Graduation became an even bigger celebration for 17-year-old R.E. Mountain Secondary student Tia Findlater, when she received news she had been awarded a Beedie Luminaries scholarship.
"I was completely surprised," she shared, her voice still filled with awe and gratitude days later.
"I was just completely blown away,” she recalled of reading the Beedie email.
Her first calls went out to her step-mom, mom, and siblings who were all so excited for her.
“They were like, 'you have to tell Dad. You have to tell everybody'.”
The Beedie Luminaries scholarship awards students up to $44,000 for their post secondary schooling. It was created to recognize students from British Columbia who have faced significant life challenges and demonstrated both resilience and determination.
For Tia, her difficulties stemmed from a complicated home life and family strife. She credits one of her teachers for helping her address and overcome those hurdles.
“I appreciate my chemistry teacher, Ms. Wong, who went out of her way to support me outside of school without me asking," Tia said. "It's okay, because everything's better now… we got help.”
Family issues resolved, Tia has been able to refocus on her schooling and future, and that's where another teacher stepped in to help. Aid came in a number of ways from her English First People’s teacher, who – among other things – wrote her a recommendation letter for the scholarship committee.
“I want to thank her so much, Ms. Gunning, because she did it all in such a short time period and she got it down like perfectly.”
Tia plans to use her $44,000 scholarship to pursue a bachelor of science in biology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, with the goal of becoming a veterinarian.
"I've always loved animals, and being a vet is exactly what I've always been interested in," she said.
With this scholarship's support, Tia feels confident in pursuing her academic goals.
"The support that Beedie Luminaries is providing has only given me more reasons to keep going and to keep fighting. I am incredibly grateful to them.”
Reflecting on her experiences and the application process, Tia offered advice to other students.
"I would suggest that people, of course, apply. And if they are going to apply, they should go full throttle with it. Even though it looks scary and daunting… it definitely pays off in the end."