Four Surrey students receive $40,000 scholarships from Cmolik Foundation
Surrey Schools is proud to announce four students in the district are each receiving $40,000 scholarships from the Cmolik Foundation for their post-secondary education.
Students from Guildford Park, L.A. Matheson and North Surrey secondary schools are the latest scholarship winners, recognized for their academic achievements, work ethic, philanthropy and ability to overcome adversity. These are their stories:
Charlize Abban, Guildford Park Secondary
Charlize Abban is no stranger to Cmolik - she had her first brush with the foundation through attending its summer camps in Grades 5, 6 and 7 - but scholarships didn't cross her mind until this past school year.
An aspiring psychiatrist, Abban said her goal in life is to help kids succeed, with her interest rooted in her upbringing as a child of divorce.
"I've never had a stable home life, my parents separated when I was younger," she said, noting she matured faster as a result. "I found that my sister and I were always caught in the middle and I had to take on a responsibility role."
Though she thought her interview with the scholarship judges was brief, Abban was pleasantly surprised to hear of her win just six hours later, while attending a family dinner.
"I got the call in another room, I was pacing back and forth because I was super nervous, and once she said I got accepted, I started jumping up and down in the hall," she said.
The scholarship will allow Abban to start her first semester at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, then transfer to SFU to study behavioural neuroscience for her bachelor's degree, followed by medical school.
Chelsea Michalik, Guildford Park Secondary
She almost didn't apply for the Cmolik scholarship, but a last-minute paragraph written in less than 45 minutes earned Chelsea Michalik $40,000.
The hardworking and resilient Grade 12 student has maintained a 4.0 GPA with a science-heavy course load while working two part-time jobs, volunteering with the YMCA and tutoring others. Her passion for helping children and the homeless stems from her family's experiences with a relative's addiction and its effects, instilling a deep sense of compassion and empathy for others.
"You don't really know what's going on with everyone else," she said. "That was one of the reasons I was involved with other things. I wanted to distract myself while helping other people in all the ways I could. If I was suffering, I didn't want others to suffer too."
Michalik called the scholarship "a weight off my shoulders" as she looks toward starting her Bachelor of Science at UBC in the fall, with further plans to attend medical school to become a pediatrician, pairing her interest in science with her love for helping kids.
"My mom was a nurse, and when I was a kid, she'd say, 'Maybe you should be a nurse,' and I used to say, 'Maybe I'll be a doctor instead,'" said Michalik. "Little did I know it would actually be coming true."
Mekdim Dereje, North Surrey Secondary
The pandemic has impacted many of our students, including Mekdim Dereje and his family.
While he was born in Vancouver and spent his early childhood in B.C., Dereje moved to Ethiopia with his family for his father's job opportunity, eventually returning to Canada in 2017 to seek better higher education opportunities. His parents became business owners, but it wasn't long before COVID-19 started and brought financial hardship to businesses across Canada.
"My parents own a small business and it's their main source of income, and when COVID-19 hit, it was just starting up," he said. "It was their first year when COVID-19 hit and sales went down super fast."
With two other siblings to think about as well, Dereje understood that post-secondary would be difficult for his family to afford for all three of them, so he put a lot of focus and energy into preparing his Cmolik scholarship submission and rehearsed sharing his story in the interview.
It clearly paid off.
"When I got the call, I was shocked - I didn't expect it," he said. "I thanked them profusely, it took a whole five minutes to let it out and tell them how grateful I was.
"The pandemic caused a lot of financial strain, but this scholarship is really going to help relieve that stress."
Dereje has been accepted to SFU, his first choice, and is pursuing a software systems degree in the field of computer science.
Sarah Sohail, L.A. Matheson Secondary
Between her classes, volunteer work and looking after her siblings, it's astounding how Sarah Sohail finds the time for everything.
The Grade 12 student has a passion for community, serving as student council president and on L.A. Matheson's Spirit Committee, mentoring teens through the district's Next 100 Years program and Big Brothers, tutoring peers and students at Kumon, and volunteering with the Salvation Army and as a youth advisor with the Surrey RCMP.
She's managed to do all of this while maintaining an A average in school and taking care of her siblings while her parents were worked long hours. Growing up in a smaller home, she shared a room with her two younger siblings and started filling her mom's shoes.
Needless to say, this scholarship is nothing short of life-changing for her.
"If I wanted to attend post-secondary, I knew I needed this scholarship," said Sohail. "It was just so overwhelming to hear that, wow, I did it. I called my dad at work and he shouted with excitement - he said, 'I think my whole office heard me.'"
Sohail is set to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing at UBC or BCIT, and will start taking prerequisite courses at Langara College this fall. And, as a mentor herself, she's really looking forward to the mentorship component of the Cmolik Foundation.
"I'm so excited to work with the Cmolik Foundation," she said. "Since I've done mentorship, it's nice to have someone to talk to and look up to and discuss our plans."
