For some, post-secondary education is the next logical step after high school. For others, financial assistance could mean the difference between chasing a goal or a far off dream.
Three students in the MD of Bighorn have received a little extra incentive to chase their goals, as they have become the inaugural recipients of a grant to further pursue post-secondary studies.
The Lafarge Education Endowment Fund scholarship, held by The Banff Community Foundation, awarded $5,000 to each.
One of the recipients, Michael Nielson of Exshaw, is tackling some nifty projects as an architectural technologies student at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Calgary.
The 18-year-old is grateful for the scholarship because without one, he said, it would have been extremely difficult to generate tuition, especially if he decides to pursue his passion and go after a degree once the two-year course is complete.
“It will allow me to greatly further my passion for architecture through giving me the chance to delve deeper into my studies,” Nielson said.
Although he will work part-time on weekends this November, the scholarship has given him the ability to start on his career path.
The extra push has put him on the right track to become an architect and he said his main goal is to promote sustainability in architecture and develop buildings that can sustain themselves, such as with solar power, wind turbines and rooftop gardens.
“The utilization of very green materials and renewable energy resources into buildings to make them very renewable and green energy efficient,” Nielson said. “Especially exterior vegetation, it interests me a lot.”
Nielson, along with Exshaw’s Genevieve Godbout and Caylee LaBranche of Lac Des Arc were scholarship recipients.
Godbout currently attends Bow Valley College for a health care aid certificate, and LaBranche said her scholarship will allow her to solely focus on her studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.
Lafarge states the scholarship will provide at least two grants on an annual basis, and Heinz Knopfel, Lafarge’s Exshaw plant manager, said he’s proud to be investing in education, especially in Bighorn.
“Education is one of the most important investments we can make in our future and we see this as the ideal opportunity to invest in the future of the families living closest to our operations,” said Knopfel.
