Students helping students

T H E   D A L H O U S I E   D I F F E R E N C E

At its heart, the Dalhousie Student Union accessibility bursary, established with a $30,000 endowment this past fall, is about students helping students.

“Part of every student’s student union fee goes into our accessibility fund which is used to award scholarships and take on other accessibility-related initiatives,” says Dalhousie Student Union Vice President (Internal) Kayla Kurin. “This fund has been underutilized for the past few years, which is why last year’s committee decided to make the donation....We are especially enthusiastic because the money goes directly back to students.”

In honour of the Dalhousie Student Union donation, the Johnson Scholarship Foundation will put $30,000 into the Johnson Foundation scholarships for students with disabilities endowment. In 2008, the foundation made a five-year commitment to Dalhousie to contribute a maximum of $750,000, provided the university also raises $750,000.

William Hart, acting executive director, Student Academic Success Services, says when it comes to giving of themselves, Dalhousie students are amazing. “I think when students show a willingness to contribute to helping other students it shows that they have an understanding of what their peers might be going through and a dedication to making the university more accessible.”

André Gaudet, a first-year music student from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, is a Johnson Scholarship Foundation recipient. To Mr. Gaudet, the renewable scholarship represents more than much-needed and gratefully received financial support – it is recognition of the hard work he has put in to get to university. “It was a good sign to keep moving, that I was going in the right direction,” he says. 

Ms. Kurin says the fact that the student union donation will be matched by the Johnson Scholarship Foundation means more students will be reached.
“In the past few years the number of students attending university with accessibility challenges, both physical, learning and mental, has increased,” she says. “This may be due to increased accessibility on university campuses as well as a reducing of stigma in the community. It is important for us to continue to strive to make our campus more accessible. There should be no reason for students living with disabilities to feel excluded from the university experience.”

This article is part of the Dalhousie Difference series, introducing and showcasing some of the 50 innovative projects in development.

• The first story, "The Dalhousie Difference," explored what the power of philanthropy means to a university like Dalhousie.
  
• "All in a Day's work" was about the new scholarship fund created in the name of Sir Graham Day.
  
• "Imagining where they can be" announced the new TD Black Student Opportunity Grants.
  
• "More than a great idea" outlined plans for the new IDEA building for Sexton campus.
  
• And, "Introducing the living lab" is a story about the changes coming to Dalhousie's Goldberg Computer Science Building.