Paying it Forward with Scholarships

As scholarships offer students a great source of financial relief, it’s not surprising that Lakeland College students are lending support to each other.

Paramedic student Melissa Adebegan her campaign to create a new award for paramedic students in the fall. Since then, her proposal for the Pay It Forward Paramedic Award has captured the support of her fellow students, alumni and instructors. It’s also caught the attention of the Alberta College of Paramedics and a national EMS publication.

Students in the animal health technology and veterinary medical assistant programs have also taken the lead to create new six student scholarships for their programs which will begin to be distributed in March.

Members of the Stock Dog Club have also made it their mission to increase the amount of financial awards available to students by fundraising to support the Cassandra Logozar Memorial Award. Logozar was a former student and club president who was tragically killed in a motor vehicle accident in 2010.

While scholarships are an important way to recognize student achievement, they also play an important role to attracting quality people to professions. Alex Barkley agrees. He works as an emergency medical technician and is also studying to become a paramedic.

“Becoming a paramedic has always been the career for me and I knew that I would do whatever it takes to become one,” says Barkley. “The financial burden that this has placed on me, though, is significant. More scholarships and awards for students will provide more relief and will also encourage more opportunities for scholastic endeavours.”

In 2010-11 at Lakeland, $655,728 in scholarships, bursaries and awards were distributed to 726 students. For anyone wanting to apply for scholarships, a visit with Lakeland’s Financial Aid and Awards staff is a great place to start. Have any questions? Email financialaid@lakelandcollege.ca