Heritage Educational Foundation awards four outstanding students with $25,000 to pursue higher education

    TORONTO, Nov. 4 /CNW/ - The Heritage Educational Foundation's Graduate
Awards recognize the achievements of students pursuing education beyond the
under-graduate level. Each year these awards acknowledge individual students
with outstanding academic records who have also made significant contributions
to their family, community and society. This year the Foundation presented one
Award of $10,000 and three Awards of $5,000, to financially assist students
who are pursuing graduate studies.

    Here are the recipients of 2008 Graduate Awards:

    Jacalynne Han Hernandez-Lee
    Hometown: Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Award: $10,000

    Jacalynne received first class Honours in her Bachelor of Science in
Neuroscience at Dalhousie. She now plans to complete a Doctor of Medicine at
the University of British Columbia to fulfill her goal of becoming a family
physician. "Wanting to share, help others, has been the biggest influence on
the choices I have made in my life, academically and non-academically,
including the desire to pursue a career in medicine."

    Vanessa Dixon
    Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
    Award: $5,000

    After successfully completing her Bachelor of Arts in History with high
honours at Dalhousie University in 2007, she has been attending Simon Fraser
University to complete a Masters of Public Health in the Global Health
program. "My ambition is to work for an international health agency such as
the World Health Organization or UNAIDS where I can collaborate with
professionals from all over the world to address global health inequities."

    Stéphanie Quesnelle
    Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
    Award: $5,000

    Stéphanie completed a Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at
Queen's University in 2005. Subsequently she completed a Masters in Political
Science in two semesters instead of the usual three or four semesters that
most students take to finish. Currently, she is pursuing a Law degree at York
University's Osgood Hall. "I intend to article with a Toronto firm in the
areas of Immigration and Litigation. My heart, however, still lies in politics
and it is my aspiration to one day run for office as an elected official at
the federal level."

    Terence Chun Hon Yung
    Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia
    Award: $5,000

    After completing a double major Honours Bachelor of Science in
Microbiology and Immunology at the University of British Columbia, he plans to
complete a Doctor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, specializing in
pediatrics. "I want to join Doctors Without Borders and take part in solving
the health crisis in third-world countries, because people who need healthcare
the most tend to be the ones who receive the least."

    About the Heritage Educational Foundation and Heritage Education Funds
    Inc.

    The Heritage Educational Foundation is one of Canada's leading providers
of pooled RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). Incorporated on
December 1, 1986, the Foundation is a non-profit corporation without share
capital incorporated under the Canada Corporations Act. The Foundation's
objective is to encourage parents, grandparents or other interested persons to
save for children's advanced education through a planned savings program.

For further information: Marjorie Cullen, Director, Marketing &
Communications, Heritage Education Funds Inc., Tel.: (416) 578-6494, Email:
Marjorie.cullen@heritagefunds.ca, www.HeritageRESP.com