2023 Scholarship

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2022 Scholarship Recipients

$1500 Scholarship Recipient - Maeve Gatt

The experiences and accomplishments from joining Girl Guides at a young age inspired Maeve to get involved in her community. It also motivated her to become a junior leader so she could provide a safe space for girls to explore activites that they might not otherwise be a part of. Throughout the years, Maeve has assembled toiletries and winter gear for those in need, collected hygiene products for homeless shelters, donated items to the Windsor Essex Humane Society, and created and presented ways to implement environmentally-friendly living. Maeve has contributed to her school community through Peer Helpers—assisting in transitioning grade 8 students to grade 9, and tutoring younger peers. On Student Parliament she served as Secretary, and was the Entertainment Coordinator for Relay for Life. Her large leadership role in the Gender & Sexuality Alliance allowed her to run meetings and spearhead awareness and inclusivity initiatives. Maeve holds several positions with the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, an organization that is dedicated to service and support of charitable organizations in the community. Her greatest role model is her mom, stating, “Her modelling of kindness and caring for others has built the same desire in me to make my community a better place.”

$2500 Scholarship Recipient - Noah Hage

Noah’s love for fashion, art, the beauty of nature, and design has been a driving force in his life from a young age. While he was unable to participate in many in-school activities due to his cancer diagnosis in his freshman year of high school, and the pandemic, he remained committed to giving back to the community.
Using his talent and passion, Noah was actively involved in various volunteer and extracurricular activities. He has participated in Performance and Entertainment Art Shows, he spent 40 hours sewing intricate cotton, lycra, wool, satin, and velvet hats for newborn babies. He also sewed scrunchies to raise funds for the Windsor Cancer Society, an organization that provided him with significant support during his treatment and remission.
Noah’s proudest accomplishment is his charity work for St. Jude’s Hospital where he raised $2,000,000! Using his love for fashion, he spent 150 hours conceptualizing, organizing, and developing an original digital design for a Roblox Charity Event for St. Jude's. His design sold over 200,000 times, raising $2,000,000 for the hospital.
Continuing this great achievement, Noah has signed a contract with Roblox to continue doing charity work. His aim is to set even bigger goals each year, using his creativity and passion for fashion to help those in need. He has already made significant strides to follow his dreams by establishing his own fashion label, NÖA.

$1000 Vats Memorial Scholarship Recipient - Madison Beltran

The Vats Memorial Scholarship was created in honour of our grandmother. She was strong, compassionate, independent, and most of all full of love. This scholarship is awarded to those who wear their heart on their sleeve and have lived their life giving back to others. Madison’s humanitarianism began at the young age of five when she felt compelled to helping those who did not have a place to live. She would donate her birthday money and sell hand-made crafts to raise money for the Downtown Mission and StreetHelp. Throughout the years, Madison has volunteered over 1100 community service hours. She has served at her church, assisted the Legion, volunteered with veterans at the Windsor Historical Society, and participated in many extracurricular activities. As a HOBY ambassador, Madison has helped to empower young people from across Canada to be change-makers and stand up for what they believe in. She is currently the chairperson of a local youth advisory council where she chairs meetings, participates and helps organize retreats, and promotes ideas to assist youth with developing their faith. Madison also assists our youth as a piano teacher, a tutor, and a sailing instructor. She volunteers in the labs of Dr. John Trant at the University of Windsor, and has a co-op placement in a pharmacy to help better her understanding of the medical field as she works towards becoming a paediatrician.
Her former high school principal states, “Madison is readily recognized as a person of integrity. She champions causes of equity, inclusion, and social justice.”

$5000 Scholarship Recipient - Giulia Congi

Spending four years on student council, Giulia has organized many school-wide initiatives, including anti-bullying campaigns, class food drive competitions, the Giving Tree, and fundraisers with community agencies for Epilepsy, Heart & Stroke Foundation, and the Cancer Society. She also initiated the first-ever student-driven thrift store which encouraged students to recycle their clothing by donating and raising funds for a local cancer-based charity.
As an assistant teacher at her dance studio, Giulia prides herself on empowering and motivating young students to improve as dancers and as individuals.
With over 400 community service hours, Giulia thrives on giving back to the community and inspiring her peers to do the same. She has spent the last nine years volunteering with Autism Ontario and advocating for those who experience the lack of justice for individuals with autism, including her brother. During the pandemic, Giulia researched and designed, and created sensory kits for individuals with autism to help them cope with COVID-19. These kits acted as a stress reliever to stimulate the individual’s nerves while serving as a distraction for their internal struggles. They also assisted parents and siblings who may have been struggling to find resources during this time.
Witnessing the lack of psychiatric support that her brother, and others, have endured, has motivated Giulia to enroll in the Neuroscience program at the University of Windsor and pursue a career as a psychiatrist.
Giulia’s teacher describes her as, “the first person to laugh at herself and show her genuine sense of humour and this makes everyone feel comfortable around her. She is Gentle in demeanour and thoughtful in her actions and how she cares about others.”

VATS MEMORIAL
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR

2023 BE A GEM SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS