, Provenzano was a founding member of the school’s bionics team where he helped design a low-cost, 3D-printed prosthetic arm for amputees in developing countries.

An avid athlete, Provenzano also volunteered his time as a fitness coach with Nubability Athletics Foundation. There, he worked alongside successful amputee athletes and formed personalized fitness routines for child amputees while teaching them different strategies to overcome their unique challenges.

Provenzano even worked with the Sponsor a Child’s Education campaign and helped organize different fundraisers throughout the school year to help students from South Sudan get an education.

“Because it’s so personal to me, I’ve always been around the prosthetics industry since I was born,” he said. “There are people who don’t have access to these prosthetics, so that’s always been a driver for me. Seeing the impact and how they can change people’s lives has been very rewarding.”

Currently, Provenzano is working with PwC Canada, a global management consulting firm in Toronto where he assists healthcare organizations develop digital strategies.

While he’s no longer in school, the UBC grad still finds time to volunteer on two boards: Lime Connect, an organization that rebrands disability through achievement, and Holland Bloorview, the largest rehabilitation hospital for children in Canada.

Provenzano also sees himself acquiring a Master of Business Administration at some point in the future. 

But his ultimate goal is to get involved in the bionics industry and provide advanced and affordable prosthetics to amputees and members of the disabled community who have little to no access.

“They’re so expensive, especially here in Canada,” he said. “Ever since I was young, my long-term goal was to eventually make these prosthetics more affordable for the everyday person to use. It’s a life-changing technology – not a luxury. Some people really need it.”

A competitive athlete growing up, Provenzano credits the availability of specially designed prosthetics from The War Amps for allowing him to play in able-bodied sports like hockey and badminton until he was 18 years old.

Now, he wants to help ensure no person anywhere is left behind from social activities simply because they can’t access the resources.

“Whether it’s specifically amputees or the broader physical disability community, I want to make sure they’re able to be on a level playing field as other people,” he said. “Prosthetics have allowed me to overcome so many challenges, and most of my lifelong friends I made were through hockey. If I didn’t have a prosthetic in that moment, I don’t know where I would have ended up. I definitely wouldn’t have the confidence I have today.”

Grateful for the support from his parents and extended family, Provenzano feels excited for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead of him.

“My parents have always pushed me; I definitely wasn’t coddled in any sense,” he said. “I was put on a level-playing field as everyone else. I didn’t see myself as having a disability, so I never saw that as a limitation which was huge growing up. I definitely wouldn’t be here without the constant support from them.”