A Surrey student and a Langley student, who is a Surrey resident, have been selected as finalists for the Loran Award, valued up to $100,000.
Govind Deol, who is a Surrey student, and Anson Yu, who is a Langley student at R.E. Mountain Secondary, will be travelling to Toronto this weekend for the national selections for the Loran Award.
Govind and Anson are among 88 students across Canada that were selected as finalists from the 5,194 candidates, “based on evidence of character, commitment to service in the community and leadership potential.”
Govind is a Grade 12 student at L.A. Matheson Secondary School. He is the first student from the high school to make it as a finalist, according to the Surrey school district.
Heading to Toronto Thursday (Jan. 30), Govind said he was “a little nervous,” but he knows it’s “a great opportunity.”
“It’s a great opportunity. I know that no matter which way it goes it’s an opportunity for me to grow and I’m just optimistic going in,” he said.
If he is one of the lucky recipients of a Loran Award, Govind said he would use the scholarship money to go into sciences.
“What I want to do is I want to start off with sciences and then I want to go to med school hopefully to become a physician,” said Govind, adding that he’s looking into UBC, University of Toronto or McGill University.
Through this process of becoming a finalist, Govind said he’s been able to “recap” a lot of his experiences and how he got involved in his community, which he said started in his Grade 10 school year.
Govind said that year he started a basketball program at his former elementary school, where his younger brother was still attending.
“He said at their school, they (weren’t) getting a lot of opportunities to play basketball. For me, I could relate with him because I felt the same way when I was in elementary as well,” said Govind, adding that he approached the school’s administration and started a basketball program with a friend.
Since then, Govind said he volunteered with his high school’s Camp Next, Surrey Crime Prevention Society, Kinsmen Lodge and the Sikhi Awareness Foundation.
Surrey Schools says there have only been four Surrey school district students to receive the award since its creation in 1988.
READ ALSO: Five Surrey students on shortlist for $100,000 scholarship, Jan. 9, 2019
READ ALSO: Surrey student named a Loran Scholar, March 3, 2014
Anson Yu, a Surrey resident who goes to R.E. Mountain Secondary in Langley, is on the shortlist for the Loran Award. (Submitted photo)
After national selections, the Loran Scholars Foundation will grant up to 36 Loran Awards, which includes annual stipends, tuition waivers from a partner university, mentorship, summer internship funding and annual retreats and forums.
The Loran Award is valued up to $100,000 over four years for undergraduate studies in Canada.
Those who aren’t selected as Loran Scholars are each eligible to receive a $5,000 finalist award.
lauren.collins@surreynowleader.com
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