Employee Bursary has big impact for Swan
For Lauren Swan, the University of Northern British Columbia offers everything she could ever want in a university.
Its close to her hometown of Big Lake, B.C., and the smaller class sizes give her the opportunity to get to know her classmates and her professors.
Swan is a first-year student who is pursuing her Bachelor of Science degree in physics.
This year, she received a $1,000 蹤獲扞⑹ Faculty and Staff Bursary. This year also marks the 20th Anniversary of this employee-funded student award.
The bursary means a lot to Swan.
Her parents are both foresters who were affected by the wildfires in the Cariboo region in 2017. This bursary helps Swan to focus on her studies rather than worry about going into debt.
Even though Swan has a full course load of classes including math, physics, chemistry, biology and computer science, shes savouring her first semester at 蹤獲扞⑹.
I enjoy physics, its more abstract and a really cool discipline, she says. It relates to everything we do.
蹤獲扞⑹ employees work hard every day to ensure students have an opportunity to reach their educational goals. One more way they do this is through the Employee Challenge, an annual four-day employee-led fundraiser.
During last years Employee Challenge, employee gifts topped-up the 蹤獲扞⑹ Faculty and Staff Bursary endowment in order to give out one more bursary every year, forever. The fund can now give out five bursaries to deserving students such as Swan.
Swan hopes to go into medical school or astrophysics after she completes her undergraduate degree.