Allyster Klassen
WINNIPEG, MB – It’s an 18th birthday celebration Allyster (Ally) Klassen will never forget: as she was headed out the door with her parents to celebrate her birthday at her grandparents’ home, Klassen received a phone call from The University of Winnipeg awards office. With a 96% average, the Steinbach Regional Secondary School graduate found out she was awarded the Walter Leatherdale Entrance Scholarship, worth $48,000.
“I could not quite believe it,” Klassen says. “My family was joking after that their birthday gifts could not exactly compare!”
In addition to her outstanding academic achievements, Klassen has been active in student council and music programs at school and has an orange belt in Kung Fu. This summer she is working as a child-minder.
“I love kids and I really like helping people,” she says. “My career goal is to become a pediatrician.”
Klassen will begin her classes in September at UWinnipeg’s state-of-the-art Richardson College for the Environment and Science Complex. She is majoring in a 4-year Bio-Chemistry Honours science degree.
“Getting this scholarship really takes a lot of stress off of me,” she says. “It will allow me to focus on my studies full-time and I will be able to begin saving to go on to medical school.”
The Walter Leatherdale Entrance Scholarship $48,000 ($12,000 X 4 years) was established by Douglas Leatherdale, a 1957 graduate of United College, in memory of his father. It provides tuition and allowances for living expenses and book costs for an outstanding student from rural Manitoba, preferably from farming communities. Students must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.55.
MEDIA CONTACT
Diane Poulin, Senior Communications Specialist, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
