College students grateful for scholarships, awards

Josiah Schut is a 4.0 grade point average agriculture management student at Olds College, a Broncos men's soccer star and an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship leader.

The 4-H alumnus from Salmon Arm, B.C. would be none of these things without the financial help he gets from scholarships and awards.

“(To a student) time is more valuable than money,” Schut told the Night of Distinction March 17 at the college. On that night, the college connects the scholarship, bursary and awards recipients for the school year with financial assistance donors.

“I can testify that awards and bursaries make an amazing difference,” he said.

“This goes beyond paying for tuition and supplies. You are helping us put food on the table, pay our rent and survive those unexpected trips to the auto repair shop.

“This contributes to allow us to make the most of our learning experience -- preparing us to make the most of our learning experience here (and) preparing us for the real world in ways we may not have thought possible.”

Wendy Lapainis, a land and water resources student, described the donor-to-student relationship as a “pebble dropped into the water. The ripples connect those who need help with those who want to help.

“Without your contributions it would not be possible for many students to strive to reach their dreams,” she said.

Lapainis is a 59-year-old wife, mother and grandmother who had to improve her education and re-enter the workforce to support her family when her husband Peter suffered a head injury, then was diagnosed with Huntington's disease and now needs full-time care.

“Awards have allowed me to continue and concentrate on my education knowing that I will be able to obtain employment that will be of great benefit to my family and me,” Lapainis said.

In the 2015-16 academic year the college awards program distributed $480,000 to more than 400 students, nearly one-third of the student population.