Young Scholar – A Non-Profit Organization Every Canadian Student Should Know About

Young Scholar was founded by Sherry Wong in 2014. This inspiring young leader graduated high school with over $130,000 in scholarship offers. Determined to help others, she started writing articles on how to successfully apply for scholarships and post-secondary institutions. Sherry and the team at Young Scholar have established a free community resource run by students and for students.

Why Should Every Canadian Student Know About this Organization?

Young Scholar is a non-profit organization helping students transition into post-secondary education. The Young Scholar Team is spread out across various Canadian universities and colleges promoting the organization’s initiatives as well as setting up events to help other students along their paths.

An obstacle many students tackle while attending university and college is finding a way to subsidize their education and living expenses- what a great opportunity to learn from students who have successfully received scholarships and are willing to provide tips and tricks on how everyone can obtain them! In addition to providing tips and advice, they also have their own in house scholarship programs for students to apply for and are an excellent resource for students looking for mental health support.

Transitioning into post-secondary education, just like transitioning into a career afterwards, can be a very stressful situation. Both ReRouting and Young Scholar understand this and want to help students through these often stressful times.

Project Noise is a great initiative Young Scholar has developed to help students manage obstacles they face. More specifically, Project Noise is about “coping with mental health related crises among the student community” by aiming to “stimulate conversation by publishing raw accounts of students through their journeys with mental health”.

From portfolio building and offering an in-house scholarship, to academics and mental health, Young Scholar is a great resource for students (high school and post-secondary) and parents.

An Interview with Erika Deutchmann – Digital Marketing Strategist at Young Scholar

We Recently caught up with Erika to learn more about Young Scholar’s resources and initiatives. Keep reading through this question and answer series to see what we learned from her!

Where can students search for scholarships?

For those in Canada, there are various methods students can find scholarship and award opportunities. Firstly, our monthly Young Scholar newsletter is a great way to stay up to date about not only scholarships, but other interesting opportunities as well (think hackathons, pitch competitions, and internship programs). There are also websites such as Yconic and ScholarshipsCanada that allow students to sort through a large database full of scholarship and contest opportunities. Aside from online research, students can also ask their guidance counsellor for more information on awards, as well as local community organizations.

What are some quick tips that Young Scholar can provide to students looking to ace scholarship applications?

There’s no set formula for obtaining scholarships, but there are some general tips and guidelines that students can follow. Young Scholar was initially founded to be a resource for scholarship tips. Although we have expanded to tips on a variety of topics (academics, scholarships, internships/jobs, extracurriculars, and mental health), we still have a dedicated Tips & Advice section that students can read up on.

Here are some articles that would be useful for students:

• Top 5 Mistakes When Applying for Scholarships 
• The Do’s and Don’ts of Getting the Best Reference Letter
• How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay 

Can you tell me the mental health initiatives that Young Scholar has established?

Young Scholar has started “Project Noise” with the aim of tackling stigma against mental health among students. The “Noise” in “Project Noise” have two underlying meanings: firstly the unpleasant and biased opinions of mental health, secondly the act of creating a noise for raising mental health awareness.

Our articles submitted by the columnists and guest writers detail the students’ realistic experiences of mental health and corresponding advice, then help to create such awareness, debunk mental health stereotypes, and break the barriers.

What are some words of advice that you can provide to students struggling mental health issues?

Talk it out: Talk to your friends and family, your academic adviser, or your therapist – develop a network of people that you trust and whom you can share your feelings and thoughts with

Work it out: It’s no brainer than physical exercise is good for you (endorphins!) but it’s just as important to do mental exercise such as meditation to give your wind up brain a break!

Let it out: Acknowledge that your emotions are real and normal so you are confronting your feelings and channeling it out in a healthy manner, rather than bottling it up.

Every part of your experiences is a part of your journey to self-awareness, as I’d like to quote from Robert Frost: “The best way out is always through.”

Interested in Finding Out More?

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