麻豆传媒

Skip to main content

Entrance scholarship allowed non-status Indigenous student to achieve childhood dream

A woman wearing peach-coloured scrubs and a red stethoscope stands in front of a garden

笔辞蝉迟别诲:听December 4, 2023

By: Emily MacKinnon

Karleigh Webb is in her second year of veterinary technology at 麻豆传媒鈥檚 Agricultural Campus and says she would not have been able to start her studies without financial assistance from 麻豆传媒 donors

When she was growing up, everyone knew聽Karleigh Webb聽would end up in the field of veterinary medicine. 鈥淢y family and teachers knew very early on,鈥 she says. Webb and her mother attended an open house at the then-NSAC when Webb was in elementary school, and she says her mind was made up then and there.

Webb, who grew up in Brookfield, N.S., credits her involvement in the local 4-H club for giving her the skills and confidence to pursue a veterinary technology degree. (The organization focuses on teaching young people hands-on skills, such as gardening, livestock care and other trades.) 鈥淢ost of the skills I have today are a result of my 4-H career,鈥 she says. 鈥4-H has allowed me to surround myself with animals and has had one of the biggest impacts on my life to date.鈥

A woman wearing peach-coloured scrubs and a red stethoscope walks through a garden Photo by Nick Pearce

Choosing 麻豆传媒

It made sense, then, that when it came time to choose post-secondary programs Webb picked an animal-centric one at 麻豆传媒鈥檚 Agricultural Campus. But there was a hurdle 鈥 Webb鈥檚 student loan application didn鈥檛 clear on time. As a non-status Indigenous person, Webb was not entitled to community or government support. Her retail wage couldn鈥檛 cover the costs of tuition.聽

She was ready to postpone her studies, facing the reality of not starting university with the rest of her graduating class, when she got the news 鈥 she had been awarded an entrance scholarship. 鈥淒onor funding really can be the deciding factor on whether an individual student is able to further their education or not,鈥 Webb says. 鈥淓specially students fresh out of high school.鈥澛

Access to education for Indigenous students

Webb has been reconnecting with her Indigenous heritage since age 15. She says it鈥檚 been tough to be accepted and she has faced stigma and racism because of her search for identity and belonging. 鈥淢y biggest struggle as a non-status Indigenous person is the fact that my ethnicity will always be up for debate,鈥 she explains.聽

There鈥檚 a misconception, Webb says, that all Indigenous people, status or not, receive free rides to university educations. 鈥淎s a non-status individual, I have no access to community funding,鈥 Webb says. 鈥淪cholarships were my only hope.鈥澛

Any supplies Webb needed to begin her studies, such as a laptop and textbooks, came out of her personal savings. It left very little for tuition.聽

A woman wearing peach-coloured scrubs and a red stethoscope seated on a bench. Karleigh Webb (Photo by Nick Pearce)

The impact of giving

Having her first year of tuition covered allowed Webb to focus. 鈥淒onor funding allowed me to live without added financial stress and I am thankful for that because academic stress was at an all-time high,鈥 she says. 鈥淔inancial stress is simply an added pressure university students do not need, especially with the rising cost of necessities, such as food and housing, in our current economy.鈥

Thanks to donor support, Webb is already planning her next move. 鈥淎fter university, I plan to work in Truro for a few years before relocating to a western province to work as a livestock veterinary technician,鈥 she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where my true passion lies.鈥 Maybe she will return to school eventually and become a veterinarian.聽

Without donors, Webb says she would not have had the opportunity to attend university in the first place. 鈥淵ou really are changing lives for the better,鈥 she says of those who funded her scholarship. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e giving young people the chance to work towards a dream many of us have had since we were small children.鈥澛