An $11,500 grant will be given to recipients of Lafarge’s annual post-secondary scholarship program.
Three Exshaw students have been chosen for the Lafarge Education Endowment Fund – Robby Archibald, Darby Grady and Alida Kelly – to benefit as this year’s candidates.
The Endowment Fund, held by the Banff Canmore Community Foundation (BCCF), was set up in 2014 with the intent to award two $5,000 post-secondary scholarships per year.
In its first two years, Lafarge has chosen to include a third recipient for the scholarship funding.
“We had some really good applications,” said Jim Bachmann, Lafarge plant manager. “It was really hard to distinguish between two and three (candidates), so we decided to go ahead and award three again and top off the endowment.”
Two students will receive a $5,000 scholarship, with $1,500 for the third.
Bachmann hopes to plan a luncheon with the students over the holidays to encourage their post-secondary education.
“It’s really important to us to be an active partner in the community that we impact and work in and play in,” said Bachmann. “Contributing to these young adults pursuing a post-secondary education is something we really feel strongly about and we’re going to keep doing it and keep this endowment alive for generations to come.”
This year, Archibald plans to become an animator while attending the Centre for Art and Technology in Kelowna, B.C.; Grady will complete his first year of welding training at SAIT; and Kelly will begin work on her bachelor of arts in psychology and social work at Vancouver Island University.
“I’ve seen what one person can do in a community,” said Archibald. “One person can make a big difference if they try hard enough, and I want to be that one person who makes that difference.”
