Dufferin County Council awards Bill Hill Scholarship to five local students

Written By PAULA BROWN

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Five local students were acknowledged and awarded the annual Bill Hill Scholarship by Dufferin County Council last Thursday (July 8). 

“Investing in the future of Dufferin County was a consistent theme of the late Bill Hill in his work as an elected official and it is for that reason that council has named the scholarship in his memory,” said acting Warden for the meeting, John Creelman. 

The scholarship program was first introduced by former Warden Bill Hill in 2012, and recognizes outstanding Dufferin County students who are pursuing post-secondary schooling and/or training. Hill, was a dedicated member of local politics serving on Shelburne, Melanchthon and Dufferin County councils as well as the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) before retiring from politics in 2014. He passed away in 2018 after a brief battle with cancer. 

Each year the Bill Hill award, a one-time $2,500 scholarship, is given to five students studying in the areas of science and technology, business and social sciences, agriculture, arts, and skilled trades. 

As part of the application process each student submits a 300-word essay which answers the questions of where they see themselves five to 10 years post school, how they feel their chosen field is important to the county, and how they could give back to the community. 

Sarah Bannon, a graduate of Centre Dufferin District High School, was awarded under the agricultural category and will be studying food and agricultural business.

Isabella Laurin, who graduated from West Side Secondary School, will be attending a second language teaching program and was the recipient under the fine arts and liberal arts category. 

Orangeville District Secondary School graduate Taylor Murdock was the recipient under the business and social sciences category and will be attending a psychology specialist program. 

Roshni Seeraj-Turingia was the recipient in the black, Indigenous, or person of colour category and now after graduating from West Side Secondary School will be studying mathematics. 

Lily McGregor, a graduate of Orangeville District Secondary School, is entering a conservation biology program and received the scholarship through the science and technology category.