A celebration

Dalhousie Millennium scholarship students attend a reception in Shirreff Hall's Victorian Hall.

More than 900 students nationwide, and several students at Dalhousie, have recently been honoured with the prestigious national in-course award from the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation for their active citizenship, engaged leadership, innovative thinking and academic achievement.

Excellence award laureates at Dalhousie include Jonathan Monahan, Margot Doucet, Abby Jakob, Erica Gabriel, Lisa Kelly, Evan Schmid and Kayla Vale.

The students gathered at a reception in Shirreff Hall’s Victorian Lounge on Monday to mark their accomplishments. Also at the reception were winners of the Millennium Foundation’s entrance awards, given to students beginning their post-secondary studies, and students who had their awards renewed.

In its 2008 budget, the Government of Canada declared its intention not to renew the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation after its initial mandate is complete. As a result, the Foundation’s ability to make awards to students will expire in January 2010.

Created by an act of Parliament in 1998, it was given $2.5 billion to distribute in bursaries and scholarships to undergraduate students across Canada over a decade.

Since 2000, the foundation has distributed 850,000 need-based bursaries worth $2.6 billion, including 13,600 bursaries valued at $40 million to Dalhousie students. The foundation has also awarded 20,000 excellence awards to student across the country, including 291 excellence awards worth $1.2 million to Dalhousie students. 

Recipients of first-year or in-course awards who attended the reception included:

• Ashley Alberg, Arts and Social Sciences
• MacKenzie Armstrong, Science
• Faye Bontje, Arts and Social Sciences, King’s Foundation Year
• Nicole Brown, Kinesiology, Health Professions
• Margot Doucet, Environmental Engineering
• Nada El Sayad, Engineering
• Erica Gabriel, Nursing, Health Professions
• Arielle Goldschlager, Arts and Social Sciences
• Lu Han, Science
• Danielle Howe, Integrated Science Program, Science
• Abby Jakob, Kinesiology, Health Professions
• Lisa Kelly, Marine Biology, Science
• Gwynhyfar Mason, Science
• Raymond Mills, Community Design, Architecture and Planning
• Jonathan Monahan, Biology, Science
• Christopher “Kit” Moran, Intergrated Science Program, Science
• Yu Lin Ngu, Science
• Serin Remedios, Arts and Social Sciences, King’s Foundation Year
• Julia Robertson, Science
• Evan Schmid, Neuroscience, Science
• Mary Scully, Arts and Social Sciences
• Heather Semotiuk, Integrated Science Program, Science
• Gabriella Utreras, Arts and Social Sciences, King’s Foundation Year
• Kayla Vale, Psychology, Science
• Matthew Yates, Marine Biology, Science

Renewal award winners:

• Annie Burns-Pieper, International Development Studies, Arts and Social Sciences
• Jessica Carriere-Garwood, Marine Biology, Science
• Alyssa Cirtwill, Biology, Science
• Kelly Foster, Pharmacy, Health Professions
• Christopher Green, Chemistry, Science
• Michael Kennedy, Economics, Arts and Social Sciences
• Kaleigh Kuchinski, Sociology and Social Anthropology, Arts and Social Sciences
• Jennifer Mason, International Development Studies, Arts and Social Sciences
• Joanna McNeil, Microbiology and Immunology, Science
• Selina Pellerin, Psychology, Science
• Abbey Poirier, Neuroscience, Science
• Maneesah Rajora, Chemistry, Science
• Jessica Roy, Biology, Science
• Auyon Siddiq, Electrical Engineering
• Emily Tredger, Neuroscience, Science
• Vanessa Trenton, Theatre, Arts and Social Sciences