RBC helps defray education costs

Ten Aboriginal students will receive scholarships from this year’s RBC Aboriginal Student Awards Program. The scholarships will offset the costs of post-secondary education during the academic year, including tuition, textbooks, living expenses, and school supplies.

Scholarship winners are Brittany David of Little Black River Nation attending school at the University of Winnipeg - Business Administration; Nicholas Gault, Mi’kmaq attending Dalhousie University in Engineering; Keisha GoodLeaf, Mohawk attending Concordia University - Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting; Louis Harris, Seneca - Six Nations attending school at University of British Columbia - Bachelor of Science, Zoology; Clarissa Hoostie of White Bear First Nation attending school at University of Calgary - Bachelor of Nursing; Sam MacLeod, Ojibwe attending school at University of Toronto - Master of Information; Tatiana Ruiz, Soda Creek Indian Band – Shuswap attending school at Thompson Rivers University - Business Administration; Andre Schaub, MÈtis attending school at the University of Alberta – Engineering; Kelsey Spence, Métis attending Capilano University - Business Administration and Robert Voudrach, Inuit of the Western Arctic attending school at Aurora College in Business Administration.

This year’s winners include a student who hopes to become a Biomedical Engineer to help bring positive change to the global public health sector and another who dreams of building an Aboriginal child care center after completing her degree in Business Administration.

“While many Aboriginal students are eager to pursue post-secondary education, some might not be able to, due to financial constraints,” said Chinyere Eni, national director, Aboriginal Markets, RBC. “We strongly believe investing in education fosters strong and healthy Aboriginal communities. Our awards program helps students overcome financial barriers so they can focus on their education, no matter what they choose to study.”
Applications for the 2015 RBC Aboriginal Student Awards Program will be accepted from December 1, 2014 to February 28, 2015. Eligibility criteria and more information can be found at rbc.com/careers/aboriginal_student_awards. In honour of the late Corinne Mount Pleasant-Jetté, a prominent member of the First Nations community who was instrumental in leading the launch of the RBC Aboriginal Student Awards Program, as of January 2015, one of the RBC awards will be named “The Corinne Mount Pleasant-Jetté Leadership Award”. This award will be given to one of the 10 winners who demonstrates leadership skills in their community and acts as a change agent for Aboriginal communities.

Since 1992, RBC has supported Indigenous students through the Aboriginal Student Awards Program. RBC will award each recipient up to $4,000 annually, for a maximum of four years, for post-secondary education. RBC also continues to invest in the Aboriginal students selected by considering those interested in careers in financial services for an opportunity to work at RBC.