Lakeland College is looking ahead to their annual President’s Gala to shine a light on its students. The seventh annual gala raises much-needed funds for the Supporting Our Students (SOS) Enhanced Bursary. This year’s gala will follow in the previous year’s footsteps by helping support the students at Lakeland College.
According to Lakeland College, one-in-six students who are accepted to Lakeland but do not attend withdraw because of financial need. In the most recent SOS Enhanced Bursary application process, Lakeland received 126 applications for financial help. Of these applications, the bursary fund was only able to support 25 students. President and CEO of Lakeland College, Dr. Alice Wainwright-Stewart, hopes to surpass last year’s total of over $72,000 to make education more accessible for Lakeland students.
“It’s a passion of mine to try and help as many students who want to attend and really enhance their opportunities down the road. It’s a gift we can give to each student,” says Wainwright-Stewart.
The SOS Enhanced Bursary was established in 2011 for full-time students in any program of study who display financial need, maintain a satisfactory academic standing, and demonstrate good character and work ethic. The gala that supports the bursary is also very focused on the students it supports. Auditions for event MC, contribution to silent and live auction items and serving the night’s meals are just some of the ways students contribute to the annual gala. Wainwright-Stewart sees is as a time to celebrate both the students’ skill sets and opportunities ahead of them.
“I’ve known some of these students over the years, and to see them develop and become those potential leaders. It feels so good that we can provide them with the experience that when they leave Lakeland College and go out, we know that they are going to be successful.”
Wainwright-Stewart adds she’s thankful for the support of sponsors, gala guests and friends of the college, saying without their help they wouldn’t be able to have such a lasting impact on the students. The gala is on April 4 at the Lloydminster campus. Tickets can be found by contacting Event Services at (780) 871-5458 or by searching for the event on EventBrite.ca.