Six incoming McGill University students are recipients of the prestigious Schulich Leader Scholarship.
More than 1,300 students were nominated for the coveted award out of a pool of 350,000 potential candidates across Canada. One hundred Schulich Leader Scholarships are awarded annually across 20 partner universities in Canada, including McGill.
"As we celebrate 15 years of Schulich Leaders, we are proud to have supported more than 1,000 exceptional Canadian students pursuing STEM degrees at our country's top universities. Schulich Leader Scholarships help attract and retain outstanding talent, empowering the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs. By supporting their ambition and creating the conditions for them to succeed, we can ensure their innovations drive Canada's future prosperity," says Judy Schulich, President of The Schulich Foundation.
In addition to academic excellence, recipients must be entrepreneurial-minded, displaying leadership, charisma and creativity.
The three Schulich Leaders entering McGill's Faculty of Engineering - and each a recipient of a $120,000 scholarship - are Salma Elzayat, Mateo Jarquin, and Odysseas Stefanakis.
Salma Elzayat, a graduate of École Notre Dame High School in Bonnyville, Alberta, enrolled in the Bioengineering program. Elzayat took the initiative to learn about neurotechnology while in high school and also taught herself MATLAB coding. She hopes to develop devices that reduce barriers in the lives of people with neurodegenerative conditions.
Mateo Jarquin, a graduate of Champlain College Lennoxville, is studying Mechanical Engineering. Jarquin won top honours at science fairs for a robotic hand project that mirrors finger movements and earned Quebec's prestigious youth innovator award. The YouTube channel he launched to document his engineering projects has more than 41,000 subscribers.
Odysseas Stefanakis, a graduate of William Aberhart High School in Calgary, is embarking on studies in Mechanical Engineering. Stefanakis won accolades for the smart pen he developed that digitizes handwritten notes and was also selected for Shad Canada's STEM and Entrepreneurship program where he and teammates received top awards for their green energy solution.
The three Schulich Leaders beginning their studies in McGill's Faculty of Science, and each a recipient of a $100,000 scholarship, are Danylo Berezovskyi, Brent Suter and Aljoscha Ziegler.
Danylo Berezovskyi, a graduate of Collège Miles Macdonell Collegiate in Winnipeg, plans to pursue an Honours Mathematics program. Passionate about the subject, Berezovskyi won the Canadian senior mathematics Olympiad at his high school and played a leadership role on a student team that earned the best junior achievement business honour in Manitoba.
Brent Suter, a graduate of Dawson College in Montreal, is enrolled in an Honours Mathematics and Physics program. Suter's past achievements include coordinating a student team at Dawson that worked with the McGill Interstellar Flight Experimental Research Group. His leadership skills extend to sports: he captained and was named MVP of a two-time championship rugby team.
Aljoscha Ziegler, is also a graduate of Dawson College and pursuing Honours Mathematics and Physics at McGill. He co-led a winning student team at an international physics competition, co-founded a tech startup that has provided support to Montreal foodbanks and non-profits, and launched the Dawson Tennis Club.
With this year's cohort, the University has welcomed 66 Schulich Leaders since McGill graduate Seymour Schulich, BSc'61, MBA'65, DLitt'04, established the scholarship fund in 2012.
About Schulich Leader Scholarships Canada
Recognizing the increasing importance and impact that STEM disciplines have on the prosperity of future generations, businessman and philanthropist Seymour Schulich established this $200 million scholarship fund in 2012 to encourage our best and brightest students to become Schulich Leader Scholars: the next generation of entrepreneurial-minded, technology innovators.
Through The Schulich Foundation and United Jewish Appeal, these prestigious entrance scholarships are awarded to 100 high school graduates enrolling in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) undergraduate program at 20 partner universities in Canada. Every high school in Canada can submit one Schulich Leader Nominee per academic year based on entrepreneurial leadership and financial need.
About McGill University
Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1821, McGill University is Canada's top ranked medical doctoral university. McGill is consistently ranked as one of the top universities, not only nationally, but internationally. It is a world-renowned institution of higher learning with 12 faculties, 14 professional schools, 700 programs of study, over 40,000 students, including more than 10,000 graduate students, and research activities spanning three campuses. McGill attracts students from nearly 150 countries around the world, its 11,000 international students making up 27 per cent of the student body. Over half of McGill students claim a first language other than English, including approximately 20 per cent of our students who say French is their mother tongue.
