David Nguyen knows what it’s like to worry about paying for university.

The fourth-year biomedical science student from Niagara Falls remembers the pressure to find funding for his medical school dreams. It started in Grade 11 when he kept track of all the scholarships and bursaries he was applying for on a giant whiteboard in his bedroom. Using post-it notes to stay organized, he tracked the deadlines of 50-60 funding opportunities.

“As a kid, the focus was food on the table,” he says. “Without scholarships I wouldn’t have been able to go to university.”

Growing up the youngest of three children to war refugees from Vietnam, Nguyen knew there wasn’t enough money for tuition.

He’d have to make his way on brains and drive.

“My parents came to this country because they wanted to give their children a better life,” the 21 year old says. “Growing up, education was everything.”
Nguyen earned 10 scholarships and bursaries including the highest academic scholarship – the Brock Leaders Citizenship Society Award.

Now he, along with the other members of the Brock Leaders Citizenship Society (BLCS), has found a way to give back.

They hope to raise $15,000 through the Denim, Diamonds and Diplomas fundraiser Feb. 20 at Club Roma. The money raised will be used to create a bursary for DSBN Academy students.

Next year, the six-year-old Niagara school will graduate its inaugural class of students who will be the first in their families to attend post-secondary education.

“These students are incredibly motivated and passionate about academics. As students who have received scholarships, BLCS students understand the impact of financial aid in post-secondary education,” says lead organizer Olivia Hubert, a nursing student at Brock. “We want to help break down the barriers to these students pursuing higher education.”

Hubert has spent a lot of time volunteering with the DSBN Academy students through the Go Girls program, which is part of Big Brothers Big Sisters.

“By mentoring this group of students, I have seen the challenges that some of these students face,” she says. “I have seen their incredible resilience and I know that these students can achieve anything they put their mind towards. I don’t want these students to miss out on the opportunity to follow their dreams and achieve incredible things.”

She says the community has rallied around the cause and she’s hopeful the event will become an annual fundraiser.

Olivia Hubert

Cindy Paskey executive director of the Education Foundation of Niagara, also hopes to see the fundraiser become an annual event as the bursary will continue.

“This bursary fund is intended to help with start-up costs associated with transitioning to post-secondary education,” she says.

Primarily it will help with the cost of books and technology.

“This event is the catalyst to get if off the ground,” Paskey says. “We are so pleased to be working with Brock students on this.”

Nguyen says Paskey approached him after reading a profile about him in the paper that said he hoped to become a doctor and use some of his earnings to create a scholarship to help students like him.

She said he didn’t have to wait to help.

“You need money and education to break the cycle of poverty,” Nguyen says. “I grew up very supported by the community and I’m ready to give back.”

The event:

Denim and diamonds theme – wear jeans (Canadian tuxedo) and jewelry

Three-course prime rib dinner with pairings

Silent auction

Live music from Under the Influence

Draw for a $2,500 diamond necklace

Tickets are $65

Feb. 20

Doors open at 6 p.m.

Club Roma, St. Catharines