Entrance scholarship allowed non-status Indigenous student to achieve childhood dream

When she was growing up, everyone knew Karleigh Webb would end up in the field of veterinary medicine. “My family and teachers knew very early on,” she says. Webb and her mother attended an open house at the then-NSAC when Webb was in elementary school, and she says her mind was made up then and there.

Webb, who grew up in Brookfield, N.S., credits her involvement in the local 4-H club for giving her the skills and confidence to pursue a veterinary technology degree. (The organization focuses on teaching young people hands-on skills, such as gardening, livestock care and other trades.) “Most of the skills I have today are a result of my 4-H career,” she says. “4-H has allowed me to surround myself with animals and has had one of the biggest impacts on my life to date.”

Choosing Dalhousie

It made sense, then, that when it came time to choose post-secondary programs Webb picked an animal-centric one at Dalhousie’s Agricultural Campus. But there was a hurdle – Webb’s student loan application didn’t clear on time. As a non-status Indigenous person, Webb was not entitled to community or government support. Her retail wage couldn’t cover the costs of tuition. 

She was ready to postpone her studies, facing the reality of not starting university with the rest of her graduating class, when she got the news – she had been awarded an entrance scholarship. “Donor funding really can be the deciding factor on whether an individual student is able to further their education or not,” Webb says. “Especially students fresh out of high school.” 

Access to education for Indigenous students

Webb has been reconnecting with her Indigenous heritage since age 15. She says it’s been tough to be accepted and she has faced stigma and racism because of her search for identity and belonging. “My biggest struggle as a non-status Indigenous person is the fact that my ethnicity will always be up for debate,” she explains. 

There’s a misconception, Webb says, that all Indigenous people, status or not, receive free rides to university educations. “As a non-status individual, I have no access to community funding,” Webb says. “Scholarships were my only hope.” 

Any supplies Webb needed to begin her studies, such as a laptop and textbooks, came out of her personal savings. It left very little for tuition. 

The impact of giving

Having her first year of tuition covered allowed Webb to focus. “Donor funding allowed me to live without added financial stress and I am thankful for that because academic stress was at an all-time high,” she says. “Financial stress is simply an added pressure university students do not need, especially with the rising cost of necessities, such as food and housing, in our current economy.”

Thanks to donor support, Webb is already planning her next move. “After university, I plan to work in Truro for a few years before relocating to a western province to work as a livestock veterinary technician,” she says. “That’s where my true passion lies.” Maybe she will return to school eventually and become a veterinarian. 

Without donors, Webb says she would not have had the opportunity to attend university in the first place. “You really are changing lives for the better,” she says of those who funded her scholarship. “You’re giving young people the chance to work towards a dream many of us have had since we were small children.”