Max

CHILD Youth Participant

What do you like about being part of the CHILD study?

Overall, it’s a very fun experience because of activities such as conferences and engagement events. I find that they’re very inclusive with everything they do. All these projects and ideas and stuff. Being part of the NPEC allows me to get a glimpse behind-the-scenes of how all this research is done, and it feels very good to be a part of research providing data to help kids all over Canada.

What is your favourite book or movie, and what makes it so special to you?

My favorite movie is Oppenheimer, because it’s all about engineering, physics and science. And in my future career, I will be mainly focusing on those 3 aspects. So it’s very inspirational for me. The movie demonstrates how people are able to think critically in certain situations. It follows the life story of a pretty well-known man, Robert Oppenheimer, who created the nuclear bomb, and I just find this whole story pretty interesting.
Pikelets (a Dutch pancake) made by Max

Describe an interesting hobby or pastime that you have.

A couple of pastimes I like are drawing and baking.

Drawing is really cleansing, in the sense of just taking an idea from my chaotic brain or my messy thought process and putting it onto a blank piece of paper. In other words, you could describe it as taking a file out of a filing cabinet. 

I love baking and making food in general, especially desserts. I’m always either making pancakes for breakfast or cakes for desert. I’ve made quite a few chocolate cakes and the occasional lemon cake.

What do you think is the biggest challenge for people your age today?

Social injustice, mental health, and how most of the world is online as opposed to doing things in person.

Describe an interesting hobby or pastime that you have.

A couple of pastimes I like are drawing and baking.

Drawing is really cleansing, in the sense of just taking an idea from my chaotic brain or my messy thought process and putting it onto a blank piece of paper. In other words, you could describe it as taking a file out of a filing cabinet. 

I love baking and making food in general, especially desserts. I’m always either making pancakes for breakfast or cakes for desert. I’ve made quite a few chocolate cakes and the occasional lemon cake.

Pikelets (a Dutch pancake) made by Max

What do you think is the biggest challenge for people your age today?

Social injustice, mental health, and how most of the world is online as opposed to doing things in person.

One of Max's drawings

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

I would love to have the ability to make anything come true. I would use this power to solve problems around the world, such as hunger or providing safe living spaces in hostile environments.

What is your favourite way to spend a weekend?

Watching movies and spending time with friends, through video games and in person.

What’s a fun fact about you that not many people know?

I love horror stories, and I’m currently brainstorming for a horror novel that I will be writing in the future.

One of Max's drawings
Max with his CHILD poster in 2019
Max at a CHILD event in 2024
Max with his 2021 CHILD arts project

Max is a youth participant in CHILD associated with the Study’s Vancouver site. Max (and his parents) have also been members of the Study’s National Participant Engagement Committee (NPEC) since its creation in 2018. The role of NPEC is to bring the voice and perspective of Study participants into CHILD research and planning.

Created fall 2025