By Fallon Bourgeois

Growing up in the small community of Sheffield Mills, in the Annapolis Valley, Emma Viner’s mother always told her and her siblings that school was their job, and one day, it would pay off.

For Emma that was affirmed when she found out she was the recipient of one of Dalhousie’s most coveted entrance awards: the Forsyth Family Nova Scotia Undergraduate Scholarship.

“I was at home one morning, getting ready for a job interview, and decided to check my Dal account to see if there was any news about a scholarship,” says Emma, who is now in her first year of the Medical Sciences Program.

“As soon as I logged in I saw that I had received $20,000. I was happy because it meant $5,000 a year, which I knew would definitely help with tuition.”

A surreal surprise

What Emma didn’t realize was that the scholarship was $20,000 annually. It wasn’t until she came home and found her mother at the table reading the letter that she finally realized what she had been awarded.

“It felt surreal,” says Emma. “The scholarship lifted a huge financial burden from me and my family. Before I even started university I knew it would change the way I could approach my undergraduate education.”

Emma, who has always excelled in school and been actively involved in leadership roles and extracurricular activities, says her first few months at Dal have been an adjustment from high school.

“Dal’s Medical Sciences Program attracted me to the university,” she says. “The classes are more intense than what I studied in high school, but my scholarship keeps me focused and motivated.”

With the first semester of classes under her belt, she’s considering working towards pharmacy or physiotherapy, but she’s open to exploring other opportunities as well… especially if it means a career caring for people.

“Being helpful is something that’s just always been engrained in me, so I’d love to make that my career someday.”

Home-grown work ethic

It’s clear that Emma is a driven, motivated first-year student. And she says a lot of that comes from her family.

“It has always mattered what others think of me – good or bad – but when it comes to academics, it pushes me to do the best I can. My siblings have both worked hard and have successful careers. My parents have always worked hard, too. Their work ethic is inspiring to me.”

And now with the support of her scholarship, it’s one more thing that drives Emma to do her best.

“This scholarship is making a huge difference in my education,” she says. “It’s hard to convey how much this means to me; it has definitely changed my life.”