By MOSAIC Communications Team
Established in 2022, the MOSAIC Educational Enhancement Awards are granted to new arrivals and refugees to pursue academic, professional, or vocational studies. In its inaugural year, four deserving recipients were awarded $5000 each. Read more about them below:
Alejandra Perezalonso: As a lifelong baker, Alejandra had dreamed of attending culinary school since childhood. She worked hard and earned a scholarship to study at Le Cordon Bleu in Mexico – but after two years, her studies came to an end as the political situation in Nicaragua meant her family had to flee the country. Now in Canada, she hopes to pursue her baking certificate at Vancouver Community College in order to enter the baking industry and start serving her community through her love for food – and the Educational Enhancement Award will help her do just that.
Maria Albasha: Maria arrived in Canada as a refugee from Syria in 2018. After the war in her home country made it necessary for her to leave and stop her education, she dreamed of finding safety and being able to continue school. In Canada, she was able to take English classes and complete her high school education, eventually enrolling in the dental hygiene program at the Vancouver College of Dental Hygiene. MOSAIC’s scholarship will support her with educational expenses as she builds her life here in Canada.
Mishal Abdullah: Mishal arrived in Canada from Pakistan in December of 2021, and is working towards becoming a practicing dentist in British Columbia. The support of the Educational Enhancement Award will allow her to fully focus on her studies during a critical point in her career and alleviate significant financial stress for her as she prepares to sit the NDEB (National Dental Examining Board of Canada) equivalency exam.
Sidhant Sidana: As a new immigrant to Canada from India in February 2021, Sidhant has been accepted to the University of British Columbia’s Bachelor of Applied Science (Engineering) program for the upcoming fall semester. Despite moving to a new country during the pandemic, they been very involved in the community through volunteer activities such as the Vancouver South Constituency Youth Council and the South Asian Newcomer Youth Club. Sidhant plans to pursue biomedical engineering and eventually attend medical school.
“I am incredibly grateful and humbled with this scholarship MOSAIC has granted me. For the longest time I thought it was going to take me years to save up enough in order to start my studies. Today, thanks to the Educational Enhancement Award, I can start making my dreams come true,” said Alejandra.
We’d like to say a huge congratulations to all the incredible recipients of this year’s Educational Enhancement Awards!
Quick Links:
- Watch the 2022 MOSAIC Award Ceremony
- About the MOSAIC Awards
- About the MOSAIC Awards event
