AV俱乐部

Excellence award winners: Ming Qiu Zhong, Catherine O鈥橬eill, Stephanie Warrington (Mike Dembeck Photo)

Canada Millennium Scholarship winners: (back row): Alyssa Cirtwell, Michelle Honsberger, Catherine O鈥橬eill, Stephanie Warrington, Emily Tredger (Front row) L-R: Ming Qiu Zhong, Margaret Crump, Christian Browne, Jessica Carriere-Garwood, Emily Stewart, Kaleigh Kuchinski (Mike Dembeck Photo)

The folks at the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation were in for a bit of a shock 鈥� they wanted to find out what difference the foundation really made in the lives of students.

鈥淲hen we asked our laureates how the program had changed them, they said clearly back to us: It hadn鈥檛,鈥� said Andrew Parkin, the associate executive director of the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation, at a reception last Wednesday for AV俱乐部 scholarship winners last week.

But after the initial surprise wore off, they realized 鈥渨e were looking at everything the wrong way around,鈥� he added. 鈥淭he value of the program is not that it gives the students something they didn鈥檛 have, it鈥檚 that it recognizes what you already have and, hopefully, encourages you to use what you have inside you to the fullest extent.鈥�

That recognition is a real boost, said Catherine O鈥橬eill, a third-year student majoring in chemistry and physics, and a winner of the foundation鈥檚 Excellence Award.

鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely gratifying that someone recognizes your challenges and your efforts,鈥� says Ms. O鈥橬eill, from Halifax. Excellence Awards are given on the basis of community involvement combined with academic achievement.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all about balance. You can鈥檛 be a hermit and study, study, study, and not realize what鈥檚 going on (outside of class).鈥�

鈥淗aving good marks is nice,鈥� said Stephanie Warrington, an electrical engineering student who is also a volunteer firefighter. 鈥淏ut if you can actually help people, well, that鈥檚 the really rewarding part.鈥�

Without a renewed mandate from the federal government, the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation is nearing the end of its 10-year lifespan. Created by an act of Parliament in 1998, it was given $2.5 billion to distribute in bursaries and scholarships to undergraduate students across Canada over a decade.

Since 2000, the foundation has distributed 866,000 need-based bursaries worth $2.5 billion, including 12,000 bursaries valued at $37 million to AV俱乐部 students. The foundation has also awarded 18,000 excellence awards to student across the country, including 238 excellence awards worth $1 million to AV俱乐部 students.聽

鈥淲e have just over a year of life left,鈥� said Mr. Parkin. 鈥淏ut the federal government has indicated it will deal with the issue of the foundation in the federal budget in a couple of weeks. So, all I can say is 鈥� stay tuned.鈥�

LINK: