Six McGill Students Receive Canada’s Largest Science, Technology, Engineering And Math (STEM) Scholarships
A record number of McGill students have been named recipients of Canada’s largest scholarship program, Schulich Leader Scholarships. This year, the program has doubled in size from 50 to 100 annual scholarships. In total, six Schulich Leader scholars will begin their studies at McGill in September (up from two last year) with the majority coming from high schools in Western Canada.
Out of a pool of more than 300,000 potential candidates across Canada, 1,500 high school students are nominated annually, of which 100 receive this award. Of the 100 recipients, 50 will receive $100,000 to pursue an engineering degree and 50 will receive $80,000 to pursue a science, technology or mathematics degree at one of 20 Canadian partner universities.
McGill’s cohort of 2020 scholarship recipients includes three Faculty of Engineering students: Anne Sarah Dickman, Zhi Xin Joey Koay and Ana Eugenia Quintero Garcia. Both Koay and Quintero Garcia are from Alberta, while Dickman is a Montrealer. Each will receive a $100,000 scholarship.
The 2020 contingent also includes three Faculty of Science students: Christopher Chong, Louis-Philippe Robichaud and Maggie QingFeng Xiong. Both Chong and Xiong hail from British Columbia, while Robichaud is from Quebec City. Each will receive an $80,000 scholarship.
“I’m incredibly grateful to Ď㽶ĘÓƵ and the Schulich Foundation for changing my life and believing in me and my ability to make an impact,” says Chong, 17, a graduate of David Thompson Secondary School in Vancouver.
In addition to his academic success, Chong created Hydrofinity, a patent-pending project that recovers water from thermoelectric power-plants. He also founded a nonprofit organization that spreads awareness of STEM scholarships and opportunities.
“Attending McGill is really a dream come true as this institution is renowned for its pursuit of excellence and has been my top choice university for a long time,” says Quintero Garcia, 18, a graduate of West Island College in Calgary. “I think that having the opportunity to join a community of immensely driven and diverse individuals will yield many opportunities that will contribute to my success in the future.”
An accomplished student and active member of many sustainability groups (including Dr. Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots), Quintero Garcia is already a veteran of numerous engineering competitions. In 2019, she was a member of a student team that won a Silver Award in the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) Science Olympics. The team built a fluidized bed using a leaf blower (fluidized beds cause solid particles to behave as fluids and are widely used in many industrial applications). Until COVID-19 curtailed activities, she was working with a team building an autonomous car for the 2020 APEGA Science Olympics.
The selection of this year’s six recipients brings to 24 the number of Schulich Leader Scholarships awarded to incoming McGill students since the program’s inception in 2012.
“Schulich Leader Scholarships are the largest STEM scholarships in Canada. With 100 outstanding students selected in Canada, it is all but guaranteed that this group represents the best and brightest Canada has to offer,” says program founder Seymour Schulich, a business leader, philanthropist and McGill graduate. “These students will make great contributions to society, both on a national and global scale. With their university expenses covered, they can focus their time on their studies, research projects, extracurriculars, and entrepreneurial ventures. They are the next generation of technology innovators.”
Ěý
About Schulich Leader Scholarships Canada
Schulich Leader Scholarships are prestigious entrance scholarships awarded to 100 high school graduates enrolling in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) undergraduate program at 20 partner universities in Canada. Each year, every high school in Canada can submit one Schulich Leader Nominee based on academic excellence in STEM, entrepreneurial leadership and financial need.
Recognizing the increasing importance and impact that STEM disciplines will have on the prosperity of future generations, business leader and philanthropist Seymour Schulich established this $200 million scholarship fund in 2012 to encourage our best and brightest students to become the next pioneers of global scientific research and innovation.
For more information visit:ĚýĚý
or contactĚýDara Newton
dnewton [at] uja.schulichleaders.com
416-480-6492
