The Marian Dewitt Bursary was one among seven bursaries awarded to ISSofBC clients at the Annual General Meeting held September 20. Marian, a former Board member and a supporter of ISSofBC for over 30 years who passed away early this September, was remembered fondly at the AGM.
“Even in her 90s she was still coming to meetings,” said Board Treasurer Nicolas Lozovsky, another long-term ISSofBC volunteer. “My memory of her is that she was extremely strong and committed,” he recalled of Marian who served several terms as Board president.
This year’s recipient of the Marian Dewitt bursary was Omar Alsultany, a former physician from Iraq, who will apply the bursary funds to an IELTS exam training course to prepare for studies in the health care field.
Other bursaries awarded were:
- De Jager Volkenant & Company Barristers and Solicitors – to Tracy Yang
- Michael Danchuck – to Claire Yogawin
- Arbutus Financial Services Ltd. – to Ali Baradaran
- Ramakka Pendakur – to Sonam Chozom
- Pietro Widmer & Renée Van Halm – to Amineh Babakipour
- Jim Siemens – to Fatima Haidari
AGM guest speakers were two former ISSofBC clients: Hassan Edlbi (view speech) originally from Syria and Negar Hadjiha (view speech) originally from Iran. Both spoke about their experiences as newcomers to Canada.
Bursary recipients are immigrant and refugee clients with goals of completing their education at accredited institutions in Metro Vancouver.
Congratulations to all bursary awardees!
