Stettler’s Keirsten Docherty is among the 18 Albertans who will receive a $5,000 scholarship through the Horatio Alger Association of Canada this spring.
Docherty, a Grade 12 student at William E. Hay Composite High School, will receive the award through the Horatio Alger Jim Pattison Alberta Scholarship Program.
“I was really excited . . . I almost didn’t believe it,” she told the Independent last week, noting that she wasn’t sure how she would rank against the other applicants.
Docherty, 17, is active with the Heartland Youth Centre in Stettler, serving as president of the Keystone Club for teens aged 14 to 18, and also as an organizer for some of their programs for younger children.
She is also part of the national youth council for Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, and is helping to organize the Fusion National Youth Forum, running from May 6 to 10 at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.
At school, Docherty co-founded the book club, serves on the fine arts board, and is part of the creative writing club and the school trivia team. She also takes classes through the Cabinet of Curiosities art shop on Stettler’s main street.
Docherty said she has applied to several schools, including the University of Alberta in Edmonton; Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C.; and Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.
She hopes to major in cultural anthropology, saying she would like to use that knowledge to help people in other areas of the world. She also has an interest in history and art.
Docherty said she would encourage other students to apply for scholarships, bursaries and awards, adding that she found it worthwhile.
“You don’t know who else is applying,” she said, explaining that with the cost of higher education, winning a financial award could “change your life.”
She expressed her appreciation to the association for the award. Docherty said she applied for the scholarship in October and learned of her win in January.
According to a press release issued by the association, the awards were presented to students in Alberta with “a critical financial need and have demonstrated integrity and perseverance in overcoming adversity, as well as strength of character, a good academic record, a commitment to pursue higher education, and a desire to contribute to society.
Businessman and philanthropist Jim Pattison, for whom the awards are named, congratulated the “incredible group of scholars” winning this year’s awards.
“These young people have worked hard and persevered through difficulty,” he said. “It is a privilege to be associated with these outstanding young Canadians.”
The association received nearly 3,500 applications across four provinces for the scholarship programs last year.
The recipients had average high school grades of 87 per cent, 86 per cent were involved in community service and 61 per cent worked during the school year.
For more information on the Horatio Alger Association of Canada, visit www.horatioalger.ca.