Nine Burnaby Grade 12 students will emerge from a pandemic-challenged last two years of high school with scholarships of up to $40,000 each thanks to the Beedie Luminaries scholarship program.
Beedie Luminaries scholarships recognize promising B.C. students who have faced life challenges and adversity with determination and resilience.
For the first time this year, the program also awarded scholarships to single parents looking to go back to school.
In all, Beedie Luminaries handed out $5.1 million in scholarships to 112 promising Grade 12 students and 15 single parents across B.C. this year.
Among them, are nine grads from Burnaby or Burnaby schools: Haley Wong, a Burnaby resident who attends Britannia Community Secondary in Vancouver; Henok Kibrea Dubus and Sana Alzaza from Byrne Creek; Michelle Nguyen, Logan Wilmarth and Siham Abdelhameed from Burnaby North; Gaeun (Amy) Nam from Burnaby Mountain; Emily Wong-Abdul from Moscrop; and Younathan Terefe from Burnaby South.
“Over the past three years, I have been blown away by the students who we have met through our program and can’t wait to see the impact that they will make in the world,” said Ryan Beedie, the Burnaby-born-and-raised developer who launched the scholarship program with a $50-million donation on his 50th birthday in 2018.
Since that time, Beedie Luminaries has awarded 335 scholarships.
Along with financial assistance of up to $40,000 per student, recipients are also paired with mentors and offered paid work opportunities, Stay on Track student support, invitations to special events and access to the Beedie Luminaries online community.
Incoming Grade 12 students and single parents interested in applying for 2022 scholarships are encouraged to follow Beedie Luminaries on social media or visit beedieluminaries.ca.
The application period for the 2022 cohort will open in fall 2021.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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