The Loran Scholars Foundation (previously known as the Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation) has selected 30 high school students (listed below) from an initial pool of nearly 3,500 applicants as the 25th class of Loran Scholars. Each student will receive Canada’s largest and most unconventional undergraduate merit award, which is valued at up to $80,000 over four years and includes mentorship and a summer program.
“These students have shown integrity, determination, and an entrepreneurial spirit through the breadth and depth of their extracurricular activities,” said Franca Gucciardi, executive director of the foundation and a 1990 Loran Scholar. “These are traits that Canada’s future leaders need to succeed and contribute to a thriving society.”
The students were selected on the basis of character, service and leadership potential through the most rigorous and personalized scholarship selection process in Canada. The process includes regional and national interviews with up to 12 assessors over three months.
In its 25th year, the program counts among its alumni successful entrepreneurs and the CEO of a publicly traded company, executive directors of local and national charities, a half-dozen clerks at the Supreme Court of Canada and 15 Rhodes Scholars. More than 80% of alumni have supported the program financially, including 1992 Loran Scholar Lucas Skoczkowski who recently made the largest individual gift ($554,000) in the foundation’s history.
Seventy-three national finalists participated in two days of selection interviews in Toronto on February 14 and 15. The finalists who were not selected receive a $3,000 award.
– 30 –
Loran Scholars Class of 2014
See their short biographies and photos.
Eric Boucher
École secondaire Macdonald-Cartier, Sudbury, ON
Kate Chamandy
Marianopolis College, Saint-Sauveur, QC
Emma Clark
Seycove Secondary School, North Vancouver, BC
Kit Dashwood
Ernest Manning High School, Calgary, AB
Sean Davidson
All Saints Catholic Secondary School, Whitby, ON
Lauréanne Dussault-Desrochers
Cégep de l’Outaouais, Gatineau, QC
Janique Fillion
École Communautaire Réal-Bérard, St.Malo, MB
Michael Flood
United World College Costa Rica, Rothesay, NB
Sarah Greene
Fogo Island Central Academy, Tilting, NL
Callen Hageman
Uxbridge Secondary School, Uxbridge, ON
Jena Hudson
Bonar Law Memorial School, Rexton, NB
Ryan Jamula
Brantford Collegiate Institute and Vocational School, Brantford, ON
Miranda LaBrash
Walter Murray Collegiate, Saskatoon, SK
Jill Lamb
Central Kings Rural High School, Berwick, NS
Danyka Leclair
Polyvalente Roland-Pepin, Campbellton, NB
Clare Lyle
Elphinstone Secondary School / Heritage Christian Online School, Gibsons, BC
Justina Marianayagam
Streetsville Secondary School, Mississauga, ON
Sarah Millman
Cobequid Educational Centre, Truro, NS
Kabir Nadkarni
St. Francis Xavier Secondary School, Mississauga, ON
Faelan Prentice
Reynolds Secondary School, Victoria, BC
Allison Pritchard
West Island College, Calgary, AB
JiaRui Pu
Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute, Toronto, ON
Shakti Ramkumar
Kwantien Park Secondary School, Surrey, BC
Annie Russell
Maple Ridge Secondary School, Maple Ridge, BC
Sarah Veber
Gonzaga Regional High School, St. Philip’s, NL
Emily Wiesenthal
Howe Sound Secondary School, Squamish, BC
Kirk Wright
École Secondaire Kelvin High School, Winnipeg, MB
Stephen Xu
Bell High School, Ottawa, ON
Jerry Zhang
Bayview Secondary School, Toronto, ON
Terry Zhang
Victoria Park Collegiate Institute, Toronto, ON
The Loran Scholar program
Each year, 30 graduating high school or CEGEP students are selected as Loran Scholars on the basis of character, service, and leadership potential. Loran Scholars receive Canada’s largest and most unconventional undergraduate merit scholarship. Tenable at one of our 25 partner universities, it comprises an $9,000 annual stipend and a matching tuition waiver (unique in Canada), a summer program with funding up to $8,500, a week-long orientation expedition in Algonquin Park in Ontario, one-on-one mentorship and participation in the community of past and present Loran Scholars, in total worth up to $80,000.
The Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation
In 2014, the Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation (CMSF) marks 25 years of investing in Loran Scholars. Founded in 1988, CMSF is a national charity that works in partnership with Canadian universities, donors and volunteers throughout the country to invest in young Canadians who demonstrate character, commitment to service and leadership potential.