(Kaylee Gagné, a graduate of École secondaire catholique Paul-Desmarais in Stittsville, achieved receipt of the most prestigious scholarship awarded in Canada – the Schulich Leader Scholarship – earlier in June.)
Kaylee Gagné from École secondaire catholique Paul-Desmarais, has been awarded the $120,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship from Queen’s University where she will be attending in the fall. This scholarship award is a national recognition highlighting Kaylee’s academic excellence, leadership, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit.
When she had learned of her achievement, Kaylee shared, “I was entirely taken aback. When I found out, I was getting into the car with my mother and opened my inbox after receiving a notification. I saw the subject line of the email stating that I had been offered a Schulich Leader Scholarship, but I didn’t really process it until after reading the full message. I was completely in a state of disbelief and I checked all the information multiple times because I just couldn’t believe that it was real. Eventually, I did, and I was just so excited, I remember quite literally jumping for joy as I told my mom, then I ran back inside to tell my dad. They were both shocked, but so proud of me.”
Awarded over four years, this $120,000 scholarship will allow Kaylee to pursue a four-year course in Engineering at Queen’s University in the program offered at the Stephen J. R. Smith Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. Kaylee chose engineering as her field of study as it would allow her to pursue all of her interests. “My passion for engineering was ignited by the realization that I could study in a field that utilized all my favourite subjects, while also providing a pathway to address global issues such as climate change. I have always cared about the environment, having grown up surrounded by nature, but for a while I was unsure how I could make a meaningful impact.
“Throughout 11th grade, exploring STEM subjects in greater depth, especially physics, helped me discover that I wanted to do something where I could continue learning about these topics while applying them to real-world problems. The obvious choice was engineering, because it is very physics and math heavy, and it emphasizes practical problem-solving. As I learned more about the field, I realized that it would allow me not only to use the subjects I was passionate about in my career, but it would also allow me to one-day work on ways to improve environmental challenges.”
Kaylee has the future of the environment close to her heart and offers encouragement and collaborated with her fellow students at Paul Desmarais on a number of green initiatives and leadership. She says, “Over the last year, I’ve played a large role in leading my school’s Environmental Committee. The group had struggled over recent years due to a lack of participation. At one point we were down to 2-3 people which made planning large projects very difficult. During this time, we continued on with our planned initiatives, while I also tried to recruit new members. We ended up having the committee grow back to a more reasonable number, and gained new perspectives that allowed us to come up with new ideas.
“Over the last year, we did free tree giveaways, planted a garden, started the conception of a project that would bring more greenery into the school, conducted a school clean-up, created sustainable theme days, and participated in a school board-wide environmental summit. I was able to help lead the committee during a time when participation was at an all-time low, keeping things running, while also growing the group. Even though there is still work to be done, I consider what we accomplished over the last year to be a success, and I hope that the committee will keep growing, evolving and having a positive impact on the community.”
Through her young years, Kaylee has been fortunate to be surrounded by people who have provided her with much inspiration, “who have all left their mark in different ways”.
Kaylee continues, “At school, I was lucky to have teachers who were clearly immensely passionate about what they were teaching, which created an environment that inspired me to continue learning about their subjects. At home, various family members have motivated me to continuously reach for my dreams, and inspired me with their own stories. My friends have also inspired me, as they have shown me what true dedication looks like. My friends include one of Canada’s top young sailors, high-achieving students aspiring to careers in research and healthcare, and a high-level ballet dancer who trained 5 days a week while balancing school. They motivated me through high school to keep working towards my goals and showed me that they were attainable.”
We wanted to know what the nomination process entailed. Kaylee shared, “On the surface, the nomination process was actually surprisingly easy. I mentioned the scholarship to my guidance counselor, Nicolas Paiement, and he decided to nominate me almost right away. Of course, looking more closely, it was only that easy because of the years of hard work I had put in. I had maintained a very high average, volunteered, participated in extracurriculars and gained leadership experience. Consequently, I would say the most challenging part was maintaining the level of commitment necessary over several years to be a strong candidate for the scholarship nomination.”
We asked what advice Kaylee could offer to other students hoping to be nominated for a scholarship or award. “My advice to other students is just to give your all throughout your studies. Do your best, participate in clubs or extracurriculars that you’re passionate about, and always keep a future goal in mind. It is worth it in the long run. Also, don’t be afraid to apply or ask to be nominated for anything that you really want; you never know if you just might get it,” said a thankful Kaylee.
Beyond the impressive amount Kaylee has received, this distinction shines a light on the remarkable journey of a young Francophone student from Stittsville’s École secondaire catholique Paul-Desmarais who has been recognized for her potential in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The $120,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship will cover Kaylee’s tuition, anticipated school fees, room and board, allowing Kaylee to fully concentrate on her studies during her four-year program.
What is the Schulich Leader Scholarship?
Recognizing the increasing importance and impact that STEM disciplines will have on the prosperity of future generations, businessman and philanthropist Seymour Schulich established this $200 million scholarship fund in 2012 to encourage our best and brightest students to become Schulich Leader Scholars: the next generation of entrepreneurial-minded, technology innovators.
Schulich Leader Scholarships are Canada’s most coveted undergraduate STEM scholarships. One hundred are awarded to entrepreneurial-minded high school graduates enrolling in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Math program at 20 partner universities across Canada. Half are valued at $120,000 for engineering scholarships and half are valued at $100,000* for science and math scholarships. Every high school in Canada can nominate one graduating student each year to apply for the scholarship.
Félicitations!
Congratulations!
Congratulations! Obviously well deserved and you have a Very Bright Future ahead of you!