Nanaimo students land life-changing scholarships

Cailey’s father passed away more than a decade ago, while money has been particularly tight in recent years due to her type one diabetes diagnosis and COVID-19 health restrictions.

Munroe answered a phone call in early May informing her of the scholarship award.

“It was a special moment for my mom and I,” Munroe said welling up in tears. “The look I saw on her face knowing that a massive weight was taken off both of our shoulders after dealing with everything.”

Munroe is enrolled at Nanaimo’s Vancouver Island University campus to embark on a bachelor of arts degree en route to a planned career as a teacher.

The peer tutor at John Barsby also loves writing and hopes to pursue more in the future, referencing a long-time passion for historical fiction.

While numerous teachers and mentors at John Barsby helped Munroe immensely, she found high school stress-inducing because she was constantly thinking about her financial situation and how it related to her future.

“It became a chore almost and I’m excited to know that it won’t be a chore, I’ll be doing things that I would like to be doing with my life. The smile hasn’t really gone away,” Munroe told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Munroe said she’s eternally grateful to have four years of post-secondary institution and other education-related expenses covered.

“Even though the world is still very much expensive and gets more expensive every day, I feel very secure right now, which I haven’t in quite a while.”

‘I got the phone call and burst into tears’

Rylie Longson is also the daughter of a single mother, who supported her mom following several serious family challenges.

The 18-year-old soon-to-be NDSS graduate said she’s “spent a lot of time balancing school, work, my mom and sister” while envisioning work in the biomedical engineering field one day.

Much like Munroe, Longson felt liberated by the news she’d been awarded $40,000 and started crying uncontrollably.

“I was so overwhelmed with happiness just knowing that a huge stressor in my life just vanished in a second.”

Longson, who moved to Nanaimo from Ontario two years ago, discovered a love for engineering while living out east where she joined her school’s robotics team and experimented on projects with friends.

She ultimately wants to work on innovative prosthetic device products.

“Giving something to other people that they don’t have would be so rewarding. I want to offer people ways to accomplish what they want in life,” Longson said.

She’s enrolled in the University of Victoria’s biomedical engineering department next fall.

Longson said her Beedie Luminaries scholarship should cover all of her tuition costs.

“I get to be able to study without having to focus on if I’ll be able to pay for schooling or if I’m going to have to take out a debt that I’ll spend forever paying,” Longson said.

Beedie Luminaries was created by Lower Mainland real estate developer and philanthropist Ryan Beedie, who formed a $50 million fund in 2018.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes

by Ian Holmes

Nanaimo students land life-changing scholarships

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