School District 22 wants to reward change makers

Making a difference every day

A new scholarship is coming online in School District 22 (SD 22) in conjunction with Pattison Media.

SD 22 is looking for a student who is making a difference, committed to social change and working hard to make their school, community and world a better place.

“Our change makers Dream, Believe, and Achieve”, says SD 22 Board of Education Chair Gen Acton.

While many scholarships focus on academic excellence “The Change Maker of the Year Scholarship” is focused on a student who through creative, thoughtful and meaningful ways, is dedicated to making a necessary and practical change in the world.

“Change makers are students who thrive in their own success, show leadership excellence, and connect with the community,” states SD 22 Superintendent, Dr. Christine Perkins. “The motivation behind Change Maker is to give students who are doing good things for our community some recognition. They could be volunteering with younger children, helping seniors, cleaning our rivers and streams, building bike trails, fund-raising for Ukraine, for their church, for a non-profit, for the arts, etc.”

The $1,000 scholarship is open to grades 11 and 12 and adult students enrolled in SD 22.

“There may also be students with inclusion needs who are doing brilliant service activities we are completely unaware of.   There could also be Indigenous students who dance or drum for their own community who go under recognized by the rest of the community. Change Maker is for those who are making a difference. Change Maker is to give the community a chance to recognize students doing something right.” Perkins added.

SD 22 offers several thousand dollars in scholarships with a variety of criteria, there are 27 pages of available scholarships, but this particular area has been underserved.

“Students can be change makers when they have agency to create, collaborate and communicate in ways that ignite passion and purpose,” SD 22 Director of Instruction, Learning Luke Friesen said.

Bursaries and awards have become increasingly important for students headed for post-secondary education or trades training as tuition and living expenses continue to escalate.

According to a Statistics Canada report released this fall, full-time graduate students will pay $7,437, while undergraduate students will pay $6,834 for the 2022/23 academic year — respective increases of 1.7 per cent and 2.6 per cent from the previous year.

Graduate students in British Columbia will pay an average annual tuition of $9,994 — the second-highest figure across the country, ahead of Ontario ($9,385) and just behind Nova Scotia ($10,591). Undergraduate students in British Columbia will pay $ 6,256, well below the most expensive province of Nova Scotia ($9,328) and below the Canadian average. But students in British Columbia also face higher costs for key categories including food and rent.

Students in British Columbia faced the largest increases in rent among all students across the country, with shelter costs rising 6.4 per cent in April 2022 compared to April 2021. Overall, inflation rose eight per cent in British Columbia in August 2022 relative to the same month in 2021.

Summer employment is not sufficient to pay for post-secondary education resulting in parents closing the gap or students taking on significant debt.

Based on data from Statistics Canada, the average cost of a four-year university degree starting in 2022 is $96,004 for students in residence, or $48,074 for students living at home (a nationwide average across all programs). Of course, some schools and cities are more expensive than others, as are certain areas of study.

The deadline for “The Change Maker of the Year Scholarship” is June 9th, 2023. Application information can be found at www.sd22.bc.ca or by emailing Nominations to changemaker@sd22.bc.ca.

*This content was created by Vernon Matters Commercial Content Division.