UNIVERSITY OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
UPEI engineering student wins prestigious national scholarship

The UPEI Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering (FSDE) congratulates Lilly O'Rielly for winning the prestigious C.D. Howe Scholarship Endowment Fund National Engineering Scholarship. She is one of two undergraduate engineering students in Canada to receive the renewable scholarship valued at $7,500 per year.

Photo: Lilly O'Rielly

Since 2013, the C.D. Howe Endowment Fund has provided scholarships to students enrolled in an undergraduate engineering degree program at a Canadian university. Each institution can nominate up to two students entering their second year to apply for the scholarship. Applications are assessed on academic performance, volunteer and community involvement, and extracurricular activities, with special consideration for engineering-related activities. 

"The C.D. Howe Scholarship is one of the more prestigious scholarships available to undergraduate engineering students across the country," said Dr. Wayne Peters, FSDE interim dean and associate professor. "It acknowledges student success during the early stages of their studies, and only two are awarded in the whole country. We are extremely proud that Lilly was chosen as one of these. Of course, it comes as no surprise to me."

O'Rielly works in the Engineering Success Centre; is president of Engineers without Borders (UPEI); has competed at the Atlantic Engineering Competition and Canadian Engineering Competition; and has participated in the Global Brigades, a group that travelled to Honduras last year to provide humanitarian aid. 

"It is a real honour to accept this scholarship as well as a surprise!" said O'Reilly. "I felt lucky even to be selected as one of the nominees by UPEI, so I was shocked to be chosen on a national level. I feel really grateful for the community at UPEI that helped me get here, including my classmates, other club members, supervisors, professors, and friends. This scholarship means a lot because it gives me the freedom to focus more fully on my studies and give back to my community."

The C.D. Howe Memorial Foundation was founded in 1962 to provide a fitting and lasting memorial to the Rt. Hon. C.D. Howe and funded an engineering scholarship in his name for many years. In 2013, the Foundation established the C.D. Howe Endowment Fund at the Association of Universities Canada to fund the National Engineering Scholarship Program in perpetuity.