Final $500 Winner!

The final $500 recipient submitted this video as her application:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQWfesAceIY

Berekti has been awarded this scholarship not just on her artistic talents, but also her selfless volunteer work. Details of her contributions can be found here:

http://www.acgc.ca/pages.php?section_name=berekti

I believe that she will truly make a difference in the world and I wish her all the best in the future.

$500 Winner!

The first $500 recipient is pursuing a career in law despite a number of hardships. Her perseverance through adversity and her dedication to achieving her goals is an inspiration. The following is the winning application:

I have wanted to be a lawyer since I was nine years old, ever since I started visiting law libraries with my father, who was representing himself in the custody battle for me.  I was fascinated with the way vast histories of law could be referenced and interpreted, in order to influence future rulings.  Unfortunately my family’s financial hardship and the increasing cost of law school forced me to choose a more affordable education with a faster rate of return.  Thus, I went to school for software engineering, and while I successfully completed my degree, I did not have the passion for this field that I would need to make engineering my career.

In late October of last year, my father passed away unexpectedly. His lifelong dream had been to travel abroad, but financial and family obligations had always held him back. My father's unfulfilled dreams brought about the stark cognizance of everything I had yet to accomplish with my life.  I realized that choosing a career based on financial motivations would ultimately leave me feeling unfulfilled.  It was from this realization that I decided to persevere through the short-term financial challenges of pursuing a degree in law, in order to achieve my dreams.

I am determined to complete a degree in law, regardless of whether or not I receive financial assistance. That being said, being awarded this scholarship would help to ease my financial burden over the next three years of my education.

$1000 Winner!

I have decided to award the $1000 scholarship to the applicant who I believe Granddad would have identified most with. Granddad was a farmer and a family man first and foremost. He always valued community involvement and sports as well. I know that Granddad would have approved of this applicant. The following is the winning application:

I am a rural Central Alberta student studying Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary. This program is a broad based study of living organisms, and will allow me to branch into many different areas of study including Veterinary Medicine, my main area of interest. I have always loved animals and science, and being involved in 4-H and the Green Certificate program, I plan to focus on animal science.

I have been a member of the Blindman 4-H Light Horse Club for the past 8 years, and this program has introduced me to many different aspects of agriculture. Within my own club we focus on the growing equine industry, but I have also had lots of experience with beef cattle and multi-species judging. I have also completed two Green Certificate Technician programs; cow/calf production and equine production. This hands-on program gave me lots of experience within both fields and I learned so much; from breeding, to proper documentation, to livestock health. In November of 2009 I attended the Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, SK. This trip was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Regina Eastview, and 20 youth from all across Canada learned about various aspects of agriculture, and how there is more to the industry than livestock production.

I have been a member of the Lacombe Ringette Association for 11 years, as a player, assistant coach, volunteer and referee. I have also volunteered with the Meadowbrook Church Vacation Bible School for the past 6 years teaching children and organizing lessons and crafts. Also, throughout my high school years I have been involved in Students Union, and various athletic programs including badminton, track and field and tennis. Through my involvement with various organizations I have volunteered for the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Red Deer Ronald McDonald House capital fundraising campaign and the Lacombe Food Bank.

      Over the years that I have been involved in these various organizations, I have learned that together we can accomplish more than we can individually; although everyone has a different skill set and values we can all learn from each other. It is important to learn to lead and follow as necessary, compromise and work together to move forward and accomplish the goal.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the participants for their entries. I will be reviewing all the entries again over the next week. The final selections should be made by November 15, 2010.

Thanks again and take care!

The Scholarship

Hello Friends,

With the recent passing of my granddad, Douglas Alexander Tulloch, I have received a small inheritance. Granddad always valued education and, in his memory, I would like to give away my inheritance in the form of a scholarship. This scholarship is open to any University of Calgary student in any faculty or year of study. I will be awarding one $1,000 and two $500 scholarships to selected applicants.

Applicants are simply asked to submit an original work of almost any form.  This can include (but not limited to) a paragraph explaining why you deserve the scholarship, a short story (fiction or non-fiction), a photograph, a painting / sketch / drawing / doodle / etc., a song, a video, a collage, and so forth.

These are the only restrictions:
1) The work must be your own original creation
2) Any written work should be 750 words or less
3) You must be a full time student enrolled at the University of Calgary
4) You acknowledge that your work may be posted on this blog following the submission deadline (names omitted if requested)

Please submit all works to Douglas.Tulloch.Scholarship@gmail.com or to the following address prior to November 7, 2010:

#803, 4902 37st
Red Deer, AB
T4N 6M9

Due to the unrestricted nature of the submissions, there are no specific judging criteria. Winners will be chosen at my sole discretion. I promise that I will read/review every single entry.

Feel free to e-mail your questions or concerns.  I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Craig