Awards and bursaries have positive impact on students

“Student awards relieve financial stress while enabling students to focus on their studies and give back in other ways, such as volunteering,” says Jana Gordon, Executive Director, Alumni and Development at King’s.

On January 24, 2019 the Student Awards Ceremony was held in the Joanne and Peter Kenny Theatre at the Darryl J. King Student Life Centre “to celebrate not only the significant contributions of our students but also the generosity of our many donors,” Gordon says.

Approximately, $125,000 in awards and bursaries were bestowed this year. In total, 103 awards and bursaries were granted, with over 100 award recipients, donors, family members, friends and community supporters in attendance at the ceremony.

“Our donors enable us to ensure the most talented students come to and stay at King’s, and they can do so in an environment that facilitates not only academic success but also that unique community found only at King’s. As heard in numerous student testimonies, student awards relieve financial stress while enabling students to focus on their studies and give back in other ways, such as volunteering,” says Gordon.

These bursaries and awards have a tremendous positive impact on King’s students, as evidenced by statements from the students. One student wrote in their bio, “I volunteer extensively on and off campus, and I’m kept busy by volunteering as an executive member of the Saint Vincent De Paul Society Youth Conference.  This award is a meaningful recognition of the impact of giving back and my efforts to support those around me.”  

Another student wrote “this award has greatly impacted my life, it has given me much more time to focus on my studies rather than working in order to afford my education. Receiving this award has given me the motivation I need to continue on with university and my field of study.”

As part of the Student Awards Ceremony evening, Dr. Carrie Arnold presented the Christopher Perrin Beatty Lecture in recognition of King’s Outstanding Teaching Faculty, with over 50 people in attendance. For more information on Dr. Arnold’s speech, please see https://www.kings.uwo.ca/about-kings/media-and-communications/newsroom/being-present-in-our-lives-the-christopher-perrin-beatty-lecture-2019/

Dr. Arnold was the 2018 recipient of the King’s Part-Time Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching (she has since been appointed to full-time faculty in Thanatology). In addition to the Academic Excellence Award, each year the recipient has the opportunity to receive a cash award up to $900 and the honour of presenting the annual Christopher Perrin Beatty Lecture. This important lecture was established by the Beatty family to honour the memory of their son Christopher Beatty, a 2007 alumnus who passed away in 2008 at the age of 23.

Please also see our story on the Student Awards Ceremony, held in November 2018 as part of Feast of Christ the King at https://www.kings.uwo.ca/about-kings/media-and-communications/newsroom/scholarships-and-awards-announced/