Ten Queen’s students were among 100 recipients of a competitive nationwide STEM scholarship.
The highly competitive Schulich Leaders Scholarship is given to 100 students across Canada who are entering their studies at 20 partner universities, including Queen’s. Five recipients pursuing science will receive $100,000, while the remaining five students studying engineering will be awarded $120,000 to their education.
The award is known as the largest Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) undergraduate award in Canada with each school nominating one student to be eligible for the application. Founded by Seymour Schulich, the award is meant to encourage the ideas of and foster the next generation of STEM thinkers.
Applications are due in January and students find out whether they’ve received the award in June. Grades, applications, and financial need are all taken into consideration when choosing the recipients.
The Journal spoke with four of the 10 first-year students who received the award.
Samuel Wong, Sci ’28
Wong applied to become a Schulich Scholar due to the program’s potential to empower young students to become change makers.
“I saw the Schulich foundation is really ionate about STEM and entrepreneurship and really pushing youth to really get into [STEM] and to become change makers,” he said.
When Wong saw a classmate from his high school win a Schulich award the previous year, it inspired him to believe he could achieve the same. He initially didn’t expect to receive the award and shared the news with his teacher as soon as he received the email confirming his scholarship.
Dolev Klein Harari, Sci ’28
Harari has demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit since his high school days.
In Grades 11 and 12, he went to national science fair competitions, winning two awards in Grade 11 and getting the gold medal overall in Grade 12. Harari was also part of his student’s school council as a Grade 12 representative.
The now first-year student also founded “Broba Tea,” a business that taught him just how challenging and complex it can be to operate a food-based venture.
Harari chose Queen’s after being impressed by the campus during an open house visit and noticing how happy the students appeared compared to those at other universities he toured.
Pooria Ahmadi, CompSci ’28
Moving from Iran to Canada just three years ago, Ahmadi was still learning English while in high school.
During his secondary years, he was involved in a mentorship program for first-year high schoolers, providing guidance when necessary. He was also the coding lead at his school’s robotics team, where he taught fellow students how to code and created a robot.
Outside of school, he volunteered for various First Robotics Competition events, where he assisted groups in both hardware and software issues in their projects. This role required extensive training, providing him with valuable STEM experience.
Ahmadi explained while the scholarship is huge in allowing one to focus on their academic journey without worrying about a financial burden, the “network it gives you is definitely priceless,” adding this award will likely be a part of his life far after university ends.
Kearin Gough, Sci ’28
Gough has a wide range of interests in both STEM and the arts. For STEM, he was the Lead Autonomous Director of his high school’s robotics team, which won second place in Ontario, ran a tutoring business, and was involved in a startup called Green Moon Canada which worked on a new type of electric engine.
On the arts side, he’s been playing piano for around eight years and composing for four. He also enjoys writing short stories. Gough said this range of interests likely added some character to his application, giving him an edge in the selection process.
Gough expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the scholarship, noting without it, he likely wouldn’t have been able to afford postsecondary education. “[Being a Schulich Scholar] really is the only reason I’m here,” he said.
The engineering student was interested in attending Queen’s for the social life and community he’d heard about it, explaining at his high school, it was known for having a positive atmosphere.
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