From Vancouver to St. John's, 50 students awarded largest Canadian undergraduate scholarships for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

– 2015 Schulich Leader winners of $80,000 and $60,000 scholarships announced –

TORONTO, Aug. 19, 2015 /CNW/ - The 2015 recipients of the 50 Schulich Leader Scholarships are heading off to universities across Canada to pursue undergraduate studies in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM).

Created by Canadian business leader and philanthropist Seymour Schulich in 2011, this scholarship program encourages high school graduates to embrace STEM disciplines in their future careers. This year, there were a record-breaking 1,250 high schools that each submitted a Schulich Leader Nominee, all competing for the 50 coveted scholarships. To date, these scholarships have been awarded to 170 students across Canada, distributing more than $11 million.

Two scholarship recipients are selected at each of the 20 participating universities, with five of these universities receiving an additional two scholarships for attracting the most applications. Twenty-five undergraduate scholarships, valued at $80,000, are given out to students pursuing engineering degrees. The other 25 scholarships, valued at $60,000, are reserved for students pursuing degrees in science, technology or mathematics.  

The 2015 Schulich Leaders are:

First Name	Last Name	University	Home City	Home Province
Madeline	Shred	University of Waterloo	Nanaimo	British Columbia
Aaron	Grenke	University of Waterloo	Stony Plain	Alberta
Cindy	Wei	University of Waterloo	Coquitlam	British Columbia
Ella	Rasmussen	University of Waterloo	Oakville	Ontario
Daniel	McInnis	University of Toronto	Ottawa	Ontario
Julia	Won	University of Toronto	Mississauga	Ontario
Christopher	Choquette-Choo	University of Toronto	Toronto	Ontario
Annie	Yao	University of Toronto	Saskatoon	Saskatchewan
Erika	Kropf	McMaster University	Tavistock	Ontario
Melissa	Cusack Striepe	McMaster University	Mount Albert	Ontario
Jessica	Loiseau	McMaster University	Burlington	Ontario
Conary	Coyne	McMaster University	Fonthill	Ontario
Lin Wei	Tung	Queen's University	Chilliwack	British Columbia
Mary	Hickox	Queen's University	Stratford	Prince Edward Island
Shing Shan	Chan	Queen's University	Calgary	Alberta
Sandra	Smeltzer	Queen's University	Harrow	Ontario
Rika	Sugimoto Dimitrova	University of British Columbia	White Rock	British Columbia
Aishwarya	Roshan	University of British Columbia	Burnaby	British Columbia
Anita	Mahinpei	University of British Columbia	North Vancouver	British Columbia
Arthur	Chen	University of British Columbia	Surrey	British Columbia
Dane	Sisinni	Western University	Niagara-on-the-Lake	Ontario
Kyra	Moura	Western University	Toronto	Ontario
Aditya	Mohan	McGill University	Ottawa	Ontario
Alexander	Deans	McGill University	Windsor	Ontario
Reed	Bell	University of Ottawa	Owen Sound	Ontario
Alana	Sorgini	University of Ottawa	Sudbury	Ontario
Kyle	McKee	University of Alberta	Yellowknife	Northwest Territories
Jamie	Dublanko	University of Alberta	Edmonton	Alberta
Allyson	Evans	Dalhousie University	Wilmot	Nova Scotia
Victoria	Somerton	Dalhousie University	Dominion	Nova Scotia
Manpreet	Deol	University of Calgary	Vancouver	British Columbia
Tingting	Yan	University of Calgary	Calgary	Alberta
Brendan	Cottrell	Simon Fraser University	Surrey	British Columbia
Salina	Kung	Simon Fraser University	Burnaby	British Columbia
Austin	Sawyer	University of Victoria	Victoria	British Columbia
Wylee	Fitz-Gerald	University of Victoria	Surrey	British Columbia
Nimra	Dar	University of Saskatchewan	Edmonton	Alberta
Simranjeet	Singh	University of Saskatchewan	Saskatoon	Saskatchewan
Harley	Bray	University of Manitoba	Winnipeg	Manitoba
Christopher	Dyck	University of Manitoba	Winnipeg	Manitoba
Meriel	Fitzgerald	Memorial University of Newfoundland	Halifax	Nova Scotia
Sakif	Mohammed	Memorial University of Newfoundland	St. John's	Newfoundland
Wesley	Finck	University of New Brunswick	Pemberton	British Columbia
Min Ji	Kim	University of New Brunswick	Saint John	New Brunswick
Nadav	Gasner	York University	Thornhill	Ontario
Kyra	McLellan	York University	Melfort	Saskatchewan
Marie-Danielle	Duquette	Université de Montréal	Drummondville	Québec
Chloé	Villeneuve	Université de Montréal	Laval	Québec
Nicolas	Tremblay	Laval University	Chicoutimi	Québec
Rosemarie	Dupont	Laval University	Asbestos	Québec

"Fostering leadership in STEM fields is vital to Canada's economic prosperity," said Schulich. "It is immensely important to invest in the next generation of technology innovators as they develop and hone their minds and skills to contribute to our national and global community. This country has already produced exceptional Schulich Leaders since its founding in 2011."

Each year, every Canadian high school and Cégep can submit their Schulich Leader Nominee based on their student excelling in STEM subjects and demonstrating at least two of the following attributes: academic excellence, outstanding community, business or entrepreneurial leadership and financial need.  Universities then select their recipients from the Nominees that apply to their school. Nominations for the 2016 program will be accepted starting in September 2015.

About Schulich Leader Scholarships
Schulich Leader Scholarships are prestigious entrance scholarships awarded to high school graduates enrolling in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) undergraduate program at participating universities in Canada and Israel. Recognizing the increasing importance and impact that STEM disciplines will have on the prosperity of future generations, businessman and philanthropist Seymour Schulich established this $100 million scholarship fund in 2011 to encourage our best and brightest students to be the next pioneers of global scientific research and innovation. This program awards 100 scholarships annually, valued at more than $5 million. Schulich Leaders can devote their full time and attention to their studies, as all of their financial needs are covered over the course of their degree. As a result, many of our highest potential students are winning these scholarships and will make remarkable contributions to society.

SOURCE Schulich Leader Scholarships

Image with caption: "Schulich Leader Scholarships (CNW Group/Schulich Leader Scholarships)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150819_C2227_PHOTO_EN_480199.jpg

visit www.schulichleaders.com; For media inquiries contact: David Goodman, [email protected], 647-289-1950