The President’s Scholarship for World Leaders
The President’s Scholarship for World Leaders is awarded to international students who are entering any of the University’s divisions for the first time – Undergraduate, Graduate, Collegiate, Professional, Applied and Continuing Education (PACE) or English Language Program (ELP). Award recipients are involved in activities that demonstrate leadership and have a minimum admission average of 80%. The award is valued at $5,000.
Alexander Oldroyd – Master’s in Development Practice: Indigenous Development
Part of the anxiety involved in post-secondary studies, particularly in a foreign country, is never quite knowing where you’ll end up. For me, much of that anxiety involved not knowing if I would have enough funding to cover both years of my graduate program and what kind of flexibility I would have both during the program and immediately after to pursue opportunities that would contribute to my long-term success. Receiving the President’s Scholarship for World Leaders not only provided the peace of mind to excel in my studies, but also the ability to pursue incredible (and often pro bono) research, learning, and volunteer experiences like my work with Carol Anne Hilton and the Indigenomics Institute. I am grateful to the University of Winnipeg and to President Annette Trimbee for the scholarship and the confidence it me that it reflects. That confidence has kept me going in the hard times and made it easier to make the good times great.
My advice to future students is to remember that so much of the learning that takes place at the university comes from experiences outside of the classroom. The opportunities to get involved in campus and local communities are enormous and the need is great. Part of being a leader is recognizing the contributions you can make not just in your programs but the world around you. You’ll be all the better for what you gave during your studies as for what you were given.
Sophia Brown – Bioscience, Technology, and Public Policy
I am very grateful to have received the President’s Scholarship for World Leaders. I am a graduate student in the department of Bioscience, Technology, and Public Policy, and this award will help me complete my courses and my thesis. Working with Dr. Craig Willis, I will be doing research on bats and the fungal disease called white nose syndrome (WNS). WNS attacks bats most severely during hibernation, causing a depletion of their fat reserves and often leading to death. I will be tracking bats and studying their movements and foraging ecology during their active months before hibernation. I hope that this will help inform management practices and strategies to improve bat winter survival. I was inspired to participate in bat research when I spent time as a field technician working with bats and learned that millions have been decimated by WNS. WNS research is important to help the survival of bats in the face of this disease, and I am grateful that I will participate in it.
Revanti Mukherjee – Bioscience, Technology, and Public Policy
My name is Revanti Mukherjee. I am very happy and honoured to be the recipient of “PSWL 2020” and I express my gratitude to the University of Winnipeg for giving me this award. I am a first year graduate student and an international student from India. I have always believed in lending a helping hand to the under-privileged and less fortunate section of the society. Leadership is an intangible concept best explained through experiences. As a student head and an active student volunteer, I was able to enjoy those experiences and engage in outreach programs to spread the importance of literacy and women empowerment which are critical issues in my home country. This award encourages me to take more responsibilities in the future and instils confidence in me to work hard with the best of my abilities. I would like to thank the Awards committee for acknowledging my efforts and the amazing teams that I have worked with without whose support it would have been impossible. Thank you!
Jude Obidiagha – Applied Economics
Hello,
My name is Jude Chukwuemeka Obidiagha. I currently live in Lagos, Nigeria. I am a master’s degree student at the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Winnipeg, Class of 2021. Joining this year’s admission class was made possible because I am one of the recipients of the 2020 President's Scholarship for World Leaders. This scholarship has given me the financial security to enroll in my chosen graduate studies program at the University of Winnipeg and be able to pay my tuition fees and other associated living expenses. Most importantly, this scholarship has availed me more time to concentrate fully on my graduate studies as I am now able to allocate more productive time to studying and engaging my program course contents. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has caused some structural changes that have regrettably kept me temporarily far apart and across borders, the virtual learning experience has certainly opened innovative ways to engage and learn while adhering to the global social and physical distancing regulations. I express my sincere gratitude to the university scholarship committee for making the President's Scholarship for World Leaders possible. I am thrilled to learn of my selection for this honor and I am deeply appreciative.