Andrew Mizzoni (Photos by Tom Bartsiokas)
By Connie Adair
Andrew Mizzoni is no ordinary 20-year-old. He has raised more than $400,000 for pediatric cancer research at the Hospital for Sick Children, was the Ontario Community Newspapers Association’s Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year in 2005 and was one of Today’s Parent magazine’s Our Heroes winners in 2006. And he has a year under his real estate belt.
Mizzoni, a sales rep with HomeLife Metropark in Vaughan, Ont. was born Oct. 14, 1991 in Toronto. He lived what he calls an “average childhood” until he was nine, when he was diagnosed with cancer.
“My parents noticed a bump under my left eye. They took me from doctor to doctor and specialist to specialist, then finally to Sick Kids Hospital. They did a CT scan and some tests and later that same night, my oncologist told us the news,” says Mizzoni.
Mizzoni was admitted that night and began nine months of chemotherapy followed by five weeks of radiation. After about 10 months, he was in remission, but that was not to last. A few months later, a follow-up scan showed the cancer was back. Five additional months of chemo was not enough, and he underwent surgery to remove the tumor. Surgery included removing his left eyeball and eye lid.
Despite the struggle, Mizzoni says in a way it was a “blessing to receive (cancer) as a child. Children don’t pay attention to statistics. I played with friends and went to school. I had a positive state of mind.”
He was partially schooled at the hospital during treatment but whenever possible continued to participate in sports. Twenty-four hours after surgery he went home. Two weeks after that, he played his first basketball game. A month after that, he was back in goal with his ice hockey team.
“Sports were a motivation to do what I had to do,” says Mizzoni. “It was challenging to compensate with one eye at first. For sports, I worked with a myriad of great coaches who enabled me to compensate and learn several tricks to make my life easier. It was very similar to the rest of life’s activities.”
Mizzoni went on to attend high school at Holy Cross in Woodbridge, where he graduated on the honour roll. Next, he was off to Seneca College for business administration and entrepreneurship. However a year and a half into the course, he felt unfulfilled. He decided he wanted to sell real estate, following in the footsteps of his uncle, Danny Mizzoni, a broker with HomeLife Metropark Realty and his great, great uncle, James Mizzoni, who was president of the Toronto Real Estate Board in 1976.
The young Mizzoni got his licence at the age of 18, and is finishing up his studies at Seneca part-time.
He sells residential real estate (his first sale was a relative’s condo) and is getting his feet wet in the world of commercial real estate. “It’s a wonderful experience taking the sale from point A to B,” he says. “So far my real estate career has progressed down the road of condominium sales and I am regarded as a condo specialist with double digit condo deals this year worth over $3-mllion. This is something I love dealing with because I (work) with young people and investors who are as motivated as I am.”
He says young clients seek him out, preferring to work with someone their own age, but that he’s also a popular choice of buyers three times his age. “I’ve always had a positive outlook on my life and a strong faith, which is what I try to forward to others. I know my clients appreciate that trait as well as my enthusiasm.”
Despite his success and achievements, Mizzoni says his most proud moment was when he raised more than $30,000 at a dinner dance fundraiser just following his cancer diagnosis. “That fundraiser has continued over the years,” he says.
Every year, the energetic Mizzoni also hosts The Andrew Mizzoni Charity Golf Classic, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary. “At the last golf tournament, a doctor told me they took funds from the first tournament and started a research project. It showed hope and they were able to get additional government funding. My efforts have resulted in tens of millions in government funds,” he says.
For Mizzoni, it’s all about raising money for the Andrew Mizzoni Cancer Research Fund for Rhabdomyoscarcoma. “A portion of every deal I do goes to Sick Kids and I send the client a card to let them know I donated in their name,” he says. “My priority is making money to give to the hospital.”
Mizzoni plans to “grow and move on to bigger and better things” where real estate is concerned, currently putting together a team of young individuals interested in investing in real estate. He’s also looking at the restaurant business. “My parents own a Tim Horton’s franchise. I’ve taken that expertise and want to venture into different avenues of business,” Mizzoni says.
“There’s no limitation to what I can do. I have my past to thank for that. Whatever I want to do I can do, and will do on a worldwide scale.”
