Major accomplishments
October 2, 2015
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Queen鈥檚 University recognized a special group of students on Wednesday as it hosted the annual reception for major admission award recipients.
At the event in Wallace Hall, a pair of upper-year students offered their advice and personal insights for life at Queen鈥檚 and beyond.
Kyle MacNeil, a fourth-year student at the School of Computing, from Upper Rawdon, NS, says that if it wasn鈥檛 for the Chancellor鈥檚 Scholarship, he wouldn鈥檛 be at Queen鈥檚. However, he added that the benefits of the award were more than financial. He also found a community.
鈥淎ll the other people who received Chancellor鈥檚 Scholarships 鈥 we created a group on Facebook 鈥 that helped when I first came to Queen鈥檚 because I automatically connected with this group of people,鈥 he says. 鈥淥ne of them is my best friend now and the fellow recipients have helped each other over the years.鈥
Emily Heffernan is a third-year electrical engineering student from Alliston, Ont., and a recipient of the Chernoff Family Award. She spoke about the challenges of university life 鈥 expected and unexpected 鈥 and urged her fellow recipients to remain flexible and resilient.
鈥淢y biggest advice is to find something that you are really interested in,鈥 she says. 鈥淒on鈥檛 worry if you think it鈥檚 the 鈥榬ight鈥 thing to do or what you are 鈥榮upposed鈥 to do be doing, but just find something you are passionate about and I find that everything falls into place.鈥
Currently, there are 245 entering and in-course award recipients at Queen鈥檚 from across the country, and across all faculties and departments.
The selection process at Queen鈥檚 is rigorous, with more than 200 faculty, including members of the Retirees Association at Queen鈥檚, volunteering to evaluate the nearly 1,200 submissions.
鈥淢ajor Admission Award recipients are engaged in their communities, and demonstrate outstanding leadership abilities, creativity, initiative, and academic excellence,鈥 says Ann Tierney, Vice-Provost and Dean of Student Affairs, who emceed the event. 鈥淭hey continue a high level of engagement and academic success throughout their time here at Queen鈥檚, and we are proud to recognize their accomplishments.鈥
The awards are generously supported by numerous donors. Many donors want to give back this way because they, too, received some form of support, recognition and encouragement when they were students. Their generosity has a significant impact within the Queen's community and the recipients of their awards.
The 2016-17 Major Admission Award application is now open for students applying to Queen's for the 2016-17 academic year. The deadline to apply is Dec. 1, 2015. Visit the Student Awards website for further information about Queen鈥檚 Admission Awards.