News Article

Kennedy wins Fairfax Scholarship


11/20/2001 9:16:40 AM


Betty Ann Kennedy was named the winner of the Fairfax Scholarship

November 20, 2001 – Betty Ann Kennedy, a tourism studies student at College of the North Atlantic, is one of only 24 college students across Canada to be awarded with the Fairfax Scholarship valued at $3,500.

The native of Conception Harbour, who is studying at the college’s Bay St. George campus, was the college’s sole nominee for the award.

“I found out I had won the scholarship from my mom,” she says. “The notice went to my home address, so she was the first to know. She called me right away to tell me the good news. It was lucky she caught me, I was on my way to class.”

Betty Ann says she was surprised to hear she had been chosen to represent College of the North Atlantic in the competition.

“I applied for it last year and over the summer I was told that I had been chosen as the college’s nominee for the scholarship,” she says. “This was a surprise and I was very pleased and excited about that. I couldn’t keep my mind on anything else that day.”

Each Association of Canadian Community Colleges member institution can only nominate one student for the Fairfax Scholarship. Just getting to be the sole nominee for a college the size of College of the North Atlantic is a huge achievement. The college has thousands of students spread out over 18 campuses in five districts. Betty Ann was chosen to represent District 2, which covers Corner Brook, St. Anthony, Bay St. George and Port aux Basques. From there her nomination, along with one from each other district, went to the provincial awards team and she was selected to represent the college.

Betty Ann’s accumulative average at the end of her first year of Tourism Studies was over 80 per cent, giving her a grade point average of 3.71.

“Betty Ann is one of the top students in the second year of the Tourism Studies program,” says Donna Pippy, one of her instructors.

“She possesses outstanding interpersonal, customer service, and leadership skills. She is a very mature student with a positive attitude and sets high personal standards that have resulted in academic excellence and professional success. She is a very hard working individual with many admirable qualities that will be an asset to her as she pursues a career in the tourism industry.”

According to Pippy, in typical Betty Ann style, she was very modest about her win and didn’t announce it to her fellow students.

“I am delighted for Betty Ann,” she says. “She is a very determined student and one who is most deserving of this award.”

Student Development Officer Sandra Lewis concurs.

“I think Betty Ann’s winning of this award is excellent,” says Lewis, one of the people who helped prepare Betty Ann’s nomination package. “This is a very big national award. It’s the third time the college has submitted a nomination and we finally won.”

If Lewis sounds excited, it’s because she is. Apparently, she was just as excited as Betty Ann when she heard the news.

“Sandra played a very big part in my winning this scholarship,” says Betty Ann. “I’d like to thank her for helping me in all the written and application procedures.”

Betty Ann says winning this scholarship has given her lots of motivation and confidence going into her second year of studies. And the $3,500 doesn’t hurt either.

“The class is planning a trip to Halifax in November and now, because of this scholarship, I can go and I won’t have to ask my parents for the money,” she says.

After Betty Ann earns her diploma in Tourism Studies, she says she may go on to university in New Brunswick to earn a degree in tourism.

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For more information contact:

Stephen Lee
Communications Officer
College of the North Atlantic
(709) 643-7928