While many scholarships reward excellence in academics, students applying for the Sir William Stephenson Scholarship (SWSS) and Dr. & Mrs. Roderick Hunter Scholarship (RHS) must also present to a panel of community trustees, sharing how they plan to dedicate their future careers to making a positive impact in their community, in Canada, and beyond.
“Sir William Stephenson had a huge financial impact on the University and Dr. Hunter, as a former UWinnipeg Chancellor and Board of Regents Chair, also contributed in significant ways to its governance,” says Jim Oborne, one of the four trustees charged with choosing the recipients each year. “It is an honour as a trustee and as a recipient to be associated with this history and heritage.”
Each year, the trustees review multiple student applications for each of the two prestigious awards and then decide on a shortlist of candidates they want to interview in person. The interest from students for these two awards is exceptionally high as the SWSS awards two students with $9,000 each, and the RHS awards two students with $4,500 each.
This year, Thomas Hepworth and Melody Hutton were awarded the SWSS, with the RHS going to Mackenzie Zacharias and Leeza Goldberg. In addition to being some of the highest value awards at UWinnipeg, the SWSS also comes with some extra prestige thanks to Sir William Stephenson, the person the scholarship was named after. He was a soldier and spymaster best known by his wartime intelligence code name “Intrepid” who many consider to be the real-life inspiration for James Bond.
“I’ve wanted to win this award since I first started at UWinnipeg,” says Hepworth. “When I was younger, I read Camp X, which is a novel based on Sir William Stephenson’s work as part of Allied intelligence during the Second World War. To finally receive this scholarship in my final year of study makes me truly proud of the work I’ve put into my academic career this far.”
“The exceptionally strong competition for these awards each year speaks to the excellent quality of our students and illustrates how our outstanding academic programs have supported their development,” says Dr. Todd Mondor, President and Vice-Chancellor. “Each of this year’s award winners has a unique and inspiring story, and we all look forward to seeing how they will continue to make a positive impact in the lives of others.”
Throughout March, we will be sharing detailed stories about each of the four student recipients and their future plans.
