Supporting Indigenous students with our Stantec Indigenous Bursary
June 29, 2021
Indspire’s educational program Building Brighter Futures supports students and their post-secondary learning and future goals
Stantec is a proud supporter of Indspire, a Canadian Indigenous national charity that provides education to First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people. We have been providing different sponsorships and donations like the Indigenous Youth Career Program, National Gatherings, and Soaring Conferences since 2012.
Indspire has a profound impact on students, their families, communities, and Canada as a whole. They continuously work to improve their programs and initiatives to create exceptional Indigenous education and positive socioeconomical programs. One of their educational programs is the Building Brighter Futures (BBF) bursary. Since 2004, Indspire has provided over $115 million in financial support to more than 37,500 students. All BBF donations are then matched by the Government of Canada which allows for an even bigger pay-off for students.
For the 2020-2021 school year, we donated a $6,500 Stantec Indigenous Bursary through this program. The students who receive the bursary are studying STEM full-time at a post-secondary institute.
Kassandra Smith just finished her second year of her bachelor’s degree in Biology at Concordia University in Edmonton, Alberta. She is hoping to one day either pursue becoming an x-ray technician or get her doctorate one day. “Using this bursary, I am planning on enrolling in classes for next year and will hopefully hold me over until I can find a job,” Kassandra said. “I know this will help me with my degree by easing some stress from financial issues.”
We are excited to see students being empowered to achieve their academic goals. We look forward to continuing our support of the Indigenous communities across Canada not only in June, during National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day, but all year round.