Blind makeup artist inspires students in Côte Saint-Luc

Students at Wager Adult Education Centre and John Grant High School in Côte Saint-Luc got a powerful lesson in resilience and determination this week from Maryam Ganni, a legally blind makeup artist and speaker, just in time for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

“I want to light, ignite something, a little spark in their heart and make them understand and see that there are no limits, that they can go as far as they decide and even more,” Ganni said.

Turning the impossible into the unstoppable

Ganni, one of the 2023 top three world champions of public speaking selected from more than 35,000 participants, shared her message as part of the Jackie Fisher Empathy Tour. She encourages audiences to embrace challenges and turn setbacks into opportunities.

“I really want you to walk away from here feeling like you can become unstoppable champions in your own life,” she told students.

Born in Iraq, Ganni immigrated to Montreal with her family at age eight-years-old. She was born with vision loss but only received a formal diagnosis at 21. “I knew that there was a reason for all of this. I didn’t know I was going to become a speaker, but today when I look back everything makes sense,” she said.

“I wanted to share my message with the world, a message of hope, and I know as much as it helps other people, it helps me continue. When I see and hear people’s testimonies after and how much it did for them, it makes me want to continue, and that’s what makes me want to become unstoppable,” Ganni added.

Making art without limits

Ganni has built a career as a professional makeup artist despite her visual impairment. “The goal of makeup, the way I see it, it’s not about perfection, it’s about expression, and it’s all about how to balance lines, light and layers, and that’s what I teach people—what to do, how to use light, and how to use dark, which places and how to balance those lines, and that’s it. I feel everything with my hands. I smell everything. I know the products just by their scent. I know the colors from memory, so you know, little tips here and there,” she said.

Teachers and students inspired

Elias Tanbe, a socio-vocational integration teacher at Wager Adult Education Centre, said Ganni’s visit was meaningful for students. “She uses platforms like this to come to talk, to inspire people. What already she’s doing in her personal life is great, but what she’s doing for others is even greater. I really, really respect that,” he said.

“We teach a lot to students that challenges don’t need to be eliminated but more like redefined,” Tabne added. “I wish my students today would be able to see that with Maryam’s story and get inspired.”

Secondary two student Xavier Martinez-SEO said he learned lessons of his own. “I can decide to not freak out whenever some little thing bothers me,” he said.

A message of hope

Ganni said she hopes her visit leaves students motivated. “I want to tell you my story, and I want you to walk away listening to my story, feeling like you can bring the champion in you and find your superpower because this (her walking cane) has become my superpower,” she said.

To read more about stories like this, you can head to Inspirations News.