UWinnipeg Metis student receives $5,000 Fellowship
WINNIPEG, MB – Brielle Beaudin is a 25-year-old University of Winnipeg student originally from St. Eustache, Manitoba with a keen interest in land use, food production and the environment. She has just received the $5,000 Audreen Hourie Graduate Fellowship, established at UWinnipeg in 2008 by the Manitoba Metis Federation, which will help her complete her thesis on Metis food security.
“It is a huge help to me to receive this award. It means I can focus 100% on my program rather than be stretched thin,” said Beaudin. “It really alleviates a huge burden.” Beaudin expects to graduate with her Master of Arts degree in Indigenous Governance in 2014 and hopes to pursue a career in program development.
“Education gives everyone the opportunity to gain critical skills and tools to help them better provide for themselves and their children,” said Dr. David Chartrand, President of the Manitoba Metis Federation. “The impact of investment in advanced education of Metis citizens by the Manitoba Metis Federation is profound. The results are increased understanding of our culture, raising income levels. improving health outcomes, promoting equality and reducing poverty – all extremely positive outcomes.”
The award is named in honour of Audreen Hourie, a respected Elder in the Metis community who was born in Grand Marais. Hourie was a founding board member of Pemmican Publications and became Managing Editor in March 2000. She used her experience to involve Metis people in the arts and was a leader in providing training to Metis people in the book publishing industry. The Audreen Hourie Graduate Fellowship was established at UWinnipeg as a result of a $100,000 gift by the Manitoba Metis Federation. Fellowships are awarded annually to Metis students pursuing a degree in UWinnipeg’s Masters of Indigenous Governance or the Master’s of Development Practice.
Since 1999, the Manitoba Metis Federation and its education arm, the Louis Riel Institute, have provided more than $1.6 million in bursaries to Metis students attending UWinnipeg, which has almost doubled to just over $ 3 million as a result of gifts from UWinnipeg’s allocation of Manitoba Scholarships and Bursaries Initiative matching program.
MEDIA CONTACT
Diane Poulin, Senior Communications Specialist, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
