Charlottetown Grade 10 student Billy Knockwood receives CIBC Youthvision® Scholarship valued at up to $36,000
Scholarship includes tuition, paid summer internships at YMCA and mentoring to help Knockwood reach his full potential
CHARLOTTETOWN, June 9, 2010¾ CIBC (CM:TSX: NYSE) is pleased to announce that Billy Knockwood of Colonel Gray High School is among the 30 Grade 10 students from across Canada receiving the 2010 CIBC Youthvision® Scholarship awards, the only scholarship program in Canada awarded to Grade 10 students.
The CIBC Youthvision Scholarship, delivered through CIBC’s unique partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada and YMCA Canada, combines post-secondary tuition, paid summer internships at the YMCA and mentoring support to help youth reach their full potential. This year’s crop of winners brings the total number of scholarships awarded to Grade 10 students across Canada to 360, representing a multi-year commitment by CIBC of more than $10 million for this program.
“I can’t believe it! I won the scholarship,” said Knockwood on receiving the news. “This can change my life. Now I can reach out to my dream - to be an engineer and help others. My family and I are very thankful for this opportunity.”
Knockwood met the main eligibility requirement of being enrolled in a mentoring program with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada or the YMCA. He is a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of PEI.
"In the nearly eight years that I have known Billy, he has grown into an outstanding young man," said David Pedlar, Knockwood's Big Brother. "His is intelligent and does very well in school. He has a gentle and affable personality, and for this reason he is well liked at school, in his extracurricular activities, by his friends and at his part-time job at Wendy’s. He is thoughtful, generous and civic minded. He shows leadership qualities at Air Cadets and at school where he decided to participate in High School student council.
“This CIBC Youthvision Scholarship is changing Billy's life! It will help him overcome obstacles and achieve his dream of becoming an engineer."
Knockwood will receive six summer internships through the YMCA that begin right after Grade 10, valued at up to $20,000; and tuition for four years at the Canadian university or college of his choice, valued at up to $16,000. He also will receive ongoing mentoring until he graduates from his post-secondary education.
“The CIBC Youthvision Scholarship Program is unique in that it targets young people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to pursue a university or college education and supports them in completing both their high school and post-secondary studies,” said Kim Baudouin, Director, Higher Education Scholarships, Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). “As administrator of the program, AUCC is proud to partner with CIBC, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada and the YMCA to reach out to high school students through this program.”
“It is inspiring to see how deserving young people like Billy are and how hard they work towards their goals,” said Sylvain Vinet, CIBC’s Senior Vice-President of Retail Markets for Eastern Canada. “The CIBC Youthvision Scholarship is added encouragement for Billy to realize his academic dreams and his full potential.”
Liam LaTouche received his CIBC Youthvision Scholarship in 2001 and graduated in 2007 from the University of Western Ontario with an Honours Bachelor of Science Specialization in Kinesiology. “The CIBC Youthvision Scholarship opened so many doors for me,” he said. “It gave me the chance to grow as a person and along the career path I always dreamed of. I knew I wanted to go to university to get where I wanted to be, but I didn’t have the means to go. I would have had a ton of debt from student loans. Getting the scholarship was so overwhelming. It gave me the chance to leave home and tailor my career path towards sports medicine by studying at Western, which has propelled me in my field.”
CIBC is committed to supporting causes that matter to our clients, employees and our communities. We aim to make a difference in communities through corporate donations, sponsorships and the volunteer spirit of employees. With a strategic focus on youth, education and health, and employee commitment to causes including the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure, the CIBC Children’s Foundation and United Way, we are investing in the social and economic development of communities across the country. In 2009, $26.8 million was contributed through the CIBC group of companies to charitable and non-profit initiatives in Canada, supporting a wide variety of national, regional and local organizations. To learn more, visit www.communitymatters.cibc.com.