FEATURE
Impressive Scholarship Win
Sarena was recognized as one of Albert’s academic leaders this year at Convocation. She held the role of Active Citizenship Prefect, was involved with this year’s drama production and was a leading member of the ACT (Activism, Community service, Team building) committee. She was a member of the volleyball, field lacrosse and field hockey teams, receiving the coach's award for each. She received the French and economics awards, the Reginald and Margaret Finney Award for English, the T.K. Franklin Humanitarian Award, and the Albert College Active Citizenship Award. She is the recipient of the Grade 12 Prize for Academic Excellence and Governor General’s Academic Medal. Sarena has received the prestigious Schulich Leader Scholarship to attend Queen’s University, one of only 100 scholarships awarded among more than 300,000 applicants across Canada. The Schulich Leader Scholarship is Canada’s largest undergraduate scholarship supporting Canada’s top talent in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). She will be studying physical science next year. “I am grateful for the guidance team recognizing my interest in STEM, suggesting and supporting my application to scholarships and programs across Canada and the US.”
Learning Strategies teacher, Gia Spiropoulos, helps students define strong study skills.
and uncle were a huge inspiration,” Jacob explains. “My dad really pushed me to go after this goal, especially when I lost hope of getting in.” His experience at Queen’s gave him a taste of what’s required at the university level, and he feels it set him up well for going into his dream program. “Albert College prepared me by allowing me to see what I could achieve,” he notes. “A large part of it was hard work; however, the teachers I had played a massive part in the success I was able to achieve, because they were more than willing to answer my questions, and they were always willing to offer advice whenever they could.” For Ms. Weldon, the role of guidance is part emotion and part preparation. “As a counsellor, I believe in over-preparing for the university process,” she says, “but then ultimately, I believe our students should follow their gut feelings when it comes to making any big decisions in life.” With a balance of clear goals, support from the guidance program and their own determination, Albert College students have many bright days ahead.
try things and be somewhat uncertain about their program choices, or even to receive a rejection letter.” She shares that she has seen many tears, but this is also an important aspect of finding the right fit. Recent graduate Jacob Elsayegh ’22 is a good example of perseverance paying off. He had two different pathway plans, both of them very competitive. “His plan B was to attend Queen’s for engineering,” explains Ms. Weldon, “but because of the timeline for international schools, he needed to decide on a program before hearing from his first choice in Australia.” Jacob went through two different application processes and learned a lot about himself in the process, as he was writing reflections, interviewing and completing written applications. In the end, Jacob happily enrolled in Queen’s, and mid-way through his first semester there, he received the news that he was indeed accepted to the Australian program. Now that he is heading to La Trobe University for an honours bachelor of dental surgery, what did Jacob take away from his experience? “I had a dream of owning my own business, working with my hands, and my dad
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ALBERT TALKS
SPRING/SUMMER 2023
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