A pair of recent Oak Bay High grads were the recipients of Oak Bay Rotary’s annual scholarships.
Oak Bay Rotary awarded Ariel Schellenberger the 2019 Sno’uyutth Legacy scholarship, designated for an Oak Bay High grad of First Nations, Inuit or Metis descent who demonstrates academic achievement and an interest in helping others.
“This scholarship is so beyond helpful,” said Schellenberger, who is set to study first year sciences at the University of Victoria next month. “For me, every single penny counts to put towards school and every organization that puts money aside for students like me is highly appreciated. I can’t thank Oak Bay Rotary enough for selecting me as a recipient.”
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Schellenberger, who is a descendant of ‘Namgis Nation (Alert Bay) on her mom’s side, is a full-time camp counsellor at the Victoria Native Friendship Center this summer. This week counsellors took 11 Indigenous youth aged 12 to 18 to Salt Spring for a three-night, four-day trip.
“My name is Namgamalitsage, which means bear going around in Kwak’wala,” Schellenberger said.
An accomplished soccer player, Schellenberger was also part of the Oak Bay team that finished second in the Island AAA final. She will continue her soccer career playing Div. 1 with Gorge FC for the second straight year, having started as a 17-year-old.
Oak Bay High grad and soon-to-be parliamentary page Leah Smith was the other recipient. Oak Bay Rotary selected Smith for the 2019 Oak Bay Rotary scholarship. Smith has been heavily involved with community efforts such as Pink Shirt Day at Oak Bay High and instigated the holiday toy drive in 2015 which has since collected thousands of toys for the Stan Hagen Centre.
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