Basma was born in Pakistan, but moved to Canada at the age of three. She enjoys reading, baking, taking long walks and experimenting with tea and coffee. She is an active volunteer in the school and in her religious community. In school, she has been a co-leader of the Library Club for the last two years. In these years they have started a podcast and an Instagram account and hosted numerous activities for students. She is also a leader (treasurer in 2022/23, event planner in 2023/24) of the Interact Club, which is part of a larger organization known as Rotary. In this club, she has helped organize the annual winter carnival (which raises money for Helping Hampers), a cake auction (through which they raise money for YWCA), and campaigns for Breast Cancer Awareness, Women’s History Month and Earth Day. In her religious community, I have been a religious teacher for two years and have started tutoring new immigrant children in math and reading. Last year, she was part of the Junior Achievement program at M.E. LaZerte where she was the Vice President of Finance. In this program, they created the company HEXIS with its product, the HEXIS band. Over the summer, she was a part of the HYRS program at the University of Alberta, where she worked for an Otolaryngologist to help collect cough audio data, which was later used to train a Machine Learning Algorithm to identify the difference between normal and abnormal coughs. Read More
<img src="https://www.mtlblog.com/media-library/an-air-transat-plane-right-an-aerial-shot-of-brussels-belgium.jpg?id=59702509&width=1200&height=600&coordinates=0%2C36%2C0%2C36"/><br/><br/><p>With winter <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/montreal-weather-weekend-snow-spring" target="_blank">weather dragging into spring</a> and sunny days still feeling like a distant dream, the urge to pack your bags and get out of Montreal is hitting harder than ever. If you're already picturing yourself sipping spritzes in Lisbon, sunbathing in Cancun, or munching on frites in Brussels, now's the time to book your flight.</p><p>Until April 6, 2025, <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/tag/air-transat" target="_blank">Air Transat</a> is offering seriously tempting deals on flights to popular spots in Europe, the South, and the U.S. The best part? These deals are out of Montreal and apply to individual bookings made between March 24 and April 6, 2025, for departures from March 24 to October 31, 2025. That's right, you have all summer (and even a bit of fall) to score a cheap getaway.</p><p>Looking at the updated "deals" page on the airline's website, we found plenty of one-way flights down South starting at $236.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img alt="A screenshot of Air Transat's offers page. " class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9913abdb0bba61313597980dfd8e7ca3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="bb6d4" loading="lazy" src="https://www.mtlblog.com/media-library/a-screenshot-of-air-transat-s-offers-page.png?id=59702386&width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Plenty of sunny destinations feature one-way flights below $400.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit..."><a href="https://www.airtransat.com/en-CA/deals/south-flights/one-way?search=flight&flightType=OW&gateway=AIRPORT_YUL&pax=1-0-0-0" target="_blank">Air Transat</a></small></p> <ul> <li> Liberia, Costa Rica: $236 (April 11)</li> <li> Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: $236 (April 17)</li> <li> Cancun, Mexico: $287 (May 19 & June 2)</li> <li> Punta Cana, Dominican Republic: $310 (April 14)</li> <li> Varadero, Cuba: $359 (May 10)</li> </ul><div></div> <p><span style="">There are also round-trip flights to the tropics (or Florida) at very good prices, with some round-trip sun getaways starting at just $316:</span></p><ul><li>Orlando or Fort Lauderdale: $316 (various dates available)</li><li>Cancun: $518 (June 2 - 11)</li><li>Punta Cana: $606 (April 30 - May 14)</li><li>Fort-de-France, Martinique: $661 (May 24 - June 7)</li></ul><p>And if <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/canadian-cities-european-travel" target="_blank">Europe is on your bucket list</a>, Air Transat also has a slew of affordable round-trip flights to different cities across the continent.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img alt="Flight deals on the Air Transat website." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a0bd4df340e6c63f8e4776ba7083f8db" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="def6f" loading="lazy" src="https://www.mtlblog.com/media-library/flight-deals-on-the-air-transat-website.png?id=59702492&width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Round-trip flights to many European cities are going for less than $800.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit..."><a href="https://www.airtransat.com/en-CA/deals/seat-sale?search=flight&flightType=RT&gateway=AIRPORT_YUL&pax=1-0-0-0" target="_blank">Air Transat</a></small></p> <ul> <li> Brussels: $659 (May 8 - 16)</li> <li> Lisbon: $670 (June 8 - 17)</li> <li> Paris: $695 (May 8 - 13)</li> <li> London: $778 (May 3 - 9)</li> <li> Nice: $793 (May 20 - 28)</li> </ul> <p>It's worth noting that all prices include taxes, but they can vary based on availability. Also, Air Transat r<a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/air-transat-baggage-fees" target="_blank">ecently updated its baggage policy</a>. For flights to Europe, a hot meal, wine, and a carry-on bag are included. But for flights to the South and the U.S., if you've booked an Eco Budget or Promo fare, you only get a personal item. Want to bring a carry-on or checked bag? That'll cost you $35 to $50, and it'll be sent to the hold no matter the size.</p><p><em>Love this? Check out our <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/notices/" target="_blank">MTL Blog noticeboard</a> for details on jobs, benefits, travel info and more!</em></p>
<p><em>AI tools may have been used to support the creation or distribution of this content; however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of MTL Blog's Editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/editorial-standards" target="_blank">Editorial Standards page</a>.</em></p>
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