Please use the following link to complete the scholarship application for JO internal scholarships, District scholarships and McEwen scholarships.

https://forms.office.com/r/9MQTwZimbS

The McEwen scholarship applications are located in section 2 of the application. Please do not submit your application until it is complete.

Please note: While it is not necessary for you to provide full documentation or proof for the information you have provided here, the graduation awards committee reserves the right to request such information. For this reason, please have these documents ready. 

All applications are due Monday, April 14th by 11:59 PM. No late submissions will be considered. 

Please complete this form to the best of your ability. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applications will be reviewed by members of the John Oliver Scholarship Committee.

McEWEN FAMILY AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

Jim, Joan, and Jill McEwen each received an excellent education at a Vancouver Secondary School during the 1960s and 1970s in challenging circumstances and went on to rewarding careers in engineering, law, and medicine, thanks to outstanding teachers and parental encouragement. 

The McEwen Family Awards are the family’s way of expressing its gratitude, by providing recognition to students who have excelled academically in the face of personal or family adversities, who have demonstrated the imagination to innovate and the stamina to succeed in their innovations, and who have demonstrated their compassion by helping to improve the quality of life of others throughout their education. Recipients of the McEwen Family Awards are asked to consider establishing similar awards in the future if their circumstances permit.

APPLICATION

Each applicant is only eligible for one McEwen award, so students should apply for only one or two awards (each as separate application) with criteria that are most pertinent to their specific situation. If their application better reflects the criteria of another McEwen award, they may receive a more suitable award.

PLEASE READ EACH AWARD DESCRIPTION LISTED BELOW as each award has specific focus areas that will need to be written about.

Applicants must submit a written personal statement that explains how personal experiences and achievements reflect the specific criteria of the award. The personal statement should NOT exceed 2 pages, should be double spaced with minimum 12 point font (500-600 words). 

You may also submit a letter of reference from a teacher, administrator, staff member or community mentor who is familiar with the supplementary information provided in your personal statement. 

Applicants must be actively engaged in activities to improve the lives of others, within their school or in the larger world, and should demonstrate one or more of the following:

• Academic excellence, especially in the face of personal, family or financial adversities
• Imagination to innovate and stamina to succeed in your innovations 
• Helped to improve the quality of life of others throughout their education

The McEwen Family Awards and Scholarships are meant to encourage students to be critical, creative, and compassionate thinkers, and provide financial support for the first step in a lifetime of learning.

Dr. JIM McEWEN INNOVATION AWARD

AMOUNT: $5,000 

DESCRIPTION: Given to a JO student who has exhibited an exceptionally innovative accomplishment, talent, skill or ability, well beyond any expectations and requirements of courses taken by the student. The emphasis is on innovation related to engineering, technology, or science that may have a foreseeable benefit to others, but in unusual circumstances could occasionally extend to exceptional creativity demonstrated in the arts.

In your personal statement, please address some, or all, of the following criteria questions pertinent to your specific situation:

- What have you accomplished that is exceptionally innovative in an area of engineering, science, applied science or technology, beyond what was required for your courses?

- What motivated you? 

- How was it innovative? 

- What did you learn? 

- How could you see your innovation eventually being of benefit to others?

- Is there a teacher or mentor outside the school, who is most familiar with your innovation?

McEWEN FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP

AMOUNT: $5,000

DESCRIPTION: The successful applicant:

• demonstrates financial need for post-secondary education.
• has achieved an average of 80% in Term 1 and Term 2 in courses taken at JO during the regular school year (with the exception of Community Service, Work Experience, and Career Prep).
• has clearly demonstrated a commitment to volunteer activities in the school and/or outside community, particularly in self-initiated activities and in leadership capacities.
• is planning to enroll in at least 80% or more of a full course load (usually 4 out of 5 courses per semester or its equivalence) leading to a degree at an accredited college or university in an undergraduate program of your choice.
• is a Canadian citizen, has Permanent Residence status in Canada, or is a Landed Immigrant.

In your personal statement, please address some, or all, of the following criteria questions pertinent to your specific situation: 

- How their financial situation is a serious handicap for enrolling in postsecondary education.

- Their post -secondary education goals.

- Summary of achievements and activities that demonstrate

- Commitment to volunteer activities in the school and outside community, especially in self- initiated activities and in leadership capacities. Include only those activities where there have been ongoing volunteer hours for at least one year. 

- Included should be a short reflection of the impact of the volunteer work on themselves, how meaningful the work is, what has been learned from their volunteerism and why they chose to contribute to those volunteer activities.

This award also requires a reference letter from an individual familiar with the volunteer contributions.

Distribution of award: To receive this award, the student must be enrolled in a minimum of four full time courses at an accredited college or university (verification required). The award must be claimed in two of the following three terms after graduation from high school.

PRINCIPAL’S AWARD

AMOUNT: $5,000

DESCRIPTION: This special award is not based on scholastic standing, but rather is intended to be awarded to the student who has:

• demonstrated the greatest improvement at JO
• overcome significant personal obstacles in graduating, and/or
• achieved something remarkable inside or outside the school that is richly deserving of recognition, and that might not otherwise be recognized.

In a personal statement, please address some, or all, of the following criteria questions:

- Have you achieved something remarkable at school or outside the school, in the face of significant obstacles or problems, that is deserving of recognition and yet

that may not be known within the school.

 Or 

 - Have you had to deal with a significant problem or obstacle in your personal life, health or family situation that may have affected your performance in school.

- What success have you had in overcoming any obstacles or problems, leading to your graduation?

