SCHULICH LEADER SCHOLARSHIPS
Champlain College Lennoxville student awarded Canada's largest undergraduate scholarship

Mateo Jarquin has been selected to receive a $120,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship to study Mechanical Engineering at McGill University.

A graduate of Champlain College Lennoxville in Sherbrooke, Mateo Jarquin will be entering Mechanical Engineering this Fall. Jarquin was selected by Diana Bellows for his outstanding academic achievement and innovative extracurricular contributions to STEM. His F.L.E.X. (Fully Leveraged Exo-hand) project earned gold medals at both the regional and provincial Expo-Science competitions, a bronze medal at the Canada-Wide Science Fair and led to his selection as a member of Team Canada for the MILSET International Expo-Science in Abu Dhabi. Beyond F.L.E.X., Mateo also shares his passion for science, engineering, and innovation with a broader audience through his YouTube channel, MateoTechLab, and was selected as a presenter at Maker Faire Miami to showcase his work to an international audience. This is the first Nominee to win a Schulich Leader Scholarship at Champlain College Lennoxville.

A total of 100 scholarships are being awarded - 50 engineering scholarships valued at $120,000 each and 50 science, technology or math scholarships valued at $100,000 each.

"We are pleased to honour Mateo Jarquin as a Schulich Leader, part of a growing network of outstanding students across Canada. Their entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to STEM will help drive the innovations of tomorrow," says Judy Schulich, President, The Schulich Foundation.

When asked about receiving the scholarship, Mateo described the experience as both validating and inspiring.

"Receiving the offer was surreal. At first, I honestly couldn't believe it. I knew how competitive the scholarship was, and more than anything, it gave me confidence that the passion and persistence I had invested in my projects over the years had been worth it.

This scholarship gives me the freedom to explore opportunities and create a future without the financial pressures that most engineering students face. Instead of worrying about how I will pay for my education, I can spend more time pursuing ambitious engineering projects, growing MateoTechLab into a robotics business, and taking advantage of opportunities that will help me develop as an engineer.

My goal, beyond becoming an engineer, is to inspire others to explore engineering and create their own projects that might one day help the world. This scholarship will allow me to fully immerse myself in Mechanical Engineering at McGill while continuing to develop projects on my own terms. It will allow me to take on ambitious challenges, grow MateoTechLab, and gain the skills and experiences needed to turn ideas into real solutions that can make a difference in people's lives."

"Mateo embodies the qualities that the Schulich Leader Scholarships were created to recognize," says Diana Bellows, Science Program Coordinator at Champlain College Lennoxville. "Throughout his time at Champlain College Lennoxville, Mateo has distinguished himself through academic excellence, innovation, leadership, and an unwavering passion for STEM. What sets Mateo apart is his remarkable ability to independently master advanced engineering, programming, and technology concepts and apply them to innovative real-world projects, all while inspiring others through his curiosity, perseverance, and commitment to sharing science and engineering with a broader community. As the first Champlain College Lennoxville nominee to receive a Schulich Leader Scholarship, his achievement demonstrates what can be accomplished through curiosity, determination, and hard work, and serves as an inspiration to current and future students."