Global Site Navigation (use tab and down arrow)

Giving to UNB

Schulich Leaders launch water project initiative at UNB

UNB President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Eddy Campbell, left, met with UNB Schulich Leaders Scholarship recipients Wesley Finck of Pemberton, B.C., Nathan McNally of Wolfville, N.S., Madeleine Crawford of Cornwall, P.E.I. and Sonja Power of Upper Tantallon, N.S. during a recent UNB hockey game at the Aitken University Centre.

The two newest Schulich Leaders have hit the ground running in their first semester at the University of New Brunswick, leading the newly-established UNB Water Project with a goal of ensuring Indigenous communities in New Brunswick and the rest of Canada have access to clean drinking water.

First-year engineering student Nathan McNally of Wolfville, N.S. created the initiative and fellow Schulich Leader Madeleine Crawford of Cornwall, P.E.I., a first-year science student, joined the executive of the interdisciplinary team of students.

Madeleine and Nathan, who earned four-year Schulich Leader Scholarships valued at $80,000 to $100,000 had the opportunity to share their progress with UNB president Dr. Eddy Campbell and fellow Schulich Leaders at a recent UNB hockey game.

The UNB Water Project aims to implement culturally appropriate, sustainable solutions to over 150 Indigenous communities in Canada which do not have access to clean drinking water and have been under water advisories for up to 20 years. Nathan and Madeleine have assembled a team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, studying engineering, science, business and arts and have built connections with the Elder-in-Residence, UNB professors, the UNB Student Union and local entrepreneurs.

While simple, cost-effective answers exist, the group will draw on its collective expertise and partner with affected communities to develop a business and design the best solution for clean water access.

In their high schools, both Nathan and Madeleine earned praise for their leadership abilities, academic performance and extracurricular involvement, attributes which led them to UNB on prestigious Schulich Leader Scholarships, awarded to high school graduates enrolling in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) undergraduate program at participating universities in Canada and Israel.

Created in 2011 by Canadian business leader and philanthropist Seymour Schulich, this annual program encourages promising high school graduates to embrace STEM in their future careers. Each fall since 2012-13, two leaders have been selected at UNB, with Madeleine and Nathan joining this prestigious list in September.

The Schulich Leaders program awards 100 scholarships annually, valued at $9 million and high schools across the country put forth more than 1,300 Schulich Leader Nominees who are in the running for the 50 Canadian scholarships.

Thanks to this generous support, Schulich Leaders can fully devote their time and attention to their studies and extracurricular activities, as their financial needs are covered over the course of their degree.

To be considered for the 2018-19 awards, students must be nominated by their high school prior to the Feb. 1, 2018 deadline.

More stories like this