Three students from Newmarket were among the recipients of scholarships from the Aurora-Newmarket chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW).
Members of CFUW's awards committee visited 10 scholarship winners throughout York Region to present them with big cheques and lawn signs to celebrate their achievements.
Among the winners was Newmarket student Emily Diana Karimzad. She is graduating from Sir William Mulock Secondary School and received a $1,500 scholarship. She will be studying at University of Toronto in the fall.
A Newmarket student was also the recipient of the CFUW's Mary Pegg Educational Award for $10,000, which is divided up into $2,500 each year for the winner. The award is given each year to a female student graduating from either Huron Heights Secondary School or Newmarket High School in honour of Mary Pegg, a teacher and CFUW member.
Caitlyn Hunt-Coffin, who is graduating from Huron Heights was the winner of the award this year. It was presented to her by Heather and Dave, two of Pegg's children. She will be attending Sir Wilfred Laurier Unviersity in the fall.
The Pegg family also opted to grant a $2,500 scholarship to another Newmarket student, Emma-Jeanne Brown from Newmarket High School.
Seven more students from Aurora, King, Sutton, and Stouffville received awards of $1,500 each. The money for the scholarship fund is raised through CFUW's fundraisers throughout the year.
“Scholarships help students make choices about their future. Proceeds from our successful Home and Garden Tour make these choices possible for young women in our community in the years to come,” said Pam Jones, awards chair of the charitable trust. “The legacy of giving and supporting education are core values of CFUW.”
The garden tour, which was a new type of fundraiser for the local chapter was held in June. More than 300 participants visited a number of unique homes and garden in York Region. Proceeds from this event resulted in $27,000 raised for the scholarship fund.
“From the minute the first guest arrived, I saw delight, joy, and true pleasure on the faces of the visitors,” said Jean Fraser, member of the tour steering committee. “We extended our work into the community and raised the profile of CFUW. We showed that together we can accomplish great tasks. One member told me that we weren’t just fundraising; we were ‘friend-raising’.”
Here are all the 2022 recipients of CFUW Aurora-Newmarket's scholarships:
- Caitlyn Hunt-Coffin, Huron Heights Secondary School, $10,000 ($2,500/year)
- Emma-Jeanne Brown, Newmarket High School, $2,500
- MacKenzie Alejandria, Stouffville District High School, $1,500
- Eric Hardman, Sutton District Secondary School, $1,500
- Nour Al Hussein, King City Secondary School, $1,500
- Emily Diana Karimzad, Sir William Mulock Secondary School, $1,500
- Sandy Samuel, Cardinal Carter Catholic High School, $1,500
- Neveen Shnoudeh, St. Maximillian Kolbe Catholic High School, $1,500
- Katherine Viney, Aurora High School, $1,500
- Female student who is Crown ward of York Region Children’s Aid Society, $1,500
