When Nga Nguien decided to come to Canada to pursue an MA in Applied Linguistics/Teaching English as a Second Language, her only focus was on working hard and being successful on her continuing academic journey.

What she didn’t realize was that her academic journey had already been quite a success — so much so that she received three Brock University entrance awards to support her as she completed her degree.

Nguien received the Provost’s Brock University International Bursary, the Edgar and Irmgard Penner Scholarship, and the Dr. Jack Lightstone and Dr. Dorothy Markiewicz Entrance Scholarship

“It was very unexpected to receive those awards,” says Nguien, known to her friends as Kin.

The funding will help support her as she completes her MA research, which will draw on recent computer software to examine how closely language used in ESL business texts reflects the language actually used in business.

The professors are very qualified, as well as knowledgeable. Learning from them is such a pleasure.

“Kin is an excellent student who is eager to familiarize herself with recent research in Second Language Acquisition and English language pedagogy,” says Hedy McGarrell, the graduate program director of the MA in Applied Linguistics. “In addition to being an excellent student, Kin is a joy to work with — she is a great role model for international students.”

Nguien was born in Ukraine, but was sent to Vietnam to study between the ages of 5 and 8. She went on to study Philology and Translation at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University in Ukraine.

After completing her undergraduate degree, she worked as an interpreter and as a teacher. In teaching, she found her passion, and decided to increase her qualifications by pursuing a graduate degree.

Brock’s MA program in Applied Linguistics/TESL has proven to be the right fit.

“The professors are very qualified, as well as knowledgeable. Learning from them is such a pleasure,” says Nguien, reflecting on her experience at Brock so far this year. “I also love my cohort. We are very close with each other, and we help each other a lot.”

Supporting graduate students financially is a priority at Brock. Each year, the Faculty of Graduate Studies offers approximately 96 internal donor awards/scholarships for entering and continuing graduate students. Thanks to the generosity of Brock donors, the Faculty is able to provide valuable internal financial support toward the success of approximately 122 graduate students each year, helping them to fully dedicate themselves to their research and scholarship.

The FGS will officially celebrate the award and scholarship success of its graduate students, and thank donors, during an annual reception held in May.

For information about the FGS internal donor internal awards/scholarships go to: https://brocku.ca/graduate-studies/current-students/financial-resources/internal-awards/list