Lakehead Students Win National Awards

(Thunder Bay - December 11, 2003) Three Lakehead University students have been recognized by the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation for their excellence in academic excellence and active citizenship.

Jay Nichol, Robert Rombouts, and Kerry Stevens were second level winners of the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation National In-Course Awards. The in-course awards were established "to recognize and foster academic excellence and active citizenship in upper-year post-secondary students," according to the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation's website.

Students who win this award have demonstrated both their academic qualifications and also have been active in the qualities of excellence the award is designed to recognize and foster.

There were up to 200 of the second-level in-course awards handed out this year. Each student received a $4,000 scholarship, which is renewable for one additional year upon maintenance of a B+ Grade Point Average (GPA) and continued demonstration of the leadership, innovation, and service to the community for which the student was originally selected.

Rombouts, a third-year Concurrent Education/Honours History student, says he feels privileged to receive the award. "It feels great to get something back for giving to the university community," he says. "It is a great reward for the time I spent on extracurricular activities. But more than that, the monetary portion of the award has allowed me to continue my participation in these programs and strive to improve Lakehead in any way I can."

"I am extremely grateful for the scholarship and am glad to see that the Millennium Foundation has decided to begin this particular series of awards," says Nichol, a third-year Psychology major.

Stevens, a third-year General BA student, says that earning these kinds of awards are an important part of the university experience. "Yes, the financial incentive is important and an excellent reason to strive for a high academic standing," he says. "But it's also important for students to be active in their University community."

Media Note: All three students are available for media interviews. To contact them, please call Marla Tomlinson at 343-8177.

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Contact: Marla Tomlinson, Office of Communications, 807-343-8177, communications@lakeheadu.ca, http://www.lakeheadu.ca