Each year, LifeLabs selects the dependent children of employees to help fund their post-secondary education. For 2019, scholarships were awarded across Canada based on grades and examples of leadership, extracurricular activities, volunteering, and employment. An additional scholarship was provided from the insurance provider, The Co-operators; an organization that, like LifeLabs, has a long history of giving back to the community and gladly supports this great initiative.
This year’s recipients include Aatman Shah, Ashley Pablo, Celeste Alaimo, Justin Mendes, Katharine Girguis, Nimra Bhatti, Ashlyn Goundar, Jaya Uppal, Navnit Bhanghar, Sidharth Omana, and Tyra Chu.
Each of these students demonstrated their commitment and determination in their journey towards post-secondary education.
“Over 83 applications were submitted from across the country,” said Trin Pettingill, the Director of Total Rewards at LifeLabs. “I am thrilled to be able to celebrate these amazing students who have worked incredibly hard over the years. Each student selected exemplified LifeLabs’ values of caring, teamwork, and agility.”
To further acknowledge academic success in 2019, an additional award was provided to a student from the Vancouver Career College (VCC) who has recently gone on to become a fulltime employee at LifeLabs.
“The LifeLabs VCC student scholarship is meant to encourage and support students in their journey to academic and career success,” says Ghazaleh Aminoltejari, Talent Acquisition Specialist. “Our recipient was an exceptional student and continues to showcase exemplary skills and leadership in her current role as Lab Assistant in a busy and high-volume patient service centre in Burnaby, BC.”
Congratulations to all of our recipients, we wish them continued success in their future studies.
Meet the 2019 LifeLabs Family Scholarship recipients
Aatman Shah is an active member of the Model UN Committee in his school as well as co-president of the Sanatan Mandir Cultural Centre Youth Committee. Aatman plans on attending the University of Waterloo to pursue a Computer Science and Business double degree.
Ashley Pablo worked hard throughout high school tutoring students and running events to expose and engage others in the STEM field. Ashley plans on attending the University of Waterloo and majoring in Biomedical Science.
Ashlyn Kumar has extensive volunteer experience (including travelling to Tanzania) and raised an impressive $10,000 over four years for the BC Children’s Hospital. Ashlyn plans on attending Douglas College to major in Nursing.
Celeste Alaimo had a busy high school career with a mix of leadership programs, activities, and mentoring fellow students. Outside of school, Celeste has been a gymnast for almost 10 years and has attended 4 competitions per year. Celeste plans to pursue a medical science degree at Western University.
Jaya Uppal dreams of becoming an elementary school teacher and spends a lot of time helping her younger cousins with their schoolwork along and volunteering with organizations supporting mental health. Jaya plans to attend Simon Fraser University and major in English.
Justin Mendes is the co-founder and executive planner/promoter for ‘Partake in the Break,’ a project for the homeless that fundraises and engages the community on the local issue. Justin plans to major in Electrical Engineering at the University of Waterloo.
Katharine Girguis was heavily involved in student council and is also self-employed as a French, math, and science tutor. Katherine plans to major in communications and Juris Doctor (law) at the University of Ottawa.
Navnit Bhaghar competed in several athletic programs including gymnastics, rugby, soccer, and volleyball and volunteers at several community organizations, including Because I am a Girl. Navnit plans to pursue an engineering degree at the University of British Columbia.
Nimra Shakeel has had a strong mixture of volunteer experience at various health care facilities and has spent many years on various associations and clubs in her community. Nimra plans to major in Life Sciences at McMaster University.
Sidharth Sudhir regularly participates in the North Surrey School Robotics Club and was the lead programmer, accountable for developing control code for the 2019 Robotics competition. Not surprisingly, Sidharth plans to major in Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo.
Tyra Chu has been very busy throughout high school in between working in retail she has coordinated tournaments, managed a volleyball team, coached, and completed her certification in lifesaving. Tyra plans to major in Kinesiology at the University of British Columbia.