Photo supplied by Schulich Leader Scholarships

By Shane Clausing

SCHULICH LEADER SCHOLARSHIP

GP Comp student earns $80,000 scholarship to University of Calgary

May 26, 2021 | 6:16 PM

For the second time in as many years, a Grande Prairie Composite High School student has been named a winner of the Schulich Leader Scholarship, as Malana Loxam of Grande Prairie has been awarded an $80,000 scholarship to attend the University of Calgary next year.

The scholarship is awarded through the Schulich Foundation’s scholarship fund, which was created by Canadian philanthropist and businessman Seymour Schulich in 2012. The fund was created to deliver $100+ million in scholarships to Canada’s top students who are pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Loxam tells EverythingGP she wasn’t expecting to win the award.

“My whole family and I were pretty shocked and very grateful and (this) will allow me to go to post-secondary education,” said Loxam. “I applied to quite a few different places, so we are pretty grateful that this (scholarship) worked out.”

Each high school in Canada gets to nominate one student every year. An average of 1,500 students are nominated for the award, which is then usually whittled down to 50 award winners each year.

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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased need for many of these students to receive financial assistance, the scholarship was awarded to 100 students for the second straight year.

Loxam was nominated for the award by her teacher, Mrs. Tracey Thiemann.

When she arrives at the University of Calgary next September, Loxam says she’ll be taking part in the Natural Sciences program, which is something she’s always had a passion and interest for.

“Since a very young age, I have always been interested in science,” said Loxam. “In Grade 9 I had the opportunity to go on an Encounters With Canada trip, and there I learned about science and technology in Ottawa.”

“After that, I learned about the International Baccalaureate program and went into that. That has helped me with meeting like-minded people and having extra science experiments and time to develop interest in that,” she added. “In Grade 11 I was able to do the Heritage Youth Researcher Summer (HYRS) Program with the University of Alberta and from there I learned about specific science fields and specific careers. That has been my science journey so far.”

Photo Credit: Malana Loxame

When she finishes the Natural Sciences program, Loxam added she might try to get into Applied Science Biochemistry.

Now that she’s been awarded the scholarship, she says she’s excited for the opportunity and adventure that lies ahead.

“I have never seen the University of Calgary campus and that’s exciting in its own way, just (getting the chance) to learn a new community. It’s kind of close to home so I can visit my family while also having a new adventure.”

As noted, Loxam is the second student from the Composite High School to win such an award in as many years. In 2020, Shubh Patel was awarded the scholarship to also attend the University of Calgary.

Those two follow Heide Adham, who earned such a scholarship in 2017. Adham also used that scholarship to attend the University of Calgary.