WALTER GAGE PAY IT FORWARD SCHOLARSHIP

AMOUNT: $5,000

DESCRIPTION: This Scholarship honours Walter Gage, a graduate of John Oliver Secondary School in 1918. He grew up at 5871 Argyle Street in South Vancouver and was a student at nearby Tecumseh Elementary School. As the child of recent immigrants to Canada, Walter Gage benefitted from the efforts of dedicated teachers at these public schools, got an excellent education, and became the first in his family to go to university. He went on to become a professor of mathematics, a master teacher, the ‘dean of everything’ at UBC for many years, a Companion of the Order of Canada, and the much-loved president of UBC during a crucial period. He was an unforgettable and positive influence for thousands of students at UBC. He had an uncanny ability to recognize students who needed help to overcome adversities they faced, and he generously and selflessly provided that help and encouragement to students for over 50 years, at just the right time and in just the right way. Most of those students went on to achieve their potential, and to contribute their best to their families, professions, communities, and society. Those students were his family and his legacy.

Jim McEwen was lucky to be one of Walter Gage’s students. Jim also began his education at Tecumseh Elementary School and was fortunate to have Walter Gage as his math professor. He was profoundly impressed by his professor’s ability to brilliantly simplify seemingly complex topics and was even more deeply influenced by seeing his professor’s constant efforts to do what he could to help students and others succeed. Jim was one of those fortunate students, receiving an unexpected series of scholarships and bursaries from Walter Gage when he was dean of student affairs, enabling Jim to overcome financial obstacles and successfully complete his BASc and PhD degrees at UBC. In fact, Walter Gage presented Jim with his diploma upon graduation, and continued to be his role model for years, presiding over the UBC Senate when Jim served as student Senator, and paving the way for Jim to become an Officer of the Order of Canada, thanks in part to lessons learned from Walter Gage.

With this Scholarship, the McEwen family seeks to recognize the John Oliver graduate who best exemplifies Walter Gage’s best qualities: achievement of educational excellence, sustained efforts to recognize others in need, and to help them overcome obstacles and achieve their potential in life; and a selfless determination to always try to find new ways to help make the world a better place. 

The McEwen family asks all applicants for this Scholarship to become familiar with the exemplary life of an earlier John Oliver graduate. The McEwen family also asks each recipient of this Scholarship to consider what Walter Gage asked of his students: If this Scholarship helps you succeed, and if your circumstances permit in the future, please consider finding a way that you can ‘pay it forward’ by helping other students in the future.

The successful applicant:

• Will have demonstrated an understanding of the concept of “paying it forward” through self-initiated personal initiative that significantly assist one or more individuals to overcome obstacles which may limit success, either within the school or elsewhere in the community;
• Submits a reference letter from an individual familiar with the nature and extent of the assistance provided by the applicant;
• Demonstrates financial need for post-secondary education;
• Has achieved an average of at least 80% in Term 1 and 2 in courses taken at J.O. during the regular school year (excluding Community Service, Work Experience, and Career Prep);
• Is planning to enroll in at least 80% or more of a full course load (usually 4 out of 5 courses per semester or its equivalent) leading to a degree at an accredited college or university in an undergraduate program of their choice;
• Is a Canadian citizen, has Permanent Residence status in Canada, or is a Landed Immigrant;

Submits a letter (2-page maximum, word processed, double-spaced) that describes

• The nature and extent of the self-initiated assistance provided by the applicant in helping others succeed;
• How the applicant’s financial situation is a serious handicap for enrolling in post-secondary education; and
• The applicant’s post-secondary goals

OPPORTUNITY AWARD (Potential for Future Achievement)

AMOUNT: $2,000

DESCRIPTION: This award targets the student who is recognized by staff as having greater potential for future success than is evident in academic marks. The student may face challenges in the home, financial, emotional, and/or learning areas. Staff will have observed the student in one or more of the following areas:

• consistent hard work on assignments that may not translate into marks
• passion and/or effort in a subject area
• participation and effort in class work
• involvement in the life of the school
• marks improvement in some particular area of learning during the high school experience
• has knowledge of a particular challenge or challenges faced by the student

 In the applicant’s personal statement, some or all of the following criteria questions pertinent to their specific situation should be addressed:

- Have they achieved something remarkable at school or outside the school, in the face of significant obstacles or problems, that is deserving of recognition and yet that may not be known within the school?

- Have they had to deal with a significant problem or obstacle in their personal life, health or family situation that may have affected performance in school?

- What success have they had in overcoming any obstacles or problems, leading to graduation?

Students who have difficulties with written expression may request an interview with the scholarship committee or prepare a multimedia presentation in lieu of a written personal statement.

McEWEN FAMILY AWARDS

AMOUNT: up to 4 awards at $2,000 each

DESCRIPTION: These awards are provided to graduating students, based on a combination of: 

• academic achievement
• nature and level of contributions within the school and in the larger community, and
• an evaluation by the Scholarship Committee of other factors based on the information provided in the applicant’s Personal Statement.

In the applicant’s personal statement, some, or all, of the following criteria questions pertinent to their specific situation should be addressed:

- Regarding involvement in school activities and in activities in the larger community, what do they regard as their major accomplishments?

- What motivated them to become involved? 

- How long has the involvement been? 

- What has been personally learned? 

- How have they personally benefited from their involvement?

 Or

 - Have they had to take on unusual responsibilities within their family while going to school that may have limited their ability to participate in school activities or to be involved with community activities and services? For example, have they had to spend time to help care for one or more family members, or have they had to work part-time to help support themselves or their family? Please explain, being as specific as possible.