By Brady Lang

hittin' the books

Local student receives prestigious $100,000 scholarship

Feb 11, 2019 | 2:23 PM

A local student from John Paul II Collegiate received a prestigious honour this month.

Emily Simon took part in the finalist selection process in Toronto for the LORAN (Long-Range Aid to Navigation) Scholarship on February 1 and 2, and the following day, her life changed forever.

She got the phone call and learned she received the scholarship valued at $100,000 over four years. Simon said it’s an honour that will continue to open up doors as she moves through her academic life.

“A 30-second phone call changed my life. I was speechless, (one of the directors at LORAN) called me,” she said. “It was a very big, shocking opportunity for me.”

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The JPII student was extremely involved in the community throughout her life and academic career and was awarded the Junior Citizen of the Year Award in 2017. She said when she looked around the room during the finals, she saw three other Saskatchewan students chosen from the 115 that had applied throughout the province. Only two were chosen for the scholarship, and Simon knows it’s an honour. She said her friends and family were very supportive, and shocked when the announcement came.

Getting the scholarship opens many different doors and opportunities for the student, and has her rethinking plans. She’s applied for two different schools so far in the University of Alberta for a dual degree in bachelor’s of science and bachelor of education, as well as the University of New Brunswick for leadership studies, and a final degree in philosophy.

In winning the scholarship, Simon said she gained a second family, with all of the support and help they’ll be supplying her, her list of schools may grow. She mentioned there are more and more people from the LORAN family helping her on her academic road.

“I know that if I have any questions, the older LORAN scholars will be more than happy to answer (them),” she said. “It is one big family.”

She said she understood the gravity of a scholarship of this magnitude, and didn’t get her hopes up even with her selection as a finalist.

“(We’re) a group of people who are all like-minded,” she said. “We’re very different, but all like-minded in the sense that we want to support our communities and make a change in the world.”

Simon was very thankful when it came to the people around her, and who have supported her through the years. She said if it wasn’t for her community, there’s no way she would have made it here.

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brady.lang@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @BradyLangBFN