One of the 2024 TD Scholarships for Community Leadership recipients is Chippewa Secondary School grade 12 student Albany Benson.
With the scholarship she’ll receive up to $70,000 for tuition and living expenses.
“I feel very grateful and super excited that I was a recipient of this scholarship,” says Benson. “It wouldn’t have been possible without my family and friends who have guided me to this path.”
She’ll be going to Nipissing University in the fall beginning her four-year undergraduate degree in Indigenous Studies.
Benson, who is an Indigenous Student Trustee on the Near North District School Board was recognized for her dedication to supporting the Indigenous communities in the region.
Officials say along with helping to make Indigenous students feel comfortable and supported at school she’s a member of the Okimakan Indigenous student group.
“I along with some of my other peers would put together National Indigenous Peoples Day assemblies, Orange Shirt Day assemblies just to really spread awareness,” Benson says. “We also help put together activities to revitalize the culture, putting together beading workshops or painting activities.”
She says one of her two major projects was creating awareness around why some students may not stand for the playing of O Canada while the other was a necessities drive for Attawapiskat First Nation, that expanded because of its success.
“We had over a thousand diapers, we had bags and bags of clothes, feminine products and more,” Benson says. “We had so much stuff that we actually ended up sending it out to a few Indigenous communities like Fort Albany First Nation, which is the band I am a part of.”
The scholarship also includes opportunities for paid summer employment, peer networking and mentorship as a local leader.
