Hey Alumni!

Who would have known that writing to you could be more difficult than writing my fourth year paper? “Pollination Successes from Honey and Wild Bee Movement in Wild Blueberry Fields” is a much more comfortable topic for me. But this is really important. I am going to tell you how you can make a difference in the lives of many NSAC students.  

Have you heard about NSAC’s Alumni Family Bursary? I imagine some of you probably have.  You can find out more detailed information on this new bursary by clicking here.

I must say that students really need you to support NSAC’s Alumni Family Bursary! 

A lot of my classmates really struggled financially last year and some were on the edge of dropping out because they didn’t have enough money. While tuition is expensive at any university, it’s only one bill that students face each semester. There are all the other costs that come with being a student too! Text books, photocopy fees, meal plans or groceries, residence or rent, laundry, health and dental plans, to name a few!

So many of us have to juggle our studies with one, two and sometimes three part time jobs to get by! And by getting by, I mean being able to afford groceries from all food groups – Kraft Dinner (it’s a source of calcium), hotdogs (protein), Alphaghetti (grains) and fuzzy peach candies (fruit and veggies).

I urge you to please donate to NSAC’s Alumni Family Bursary.

NSAC’s Alumni Family Bursary was established last fall to provide financial support to students who are directly related to alumni. While some people may think it is a very exclusive bursary, a LARGE percentage of our students have alumni relatives – something we are very proud of. For once, not being able to choose your relatives isn’t such a bad thing! 

NSAC’s Alumni Association and Foundation partnered to begin this bursary, providing $1,000 and $500 awards to eligible students. We just have to identify family relations on our applications. Recipients of the bursary are based on strength of relations, financial need and marks. The Alumni Association and Foundation have committed $10,000 to be distributed over the next two years. But if this bursary is going to continue it needs a lot more support. Our goal is to raise at least $500,000 to sustain the bursary and be able to support more and more students, years after I graduate!   

Last fall, 13 students received support from the Alumni Family Bursary. I know a lot of those students, they were so excited to receive this support. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but our enrolment is up by 10 percent this year! We have 920 students attending classes, the most we’ve had in 12 years! While this is fantastic news, it means there will be even more students applying for the Alumni Family Bursary and competing for the same pool of money.  

My dad, Doug (Class of ’79), went here so I applied for the bursary last year. I already had a scholarship so I couldn’t benefit from the bursary directly, but I saw how beneficial it was for my friends and classmates. Why else would I be taking time from my paper to write to you?

As a fourth year student who is also considering taking her studies further, I know all too well the expense of education. My sister just completed her second degree and my brother just finished high school, so my parents really know how much an education costs too! They are equally grateful for financial support. Support like NSAC’s Alumni Family Bursary provides.  

I want you to consider supporting NSAC’s Alumni Family Bursary. If you prefer to designate your gift to another area at NSAC, we still appreciate it!  Whatever you can give will make a big difference in the life of a student, trust me. I know. 

Colette Wyllie
Students’ Union President 2009-10