Newmarket resident Jenna Borden is reaping the rewards of her longtime passion for education and learning.
She is this year's recipient of the University of Toronto's prestigious Vari Scholarship, a $50,000 award given to a student in the education program at Victoria College.
Borden, who has lived in Newmarket her entire life, has just finished her first year at U of T studying math, with a minor in drama and a minor in education and society.
The 18-year-old said she has known since Grade 2 that she wanted to be a teacher.
“You get to (make) a difference in so many people’s lives,” Borden said. “That’s what I want to do with my life. I love teaching and helping.”
The scholarship is given to a student going into the second year of the education program at Victoria College, providing $10,000 per year for five years, which includes the last three years of undergraduate study, plus two years of the teaching program.
Borden said to qualify she had to have a grade point average of 3.5, provide references, answer essay questions and go through an interview process at the end of June.
When she received the email that she had won the scholarship, Borden was thrilled.
“I was really excited that a lot of my hard work had paid off,” she said.
The student immediately called her parents to share the good news and also called her best friend, adding that “she’s the most supportive person in the world.”
To maintain the scholarship, Borden will now need to have at least a B+ average, which she is confident she’ll be able to do, however, she said she hopes the return to in-person classes will make it easier to learn.
After university, she said her ultimate goal is to teach math and drama in a high school.
While Borden said she is willing to move to find work, it would be nice to return to Newmarket.
“I would love to stay in York Region, it would even be so full circle if I could teach at the same high school that I went to school at,” said Borden, who went to Sir William Mulock Secondary School.
“I love the area. It’s where I grew up, so I love it.”
