Education

Education Awards

The Minerva Foundation for BC Women has established an Education Awards Program to help BC women advance themselves by continuing their education. More than 600 women in BC have benefited by receiving a Minerva Foundation Education Award.

The awards target women who will have the most impact in their work or community, and those in fields or demographic groups who are currently underrepresented in leadership roles. Specifically, we seek to:

Assist single mothers in advancing their education.
Re-train mature women returning to the workforce after a long absence.
Advance women in non-traditional fields of study.
Assist immigrant and Aboriginal women and women with a disability to overcome educational barriers.

Partnerships have been built with post-secondary institutions throughout the province to offer education awards. Ten universities, eleven colleges, and two private institutions in BC offer Minerva Foundation Education Awards for women. Agreements with these institutions are between one and five years and generally include matching funding up to a predetermined level.

The Minerva Foundation provides an infrastructure for foundations, individuals, associations and corporations to either establish an annual award or endowed fund.

Click here for complete list of currently available awards.

For more information or inquiries, please contact Tania Shepelska, Education Awards Coordinator, at tanias@theminervafoundation.com or (604) 683-7635 ext 227.

When I moved to Canada in 1998, I was pregnant and all alone. I was scared as to how I would take care of my daughter without a decent standard of education. I realized that without English I would be useless so I focused on improving my English by attending ESL classes at Vancouver Community College. When my English level improved, I was confident enough to go for science courses. And in 2003, the Minerva Foundation offered me the Minerva Foundation Award For BC Women in recognition of my excellent grades at school.
This scholarship changed my life as it offered me the opportunity to take post secondary course. Then when I entered the Licensed Practical Nursing Program in 2006, I faced financial problems. Again, it was Minerva that helped me with funds to solve my financial problems. Now I am working as an LPN and have solid hopes of furthering myself in this field.
Thanks so much to Minerva for giving me a life of hope. Thank you so much Minerva for helping me by believing in my abilities.

Sasiratha Uthayakumar, LPN