High school graduates from the M.D. of Taber area invited to apply for Stewart-Genes Scholarship

By Heather Cameron
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Taber and District Health Foundation is inviting recent high school graduates from the M.D. of Taber area to apply for the Stewart-Genes Scholarship.

“The scholarship was created to support education for students entering into health field at university or college,” said Taber and District Health Foundation Director of Fundraising and Development Aline Holmen.

Holmen said that the Stewart-Genes Scholarship started in approximately 1970 with a donation from the estate of Aud Genes, who had no family. Genes was badly crippled with arthritis but spent many hours on the baseball field as an umpire. He also worked in the office of Purdue Motors. Alex Stewart, Holmen said, was married with no children, ran a hardware store on the main street in Taber and was acclaimed to be an astute businessperson and was also an active member of the Masonic Lodge.

Holmen said that the Stewart-Genes Scholarships consists of two $500 awards that are available to high school students who have graduated from schools in Taber, Vauxhall, or Grassy Lake within the last three years and have been accepted into a full-time health care-related program at an accredited Canadian post-secondary institution. Applicants, Holmen said, must also be a Canadian Citizen or permanent resident, must be in good academic standing, and must not be a previous winner.

Those who are interested in applying, Holmen said, can access the application online at http://www.tdhf.ca, and applications must include a completed form, with official confirmation of registration in post-secondary-healthcare studies, minimum of one reference letter, a one-page essay of a maximum of 500 words that includes why the applicant is entering post-secondary healthcare-related studies, a statement of professional goals, and also details their community involvement including volunteer activities, their involvement in sports or community groups, and all associated leadership roles.

The deadline to apply for the Stewart-Genes Scholarship is August 31.

“I feel that anytime we can assist someone with funding for their education that is a positive thing,” said Holmen. “We always hope that students will apply. As a health foundation it finds our mandate and, ultimately, we hope that some of the applicants will return to our community to work and grow their families and sustain health care in our community.”