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Bursary funds award close to $50k for students across South Okanagan-Similkameen

A total of 24 students region-wide find themselves on the receiving end of the awards
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Ben Amos with bursary recipients, from left to right: Maya Halverson, Samuel Kliever and Ellia Schutz. (Photo- Submitted)

Students in the South Okanagan and Similkameen are one step closer to reaching their educational goals, thanks to a local bursary program that’s seen close to $50,000 in donations collected this year.

A total of 24 youths have been rewarded through the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen’s annual fund.

This year’s efforts will see a fund of $49,690 distributed to students across the region.

Among those on the receiving end of the fund is Emily Nguyen, who says the award will help pay for her dance studies in Vancouver.

“This award brings me closer to realizing that dream and will ease the financial burden of my education for my family and me,” she said. “I am incredibly grateful that there are people in our community who are willing to support young people’s dreams and goals in this way.”

Nguyen is one of four students in the region who will continue a Penticton legacy of pursuing an education in the performing arts, thanks to the 13-year-old Sharon Amos Legacy Fund for the Arts.

Other recipients of the arts-related bursary include Maya Halverson, Samuel Kliever and Ellia Schutz.

Amos was one of the local residents who helped jumpstart the Many Hats Theatre Company in 2007, with the aforementioned fund in her name serving as one of the 10 bursaries awarded directly through the local Community Foundation.

The full list of student winners, courtesy of all the local bursary funds, can be found below:

Dr. John and Kathy Scarfo Bursary Fund

Erin Campbell; Javier Carlos; Anika Freidt; Gradon Freidt; Lindsey Jones; Alexandria Johnstone; Alyse

Kohler-Mergel; Spencer Kingzett; Kalezafar Lawrence; Jessica ter Wolbeek; Megan Tiessen

L&R Supplementary Bursary Fund

• Jessie Fleet

Eva and Herbert Rosinger Scholarship Fund

• Jamison Foster, Josie Nickle

Culver Family Bursary Fund

• Amy Lucich

Irene and Charles Armstrong Bursary Fund

• Kaitlyn Nightingale

South Okanagan Indigenous Education Fund

• Cassidy Burns, Kayla Burns

Sharon Amos Legacy Fund for the Arts

• Maya Halverson; Samuel Kliever; Emily Nguyen; Ellia Schutz

Alana Matthew Fund

• Miles Murphy

Lynn and Brian Jackson Endowment for Fine Arts

• Hannah Ruttan

Thea Haubrich Legacy Fund

• Miles Murphy

Anyone wanting to donate funds in support of students’ goals across the region is asked to contact

contact Yuki Ihara yukiihara@cfso.net or 236-700-6706.

More information on all the bursary funds can be found here.

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Logan Lockhart

About the Author: Logan Lockhart

I joined Black Press Media in 2021 after graduating from a pair of Toronto post-secondary institutions and working as a sports reporter for several different outlets.
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