The impact of donor generosity ripples across the region’s post-secondary landscape with individual lives changed through the shared power of education.
The Selkirk College Foundation held its annual Donor Tea at the Tenth Street Campus in Nelson, bringing together those dedicated to building a lasting impact with the students who are on a journey towards rewarding career opportunities. Donors, students and college staff gathered for wonderful afternoon of connecting and storytelling.
“This generous contribution and support of our education is so important,” said Amelie Hebert-Chaput, a second-year student in the Contemporary Music & Technology Program.
“I am truly touched that we can benefit from your philanthropy, your values and from what you think is important for future generations. This enables us to study, work hard and give back to the community too. With such generosity, we get more learning opportunities, more volunteering and see more community actions from the bottom-up come to life.”
The Selkirk College Foundation is committed to supporting equal and accessible higher education across the region. In the last school year, the foundation awarded 287 scholarships to 243 students and 719 bursaries to 235 students. The total amount provided to learners across all programs amounted to $775,000.
Farrah Marzicola grew up in Nelson and graduated from LV Rogers Secondary. Now in the first-year of the Forest Technology Program based out of the Castlegar Campus, she told those gathered that the bursaries have made it much easier to navigate through the demands of being a full-time student.
“I have always loved learning and am very grateful for the assistance that has been provided to me,” Marzicola said.
“I’m really passionate about the outdoors and the environment, especially old growth forests. I am really hoping to help make a difference in how we are managing our stewardship of the forests and making the practices more sustainable.”
Columbia Basin Trust Bursaries Bolster Student Success
In its ongoing support of the local college, Columbia Basin Trust has provided more than $380,000 through the Columbia Basin Bursary that has assisted 620 students from a variety of programs. This past year’s generous funding of $60,000 was distributed to 76 different learners who have used the bursary to offset the costs of their post-secondary education.
“Columbia Basin Trust bursaries are instrumental in providing crucial financial assistance to our students,” said Taya Whitehead, the college’s vice president of education & students.
“By assuring local learners have access to impactful post-secondary education within their region, they not only support individual students, but it’s an investment in the future of our communities.”
In February, college staff and representatives from The Trust gathered with bursary recipients on the Castlegar Campus for an afternoon that helped illustrate the power of the Columbia Basin Bursary.
“I have faced barriers in my education,” said James Barbeiro, a second-year Social Service Worker Program student who spoke at the event.
“I grew up in poverty, so education was not really something that I thought was going to accessible to me. Social work is a very uplifting profession to get into, it provides me with a lot of tools to take care of myself, my partner, my friends and my community.”
Diagnosed with ADHD, PTSD and depression, the 27-year-old told those gathered that he was raised by a single mom and spent time as a youth-in-care. Barbeiro explained that his mom attended post-secondary while raising three small children with hopes of becoming a social worker. Without any proper supports available at the time, she was not able to complete her education.
“There are many others at Selkirk College who are in similar situations as my mom, who may have been robbed of an opportunity to be her best self,” said Barbeiro, who plans on completing his degree at the University of Victoria after graduating from Selkirk College in the spring.
“This funding represents the generosity that we should be collectively embracing in these incredibly trying times. Columbia Basin Trust takes on some of this really important work so that together we can build a world where people like my mom are able to be represented in these places where they have opportunities to thrive.”
You can find out more information about Selkirk College’s financial aid and awards at: https://selkirk.ca/tuition-financial-aid/financial-aid-awards.
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