167 BC Aboriginal students share over $450,000 in awards for college and university education

VICTORIA, Nov. 29, 2012 /CNW/ - The Irving K. Barber British Columbia Scholarship Society has granted a total of $459,000 to 167 Aboriginal students in BC to support their studies at post-secondary colleges and universities throughout the province.

"Aboriginal Awards play an important role in helping to increase access and encourage Aboriginal students to start, stay in and succeed in higher education," said Minister of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology, John Yap. "B.C.'s Aboriginal people and communities are a vital part of B.C.'s economic future and their participation supports the BC Jobs Plan."

The Irving K. Barber BC Scholarship Society works with the Victoria Foundation to provide scholarships to students attending public post-secondary institutions throughout the province and internationally. To date, the Society has awarded over $4 million from its six scholarship and award programs. Twenty-three of this year's awards are from a new fund established earlier this year to support Aboriginal students pursuing certification as teachers.  The remaining 144 awards will assist students with programs ranging from trades training to doctoral degrees.

"These awards are an investment in the skills and talents of BC's Aboriginal students", said Society Chair, Hugh Gordon. "They will help to open new doors to BC's educational system for Aboriginal people in all regions of the province."

2012 Teacher Education Award recipient, Danielle Mashon, an Aboriginal student studying to become a teacher at the University of British Columbia, expressed her gratitude for being chosen.  "This award is not only helping me realize my own educational goals, it is also helping other Indigenous students and communities meet their own educational goals, as I plan to continue to work in and with various Indigenous communities after graduation."

The Society's Aboriginal Awards program is funded from the returns on a $10 million endowment fund established by the Province in 2007, and from a further $3M fund granted in 2012 to encourage more Aboriginal students to become teachers.  Awards of between $1,000 and $5,500 each are issued to students through a competitive process every year. The awards programs are part of the government's strategy to remove barriers to higher education for the province's Aboriginal peoples.

To find out more about the Irving K. Barber British Columbia Scholarship Society, visit www.bcscholarship.ca or call the Victoria Foundation at 250-381-5532.

SOURCE: Victoria Foundation

Media information contact:
Rory Grewar, Director of Special Funds, Victoria Foundation, Phone: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]