A Burnaby student has earned a $100,000 scholarship designed to foster integrity, courage, grit and personal autonomy.
Byrne Creek Community School Grade 12 student Giovanni Ferraresso was one of 36 students from across Canada picked out of 5,194 applicants to receive the Loran Award.
The Loran Scholars Foundation prides itself on running “the most comprehensive and thorough scholarship selection process in Canada,” and Ferraresso and the other winners were interviewed or assessed by up to 12 different people over the course of three months before being awarded the scholarship in Toronto earlier this month.
Ferraresso is vice-president of the Byrne Creek student council, which organizes an annual hamper drive for low-income families during the holidays. He is also co-president of his school’s robotics club and designs free STEM camps for elementary school students.
When he’s not doing that, he plays and coaches lacrosse and works as a swim instructor and lifeguard.
Loran Scholars get an annual stipend of $10,000 and a matching tuition waiver at one of the foundation’s 25 partner universities, access to $10,000 in funding for summer internships, one-on-one mentorship, and annual retreats and scholar gatherings.
Overcoming adversity
Five Burnaby students who’ve overcome adversity are getting a $5,000 leg up to help pay for university.
The Horatio Alger Association of Canada is a charitable organization that awards need-based scholarships to deserving high school students who have overcome adversity and are seeking a university education.
Out of 170 awards across Canada this year, five went to Burnaby students: Alpha Secondary students Siripith Mingchuar and Malaika Sahukhan, Burnaby North Secondary’s Jody Tao, Cariboo Hill Secondary’s Soniya Huda and Moscrop Secondary’s Abedah Siddiqui.
Besides granting them each $5,000, the awards program also mentors its scholars and encourages them to help others.
