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Hannah Beddow, a fourth-year life sciences student at Queen’s, has been selected as a McCall MacBain Scholar, Canada’s top leadership scholarship for master’s and professional studies.

Beddow is one of 20 scholars selected and will pursue a fully-funded master’s degree in speech-language pathology at McGill University while connecting with mentors and participating in an intensive leadership development program.

During her time at Queen’s, Beddow, a Chernoff Family Scholar, has worked with Residence Life for three years, including managing teams to ensure student wellbeing. She has also assisted organizing a neuroscience conference and participated in the International Genetic Engineered Machine (iGEM) design team. She volunteers weekly at the Queen’s peer support centre and has worked in a variety of research and clinical settings.

“I am so grateful for my time at Queen’s and have learned much regarding leadership and student wellness from my time working as a residence don, as well as through my experience with additional extracurriculars and campus clubs,” Beddow says. “I thank my professors and mentors at Residence Life and Kingston Health Sciences Centre for their continued support as I embark on this new journey.”

This marks a second straight year that a Queen’s student has earned a McCall MacBain Scholarship. Previously, biomedical computing student Nicole Osayande was selected as an inaugural scholar in April 2021.

Three other Queen’s students who took part in the application process are also being recognized.

Oluwatobi Falana, a fourth-year sociology student, and graduate Kaylee O’Meara (Artsci’20) earned $10,000 McCall MacBain Finalist Awards for their next degrees while Isabel Magsucang, a fourth-year student, received a $5,000 McCall MacBain Regional Award for use at any public university in Canada.

“We need inclusive, collaborative, and forward-thinking leaders in all sectors and fields,” said John McCall MacBain, who, together with his wife Dr. Marcy McCall MacBain, created these scholarships through a historic gift to McGill University. “With this scholarship, students will expand their networks, deepen their leadership skills, and benefit from full funding to pursue their dreams of improving their communities – and the world. Congratulations to these students and the hundreds of candidates across Canada who were considered for this scholarship.”

Each scholar was chosen based on their character, community engagement, leadership potential, entrepreneurial spirit, academic strength, and intellectual curiosity.

“Our new scholars have taken different paths towards this moment and will contribute unique perspectives to the scholarship community,” said Natasha Sawh, Dean of the McCall MacBain Scholarships. “The selection committees looked for leadership potential, a willingness to engage with diverse perspectives, and traits like empathy, integrity, and grit. Our process incorporates a wide range of volunteer readers and interviewers, who understand the candidates and their varied experiences.”

More than 130 Canadian leaders volunteered their time to help select McCall MacBain Scholars. They reviewed nearly 700 applications, interviewed 146 students regionally, and invited 50 to a final set of interviews which took place in March.

This story originally appeared on the Queen's Gazette.