Recipients selected for 2022 Bill Hill Scholarships

June 16, 2022 · 0 Comments

Written By Paula Brown

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Six local students have been awarded a scholarship for post-secondary education from the County of Dufferin.

Dufferin County Council announced and honoured the six recipients of the 2022 Bill Hill Scholarship during their meeting on June 9.

“Congratulations on behalf of Bill Hill’s family and on behalf of council and staff. We wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors,” said Mills. “If the showcase we saw here tonight is any indication of what we have to look forward to, I think we can say with some confidence that Dufferin County is in good hands.”

The scholarship program was introduced by the County in 2015, and recognizes students who pursue post-secondary education and training in the areas of science and technology, business and social sciences, agriculture and environmental studies, arts, and skilled trades. Two scholarships also recognize student who identify as Black, Indigenous, First Nations, Metis, Inuit, or Person of Colour.

Originally known as the Dufferin County Scholarship, it was renamed in 2019 in honour of former council member and Warden Bill Hill, who is regarded as the driving force behind the development of the annual scholarship program.

“Anybody who was fortunate to know Bill knows that investing in the future of Dufferin County was certainly a consistent theme through his working both politically and otherwise,” said Dufferin County Warden, Wade Mills. “It’s for that reason that council has named these scholarships in his honour.”

This year, the Bill Hill Scholarship program received 22 applications from six schools and awarded the one-time $2,500 scholarship to six students. Since 2015, the Bill Hill Scholarship program has recognized 33 students and awarded a total of $82,500.

The 2022 Bill Hill Scholarship recipients are:

Madelyn Crane – Agricultural and Environmental Studies – Fleming College

“I’m very grateful to be receiving the Bill Hill Award,” said Crane. “I hope to one day take the skills I learned at college and apply them to the County.”

Mars Gagawchuk – Arts – McGill
University

“This award is about students using their education to give back to their local community. My motto has always been we have three homes – our mind, our body, and our earth – so it’s imperative that we take action and use our education to move forward with our knowledge and help strengthen our community so that other students and other people regardless of their background have the same opportunities to thrive,” said Gagawchuk.

Islam Aljah-Ahed – Black or Person of Colour – Athabasca University

“I really want to thank you all for giving me this opportunity. I’m really looking forward to supporting Dufferin County with my skills that I’ve learned and giving back to my community. Coming from Mississauga it was a pretty big culture shock, but I think it’s a great community and I’m really looking forward to helping it the way you’ve helped me,” said Aljah-Ahed.

Emily Smith – Business & Social Sciences – Guelph University

“I just wanted to say thank you for this opportunity and I’m looking forward to using it in the fall at the University of Guelph for a sociology major. When I’m done school, I will probably stay local and haven’t really decided what I’m going to do with it yet, but likely more schooling afterwards,” said Smith.

Julia Miller – Science & Technology – Queen’s University

“I just want to say thank you so much for the scholarship and the support for education,” said Miller. “I’m really looking forward to coming back to Dufferin County and hopefully working in a hospital.”

Paige Ethier – Skilled Trades & Training Program – Georgian College

“I just wanted to say thank you for selecting me for the scholarship. My plans are to go to Georgian College next year for dental hygiene, and after that I plan to stay local and give back to the County like it’s given to me for the past 18 years. Thank you so much for that,” said Ethier.