$91,000 has been awarded to 41 students through the Gordon Wiebe Scholarship Fund for 2019. The recipients were announced by the Winkler Community Foundation (WCF) at a reception Wednesday night.

Second-year University of Winnipeg student Mark Giesbrecht is pursuing political science, minoring in economics. He was one of 8 new students to be awarded a $2,000 Ongoing Education Scholarship.

"It's a real encouragement seeing both individuals, groups, and organizations investing in the younger generation, pushing them to exceed the boundaries of not only their physical and mental capabilities but encouraging them to use their skills and their passions to really benefit both those around them and themselves."

For other students thinking about going after a scholarship in the future, Giesbrecht says to go for it, and says to always strive for more. "You have the skills, the talents, and the capabilities of winning awards, being recognized for your proficiencies, and just never doubt yourself. Always go for more, always push the limits of what both others think you can do and what you think you can do yourself."

Caitlyn Haney is studying kinesiology at the University of Manitoba with plans to go into physiotherapy. Haney was one of the new students also receiving a $2,000 Ongoing Education Scholarship this year. She said the scholarship is a huge encouragement. "Obviously tuition is a huge deal to every student when they're going into university, so it's just nice to have a little bit of money to have to help out with that."

The foundation also announced a new pilot program, Peer 2 Peer during Thursday's reception. Foundation Secretary Corey Hildebrand says the program is an effort to support first-year recipients as they transition from home to university life, and connecting students as they learn to navigate these changes.

"Certainly we're trying to work at the financial part of it, but that's not the only barrier they have to education," said Hildebrand. "So we want to make sure that we're connecting students with fellow students that have maybe travelled some of that road in the last number of years."

It was also shared Thursday that a family of a past scholarship recipient recently made a donation to the Winkler Community Foundation directed to the Gordon Wiebe Scholarship Fund. Hildebrand says that speaks to the goal of the award program. "Hopefully in the future, we see our Gordon Wiebe Scholarship recipients coming back to our community and continuing to inspire the next level of students."

The Gordon Wiebe Scholarships are available to Winkler students pursuing ongoing education under the age of 30. 

New Ongoing Education Scholarship recipients for 2019, (L-R) Sherry Peters, Caitlyn Haney, Mark Giesbrecht, Amy Peters, and Julia Tissen

The following is the full list of award recipients for 2019.

Make it a Reality Scholarship (3)

Maria Gruen – first year of 4 (NEW 2019)
Tyler Froese – second year of 4 (2018)
Bailey Neufeld – third year of 4 (2017)

Ongoing Education Scholarship (OES) (24 total)

OES New for 2019 (8)

· Alina Grass
· Amy Peters
· Caitlyn Haney
· Jennifer Halloran
· Julia Tissen
· Mark Giesbrecht
· Sherry Peters
· Talia Peters

OES Returning-2018 (10)

· Caleb Derksen
· Erika Wall
· Haley Ens

· Hanna Derksen
· Jenna Penner
· Jyana Loewen
· Leonore Schwarzkopf
· Marcail Wiebe
· Mitchell Dyck
· Nicole Klassen

OES Returning-2017 (6)

· Cameron Wiens
· Hailey Penner
· Janelle Ewert
· Jayna Janzen
· Noah Olfert
· Tegan Penner

GVSD Awards (14)

Garden Valley Collegiate (7)

· Allyson Klassen
· Indigo Wiebe
· James Bergen
· John Trinke
· Lydia Ntangano
· Micah Loewen
· Quinn Hamilton

Northlands Parkway Collegiate (7)

· Alina Trautwein
· Celine Richter
· Michelle Baier
· Narmathan Sejohn
· Ruth Penner Penner
· Saad Nizamani
· Yekaterina Yaroslavtseva