{"id":37671,"date":"2016-02-12T12:20:02","date_gmt":"2016-02-12T16:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=37671"},"modified":"2016-02-12T15:57:06","modified_gmt":"2016-02-12T19:57:06","slug":"students-holding-fundraiser-for-dsbn-academy-bursary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2016\/02\/students-holding-fundraiser-for-dsbn-academy-bursary\/","title":{"rendered":"Students holding fundraiser for DSBN Academy bursary"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Nguyen knows what it\u2019s like to worry about paying for university.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a kid, the focus was food on the table,\u201d he says. \u201cWithout scholarships I wouldn\u2019t have been able to go to university.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing up the youngest of three children to war refugees from Vietnam, Nguyen knew there wasn\u2019t enough money for tuition.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d have to make his way on brains and drive.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents came to this country because they wanted to give their children a better life,\u201d the 21 year old says. \u201cGrowing up, education was everything.\u201d
\nNguyen earned 10 scholarships and bursaries including the highest academic scholarship \u2013 the Brock Leaders Citizenship Society Award.<\/p>\n

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

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

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese 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,\u201d says lead organizer Olivia Hubert, a nursing student at Brock. \u201cWe want to help break down the barriers to these students pursuing higher education.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

“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.”<\/span><\/p>\n

She says the community has rallied around the cause and she\u2019s hopeful the event will become an annual fundraiser.<\/p>\n

\"Olivia

Olivia Hubert<\/p><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bursary fund is intended to help with start-up costs associated with transitioning to post-secondary education,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Primarily it will help with the cost of books and technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event is the catalyst to get if off the ground,\u201d Paskey says. \u201cWe are so pleased to be working with Brock students on this.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

She said he didn\u2019t have to wait to help.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need money and education to break the cycle of poverty,\u201d Nguyen says. \u201cI grew up very supported by the community and I\u2019m ready to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event:<\/span><\/p>\n

Denim and diamonds theme – wear jeans (Canadian tuxedo) and jewelry<\/p>\n

Three-course prime rib dinner with pairings<\/p>\n

Silent auction<\/p>\n

Live music from Under the Influence<\/p>\n

Draw for a $2,500 diamond necklace<\/p>\n

Tickets are $65<\/p>\n

Feb. 20<\/p>\n

Doors open at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n

Club Roma, St. Catharines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":37672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3319,1,4],"tags":[308,2961,3824],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37671"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37671"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37681,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37671\/revisions\/37681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}