Scholarships
Scholarships
The Scholarship Foundation of the Pacific awards a new scholarship every calendar year to a deserving Haida Gwaii student in conjunction with Simon Fraser University.
Earned through outstanding academic achievement in high school, a qualifying Essay program and arduous interview process, each prestigious award includes tuition, airfare, meal/accommodation plan plus all books and fees.
Working closely with Simon Fraser University and through the generous support of individual and corporate benefactors, the Foundation has created an endowment at Simon Fraser University to support the scholarship students.
In addition, two significant fund-raising events per year, a golf tournament in March and our Langara Fishing Adventures Trip in August, augment our financial campaign.
Our goal is to raise the bar where we can and to change the future through education on Haida Gwaii.
HOW TO APPLY
Once you have applied to SFU (before the January 31 deadline), prepare a Scholarship application to be submitted to Beverley Kniffen no later then the first Tuesday in February. Also, please apply to put your name on the wait list for SFU student housing as soon as possible (more info: sfu.ca/students/residences); we encourage each student to live in the dorms for at least the first year. If the housing waitlist or enrollment application fees are an issue, please contact Beverley Kniffen for options. Your application should include your future plans, what programs you are applying for, why you are choosing that field of study, what you will do when you graduate and background information of your life to date. Include three letters of reference, grades for the last two years of high school, and list any special programs you have completed. In your application, include any volunteer work you do, sports or other extracurricular programs you are involved with. The selection committee reviews all factors and grades are NOT the only factor when we award the Scholarship. This is a great opportunity to graduate without substantial debt to begin your post-university life. Simon Fraser University booklets for prospective students are included, please review and also visit sfu.ca for more information about degree programs. If you have any questions about SFU degree programs or the application process, please contact:
Madison Chad, Indigenous Student Recruitment Coordinator
indigenous_students@sfu.ca
or
Sarah Willson or Alexander Rosende-Tabunar,
Student Recruitment Coordinators for BC School District #50 (Haida Gwaii)
regionalmgr_sa@sfu.ca
Good Luck and we look forward to meeting each of you.Students in their graduating year in a Haida Gwaii high schools who wish to apply for the scholarship at Simon Fraser University should notify their teachers and principal of their intentions at the beginning of their final year of high school. The required documentation includes transcripts, letters of recommendation from school officials and community representatives and a letter from the applicant describing their educational and career goals. This documentation is to be forwarded to the Executive Director, Scholarship Foundation of the Pacific in December of the student’s graduating year.
The Foundation works on Zoom with the schools to develop a short list of candidates who are then invited to a face to face interview with representatives of the Board of Directors of the Foundation.
The Foundation will select the scholarship recipient who will complete an application to Simon Fraser University. The recipient will forward a transcript of their final grades to the university as soon as they are available.
Significant impact
The scholarships have had a significant impact on the communities of Haida Gwaii. The program is well known throughout the Islands and the students often begin to prepare themselves to compete for the scholarships from the time they enter Grade 8. The students, school administrators and parents appreciate that these are rare opportunities and as such, the scholarships are highly sought—after and highly valued.
Since 2001, the Foundation has awarded 19 scholarships. Each of these students have distinguished themselves with the majority maintaining a 3.5 GPA, 3 having been named to the Dean’s List and one having been named to the National Dean’s List.
“The Scholarship Foundation of the Pacific scholarship has given me the foundation of knowledge and confidence to pursue my career and lifelong dream of becoming a doctor.”
“This is a prestigious award that far surpasses anything any Haida Gwaii student has done before.”
“In addition to students who have excelled in school and have a real desire to continue their education, we are looking for individuals who have demonstrated leadership in their peer group and are involved in some volunteer capacity in their community.”
“Beyond the obvious financial relief that the Scholarship Foundation of the Pacific has provided our family, it has given all of us a tremendous sense of pride in Kaiya’s hard work and accomplishments. The scholarship had been her goal for many years and to see this come to fruition was extremely rewarding for all of us. The scholarship also carried extra meaning for our family as my wife and I worked for Langara Fishing Adventures at the time of the scholarship’s inception and I had a personal connection to Roger Earle and Kane Fernandez, the two long time Langara guests in whose memories the scholarship was created to honour. I had the chance to guide Roger Earle fishing on Haida Gwaii and I picked local flowers that were spread from a helicopter into the waters around Langara Island in a moving celebration of life ceremony for Kane Fernandez. I feel fortunate to have made these connections as the passion that they shared for Haida Gwaii was contagious and continues to manifest itself through the legacy of the scholarship. Our family feels so much appreciation for both of these men and the foundation that is dedicated to carry on the legacy. We can’t help but feel that things have come full circle in a wonderful way! ”
