"I feel extremely privileged to receive this award to pursue my post-secondary education," Maria Gruen says. "Before, that would not have been a reality."

Gruen says she burst into happy tears after hearing she won the $20,000 Gordon Wiebe Make It A Reality Scholarship, giving her a chance to become the first in her family to pursue a post-secondary education.

"It just shows my younger sisters as well that they can pursue this," she says. "It's hard to be the first one to step up, but that's what I'm doing. And I'm pretty excited to do that with the help of the community."

She learned the value of hard work at home as the 8th of 13 children. Growing up she learned to take care of her siblings and contribute to the day-to-day family chores while still being involved in sports and maintaining her grades. "You learn to be around a lot of people... the challenge is all the noise when you're studying. But you have lots of people you can depend on."

Her story is the exact reason for the creation of the $20,000 Gordon Wiebe scholarship program. It was the wish of the former Winkler pharmacist make life dreams possible for young people who demonstrate a commitment to community service. In 2015, his gift of $2.2 million established the Gordon Wiebe Education Fund. Since 2017, the Winkler Community Foundation (WCF) distributed $137,000 in scholarships. An additional $87,000 will be awarded in 2019 impacting 39 students.

"These young students embody the spirit of the foundation of building community, and they show us what it takes to make life dreams come true," WCF Executive Director Myra Peters says.

Peters says the Winkler Community Foundation’s Scholarships Committee was impressed with her commitment to serving community, her resilience in navigating barriers and the leadership that she has shown in her drive to realize her life goals. Gruen continues to give back to her community as a student volunteer with local hospitals, her church as well as participating in school fundraisers and helping with sporting events.

"I'm looking forward to going to university and getting my education and seeing where that takes me," she says.

Gruen plans to attend the University of Manitoba to obtain her science degree with a long-term goal to become a pediatrician.