Sam Ergando. Photo courtesy Grande Prairie Public School District

By Jeff Henson

SCHOLARSHIP

Composite student receives prestigious scholarship

Jun 8, 2023 | 4:05 PM

A Composite High School student has been named the recipient of the University of Calgary’s Kennedy Scholars Academic Scholarship.

Sam Ergando is a grade 12 student in the Comp’s International Baccalaureate program and will be a first-year student this fall in the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Science, majoring in Computer Science.

The scholarship, which is worth up to $125,000 and was created by Paul Kennedy, is awarded to a first-year U of C student that shows exceptional leadership in science and business.

The student must show exceptional academic merit and promise, and demonstrate a commitment to entrepreneurial thinking, innovation, or technology development, along with leadership qualities.

Ergando says the scholarship is life-changing, not just because of the monetary amount, but also because of the various networking and internship opportunities that come with it.

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in a news release, Ergando thanked the administrators and teachers at Comp for making the IB program possible as well as his mom, whom he says, (her) “courage and sacrifice serve as a testimony for both myself and others to draw inspiration from.”

This is the first time that a GPPSD student has been awarded the Kennedy Scholars Academic Excellence Scholarship.

Since the 2015-16 school year, students in the IB program at Comp have earned a combined $600,000 in scholarships