Donation adds mentorship support to post-secondary schooling

Mount Royal University in Calgary has recently announced a $1.25 million donation from BMO Financial Group to fund scholarships, bursaries and a peer mentorship program for Aboriginal students over the next seven years.

Mike Darling, regional vice-president, commercial banking for South Alberta with BMO, is impressed with Mount Royal University’s dedication to make the Aboriginal students comfortable on the busy campus.

“They are helping them to embrace the college and their cultural dreams at the same time,” he said. “The partnership that BMO has with Mount Royal is one of a kind, specifically directed to Aboriginal students, and it’s certainly the first of its kind where scholarships would be available for mentorships which guide newcomers through the process as they come from smaller areas outside of Calgary and come to the city.”

Currently, about 3.5 per cent of Mount Royal’s students identify themselves as Aboriginal and the university recognizes that the number is far short of the seven per cent of Aboriginal people in the provincial population. The strategy is to provide a welcoming and helpful atmosphere for their university experience and to attract and retain the students.

While BMO donates the funds, the university will decide who receives the 20 bursaries and scholarships. BMO’s funding will be used to help students meet tuition and other university costs.
“We have lots of worthy requests for financial gifts and this particular one from Mount Royal meets with our goals of supporting the communities in which we work and live, and in our own corporate values around education, lifelong learning and youth,” said Darling.

Chad Haggerty is a mature student who is a perfect candidate for a mentorship scholarship. The self-described Métis man from northern Alberta recognizes the cultural impact of moving away from a small home community.  As a youth, he attempted to obtain a degree but wasn’t prepared for the culture shock he experienced, and barely made it through his first year of studies before deciding to search for work instead. After a successful career as an RCMP officer, however, he made the decision 22 years later to return to school and get his long sought-after law degree. He is currently in his third year of criminal justice bachelor of arts program.

The university’s student services, which include the academic support of Iniskim Centre, made the difference on Haggerty’s second attempt, and he received the friendship and encouragement he needed. He also began to recognize that he was becoming a role model and big brother figure for the young students who were attending and reached out to the youth to help them.

“Chad would be a great ambassador for the program. The students will gather some great inspiration and information,” Darling said. “We look forward to the financial gift being of benefit to the economics of the province in the future and we would love to attract more Aboriginal students to BMO.”