Today we’d like to introduce you to Maliyah Chance.
Hi Maliyah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, and raised in Calgary from a young age. My path has never been one straight line, but creativity, voice, identity, and connection have always been at the centre of it.
I started singing when I was three years old. Before I had the words to fully explain how I felt, music was the first way I learned to express myself. It was my earliest relationship with voice.
As I got older, that creative foundation led me into performance, modelling, and eventually pageantry. In 2018, I was crowned Miss Teenage Alberta. That experience shifted my understanding of what pageantry could be. There are many stigmas attached to it, but I quickly saw that it was a platform for service, advocacy, and meaningful community impact.
I also learned that pageantry could be a powerful space for personal development. It helped me grow into the person I wanted to become by strengthening my confidence, communication, leadership, discipline, and ability to show up with intention. For many young women, pageantry can help develop skills that make them more well-rounded in every area of their lives. For me, it became an important part of my own journey of self-development.
That year, I also began advocating for my Lao community. Growing up, I did not see much representation of my culture, and I felt called to use the platform I had to bring greater visibility to it. That experience made me fall in love with volunteering and community work. I began to understand that a platform means little unless you are willing to use it in a way that creates space, support, or possibility for others.
Later, when I was crowned Miss Alberta 2025, I looked inward. Throughout my life, I had always been drawn to self-development, even before I had the language for what it meant or understood where it could lead. I had always been interested in growth, healing, and becoming a more grounded version of myself. With that title and a larger platform, those interests became clearer. I wanted to help young people explore who they are before the world tells them who they should be.
Like many young people, I have navigated uncertainty around identity, belonging, confidence, and self-worth. During a difficult transitional period in my own life, I experienced severe acne that deeply affected my confidence and the way I saw myself. It pushed me to truly look inward and begin asking what peace, self-love, and self-worth looked like beyond appearance or external validation. That journey became an important part of how I understand identity today.
I champion mentorship because I did not have mentors growing up, and I understand how life-changing it can be for a young person to have someone who believes in them, listens to them, and helps them see possibilities they may not yet see for themselves. My commitment to supporting youth is also deeply personal. I mentor and host international students in my home, supporting them through what can be a pivotal and transitional chapter of their lives. Moving to a new country can come with uncertainty, homesickness, and the pressure of finding your footing, so I try to offer a sense of guidance, safety, and encouragement as they adjust and grow.
Over the years, I have worked as a model, performer, skin technician, speaker, youth mentor, and art director. Today, I am building Soul Print, an initiative rooted in holistic identity, self-expansion, and creative wellbeing. Through storytelling, conversation, and arts-based reflection, I want to create spaces where young people feel safe to explore who they are, honour where they come from, and recognize that their voice has value.
My story is still unfolding, but that is part of what I hope others take from it. Becoming is ongoing. You can grow, reinvent yourself, heal, carry many passions, and still remain deeply rooted in who you are.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life is never a smooth road, especially when you dare to follow your dreams and passions. For me, much of my growth has come from navigating difficult transitions without always having a clear roadmap or the support system I needed.
Growing up, I did not have mentors who could help guide me through certain moments in life. Because of that, I had to learn many things through experience, reflection, and making mistakes. It made me resilient, but it also showed me how life-changing it can be when a young person has someone in their corner who believes in them and helps them see their potential. That is a big part of why I care so deeply about mentorship today.
I have also had periods where my confidence was deeply affected by my appearance. I struggled with severe acne during a difficult transitional time in my life, and it changed the way I saw myself. In an industry and world that can place so much emphasis on appearance, I had to learn how to separate my worth from how I looked on any given day. That experience pushed me to look inward and understand what peace, self-love, and confidence truly meant for me.
The struggles have taught me that growth is rarely glamorous or linear. There have been moments of doubt, rebuilding, and learning to believe in myself before there was outside validation. But those experiences are also what made me more compassionate, grounded, and committed to creating spaces where other young people feel seen, supported, and encouraged in their own becoming.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work sits at the intersection of creativity, identity, beauty, and youth empowerment. I am a multidisciplinary creative, youth mentor and skin technician. While those roles may look different on the surface, they are all connected by the same purpose: helping people feel more confident in who they are and more intentional about how they move through the world.
A large part of my work is centred around Soul Print, an initiative I am building around holistic identity, self-expansion, and creative wellbeing. Through storytelling, conversation, mentorship, and arts-based reflection, I want to create spaces where young people can explore their identity, build self-worth, and recognize the value of their voice. I am especially passionate about supporting young people through transitional periods, because those are often the moments that shape how they see themselves and what they believe is possible for their lives.
I also work in aesthetics as a skin technician, which is meaningful to me because of my own experience with acne and confidence. I understand that skincare can be about much more than appearance. It can be part of someone’s relationship with self-care, healing, and feeling comfortable in their own skin. My approach is grounded in both knowledge and empathy.
Creatively, I have worked across modelling, performance, speaking, and art direction. I enjoy using visual storytelling to explore identity, emotion, beauty, and self-expression. I am drawn to work that feels intentional and has something to say, whether it is through an image, a conversation, a workshop, or a stage.
What I am most proud of is the way I have been able to turn my own experiences into something that can support others. I did not always have the guidance or mentorship I needed growing up, so being able to mentor young people, host international students, and create spaces where people feel seen is deeply meaningful to me.
What sets me apart is that I do not approach my work from only one lens. I bring together my lived experience, creative background, knowledge of beauty and wellness, and commitment to youth advocacy. I care about the person behind the image, the story behind the confidence, and the deeper work of helping people feel rooted in who they are.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I have learned is that your worth cannot depend on how others see you. There will be seasons where you feel overlooked, misunderstood, or far from the version of yourself you want to become. In those moments, you have to return to who you are, what you value, and the promises you make to yourself.
For a long time, I thought confidence was something you had to earn through achievements, appearance, or outside validation. Through difficult transitions, struggles with acne, and moments where I had to find my own direction, I learned that real confidence comes from knowing yourself and continuing to show up for yourself, even when life feels uncertain.
I have also learned that becoming is not a destination. You are allowed to evolve, change your mind, try new paths, and grow beyond versions of yourself that no longer fit. The goal is not to have everything figured out. It is to keep moving with intention, stay connected to your values, and use what you have learned to make space for others along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://maliyahchance.carrd.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maliyah.chance/ and https://www.instagram.com/soulprint.ca/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaliyahChance and https://www.facebook.com/soulprint.ca/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maliyah-chance-36291536a
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@maliyahchance
