Fourteen TRU Aboriginal students receive $34,500 in awards
Sept. 29, 2009
Contact: Nathan Matthew, TRU Executive Director Aboriginal Education, (p) 250.377.6050
Fourteen BC Aboriginal students will receive awards of $1,000 to $3,500 each for study at Thompson Rivers University this year. Jim Reed, chair of the Irving K. Barber British Columbia Scholarship Society, announced awards totaling $34,500 for TRU students on Sept. 28.
The students were among 94 BC Aboriginal students receiving a total of $256,000 distributed to students in BC post-secondary institutions.
“These awards are an investment in the skills and talents of BC’s Aboriginal Students,” said Reed. “They will help to open new doors to BC’s educational system for Aboriginal people in all regions of the Province.”
“These awards are significant in supporting TRU students reach their educational goals,” said Nathan Matthew, TRU Executive Director of Aboriginal Education. “Economic challenges are a reality for all students, especially Aboriginal students. It is gratifying to note that so many Interior Aboriginal students were successful in obtaining these awards.”
The B.C. Aboriginal Student Award is funded from the returns on a $10 million endowment fund established by the Province in 2007 as part of its strategy to improve Aboriginal access and achievement. To ensure that there are more opportunities for people to benefit from this award, the Province provided an additional one-time grant of $500,000 that will be used to fund awards this year and in 2010.
The awards are given annually to Aboriginal students pursuing post-secondary education in B.C. The number of awards granted depends on the type of programs students are enrolled in and the revenue generated by the endowment fund. Preference was given to students enrolled in the trades and certificate programs.
Recipients from Thompson Rivers University
- Sarrah Adolph, Burns Lake
- Atoine Archie, Kamloops
- Lloyd Chalifoux, Kamloops
- Dessa Gottfriedson, Kamloops
- Sharon Gottfriedson, Kamloops
- Jordan Jones, Kamloops
- Krista Lyons, Sorrento
- Osvald Ossi, Fraser Lake
- Broderick Prarie Chicken, Southbank
- Jameson Regier, Williams Lake
- Delores Shintah, Lillooet
- Bonnie Walsh, Kamloops
- Raymond West, Granisle
- Lynda Yow, Kamloops