Horatio Alger Association awards scholarships to 85 remarkable young Canadians from coast to coast to coast

MONTREAL, Jan. 28, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - The Horatio Alger Association of Canada today proudly announced the 85 high school students that have been chosen to receive its post-secondary scholarships, marking the first year the organization's financial aid has been available to Canadians from every province and territory.

The winners include five recipients of the $10,000 Horatio Alger National Entrepreneurial Scholarships, awarded to students who demonstrate a desire and ability to be entrepreneurial in a chosen field, and 80 Horatio Alger Canadian Scholarships valued at $5,000 each.

Horatio Alger scholarships are awarded to deserving high school students in financial need who have overcome significant adversity while demonstrating strength of character, strong academics, a commitment to pursuing higher education as well as a desire to contribute to society. Funds can be used for both post-secondary vocational or university studies. Since 2012, more than $1.5 million in scholarships have been awarded to more than 300 deserving young Canadians.

Prem Watsa, President of the Horatio Alger Association of Canada and a Member since 2012, congratulated this year's winners.

"Our Association's goal is to support promising students as they strive for success. There are no more deserving young people than this year's 85 scholars," said Mr. Watsa. "On behalf of every Member of the Association, I would like to congratulate the students for their hard work and magnificent achievements."

The Association received thousands of applications from coast to coast to coast, with each submission confirming the necessity of these needs-based scholarships. The average annual family income of recipients was $20,042; 20% experienced death of a parent or guardian; 12% experienced incarceration of a parent or guardian; 42% experienced abandonment by a parent or guardian; 14% have been in foster care; 28% have experienced some form of abuse; and 20% struggle with physical or mental disabilities. At the same time, recipients maintain exceptionally high grades and three-quarters of them find time to work during the school year.

The five (5) Horatio Alger National Entrepreneurial Scholarship recipients are as follows:

Nazrin Azeez, Mississauga, Ontario
Brandon Greenall, South Hazelton, British Columbia
Jacyln Kan, Calgary, Alberta
Justin Michaud, Sudbury, Ontario
Ze Ran (Vicky) Xu, Toronto, Ontario

The eighty (80) Horatio Alger Canadian Scholarship recipients are as follows:

Niya Abdullahi, Scarborough, Ontario
Sharmin Aboubakri, Amaranth, Ontario
Melanie Asselin, Kingsville, Ontario
Benjamin Bacic, Quinte West, Ontario
Morgan Baker-Tucker, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Logan Ballegeer, Black Creek, British Columbia
Bilan Yassin, Ottawa, Ontario
Emily Brooks, Midland, Ontario
Maria Carolina Borja, Scarborough, Ontario
Olivia Chao, Burnaby, British Columbia
Sarah Chattha, Maple, Ontario
Kitty Cheung, Calgary, Alberta
Esther Chiang, Richmond, British Columbia
Delaney Chute, North Vancouver, British Columbia
Madeline Clark, Calgary, Alberta
Maddy Crawford-Grosse, Brampton, Ontario
Natalie Cuei, Calgary, Alberta
Ashley Dean, Outlook, Saskatchewan
Thomas Dedinsky, St. Catharines, Ontario
Nsasi Divine Kambu, Ottawa, Ontario
Bliss Ducharme, Kelowna, British Columbia
Nadreen Elshawish, London, Ontario
Ashleigh Giffen, Squamish, British Columbia
Bryce Godin, Chapeau, Quebec
Chandlar Grainger, Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
Mandeash Grewal, Surrey, British Columbia
Philip He, Burnaby, British Columbia
Vivien Hui, Richmond, British Columbia
Hannah Im, Coquitlam, British Columbia
Samina Javeed, Calgary, Alberta
Jessie Jolly, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia
James Kan, Burnaby, British Columbia
Macray Keeper, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Keely Kergan, Kelowna, British Columbia
Abdul Khattab, Surrey, British Columbia
Richard Kunze, Mission, British Columbia
Chloe Kurney, North Vancouver, British Columbia
Sara-Beth LeMouel Tourangeau, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Wei-Ting (Timothy) Lin, West Vancouver, British Columbia
Andrea Loncaric, Kitchener, Ontario
John MacDonald, Kingston, Ontario
Nafisa Mahbub, Toronto, Ontario
Jade Malcolm, St. Andrews, New Brunswick
Libby Marlatt, Toronto, Ontario
Chanice McAnuff, Richmond Hill, Ontario
Connor McCabe, Greenwood, Nova Scotia
Alison McCormack, Barrie, Ontario
Treno Morton, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Loic Murumba, Nanaimo, British Columbia
Muneeb Muzaffar, Stoney Creek, Ontario
Lysandra Naom, Windsor, Ontario
Jensen Newell, Springfield, Ontario
Johnson Nguyen, Nanaimo, British Columbia
Emmanuel Nnamani, Edmonton, Alberta
Danielle Ocampo, Surrey, British Columbia
Alyssa Oh (Ga-Young), Surrey, British Columbia
Emma Paynter, Albany, Prince Edward Island
Anastasia Petunina, Toronto, Ontario
Andy Phan, Hamilton, Ontario
Connor Piet, Brantford, Ontario
Felicity Pollard, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Garridan Porter, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia
Jordan Powell, St. Albert, Alberta
Elizabeth Primeau, Sundridge, Ontario
Jarvin Rivera, Surrey, British Columbia
Erin Robert, Morris, Manitoba
Danielle Robitaille, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Eden Rumbolt, Daniel's Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador
Fidha Sabir, London, Ontario
Sarah Sarah Vu, Toronto, Ontario
Johanna Schaly, Plainfield, Ontario
Osman Sharif, Ottawa, Ontario
Lovdeep Singh, Surrey, British Columbia
Brittany St Amour, Sudbury, Ontario
Martina Su, Thunder Bay, Ontario
Heidi Suen, Burnaby, British Columbia
Ali Taha, Martin's River, Nova Scotia
Hamna Tahir, Calgary, Alberta
Ryan Wright, Westbank, British Columbia
Eric Zheng, Burnaby, British Columbia

About the Horatio Alger Association of Canada

The Horatio Alger Association of Canada, the Canadian affiliate of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc., is a charitable organization dedicated to the simple but powerful belief that hard work, honesty and determination can conquer all obstacles. The Association honours the achievements of outstanding individuals who have succeeded in spite of adversity by bestowing to them the Horatio Alger Award and granting them lifetime membership into the Association. Through the generosity of Horatio Alger Members, the Horatio Alger Association of Canada awards scholarships annually to deserving young people in every province and territory. Members of the Association include Dominic D'Alessandro, Murray Edwards, David Foster, Serge Godin, Wayne Gretzky, Rebecca MacDonald, the late G. Wallace F. McCain, the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, Jim Pattison, Isadore Sharp, Prem Watsa and Rick Waugh. For more information, visit www.horatioalger.ca.

SOURCE Horatio Alger Association of Canada

Adam Daifallah, HATLEY Strategy Advisors, 514.316.7089, [email protected]