More promising B.C. students facing financial adversity are getting a leg up in their post-secondary studies from Ryan Beedie next year, including one deserving New Westminster Secondary graduate.
Udhay Mangat was a awarded what the Beedie Luminaries group called a “life-changing” scholarship of up to $40,000. According to a news release, Mangat is set to attend Simon Fraser University.
These scholarships recognize promising B.C. students who have faced personal and financial hardships in their lives. For many of these students, this scholarship means the difference between being able to attend post-secondary or not.
Given the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on families, Beedie Luminaries decided to increase the total number of scholarships this year from 105 to 128.
“After the success of Beedie Luminaries’ inaugural year, I knew that I wanted to expand the program and extend support to deserving, resilient students from all over B.C.,” said Ryan Beedie said in a press release. “Financial hardship should not stop talented British Columbians from pursuing higher education and realizing their full potential.”
For 2020, Beedie has added 25 more scholarships of up to $40,000 each to the program, which will be open to students from all over B.C. for the first time.
Founder and principal benefactor of the scholarship program, Beedie launched the Luminaries in November 2018 to help promising students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds overcome barriers to education.
It was his experience growing up in Burnaby and seeing friends who didn’t have the same opportunities as him to get a post-secondary education that motivated to Beedie, a successful real estate developer, create the program, according to the release.
Eighty scholarships of up to $40,000 each were handed out during the inaugural round in 2019.
Twenty-seven per cent of the recipients are the first in their families to pursue post-secondary education, 38 per cent come from single-parent households and 60 per cent live in rental housing.
