Five thousand dollars makes a big impact on any student.
Last year, when Chelsea Smith attended RRC Polytech's Open Doors event she was planning on learning more about the programs and seeing the campus. She didn't know that by filling out a slip of paper she would end up being the winner of a $5,000 bursary giveaway.
Now a student in the Health Information Management program at RRC Polytech, Chelsea says the bursary helped ease her financial burden, covering the cost of her second term tuition and all her books.
Chelsea wasn't even supposed to be at Open Doors that day. She was planning on taking a gap year after high school to figure out how she would pay for any future schooling and just happened to tag along with her brothers who were attending to learn about other programs. When they got there, they all put their names into the draw for the bursary.
When she got the phone call that she was the winner of $5000 to support her education, she had already been accepted to her program and was wondering how they were going to cover her tuition. She was skeptical: "are you sure?", she remembers asking. After the phone call ended, she immediately told her dad. They were both ecstatic.
"I don't usually have luck like this, so we were really excited," said Chelsea. "Receiving the bursary has helped take away some of the stress of finding a part time job while in the program and has given me some time to figure out how to pay for the rest of it."
After completing the Health Information Management program, she would like to work at CancerCare Manitoba or become a Coding Technologist. But she is keeping her options open and considering any opportunities through the program that she really enjoys. Right now, though, Chelsea is in the practicum portion of her first year and is excited for what is to come in the rest of the program.
"Attending Open Doors was my first time being on campus and I really enjoyed learning about all of the different programs and getting to tour the different areas," she said. "Since becoming a student, I've loved my experience at the College. I've met so many amazing and diverse people and the instructors are very welcoming. You get to meet new people and explore new things. I'm very happy to be in this program."
The Open Doors bursary was created by the recruitment team dedicated to future students to help eliminate financial barriers to education and will be available at the 2025 Open Doors event.
The 2025 Open Doors event is on February 19 at the Notre Dame and Exchange District Campuses.
Interested learners are encouraged to attend to tour the campuses and learn about the more than 150 programs RRC Polytech has to offer. Anyone considering a program at RRC Polytech is encouraged to put their name into the draw to win $5000 towards a future program enrolment just like Chelsea did.
