A HELPING HAND

HIGHER EDUCATION IS A PRIVILEGE not afforded to everyone. For many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, it is a lofty, even unobtainable, goal. But generous donors, such as the Basil Dobbin Family Foundation Inc., are giving the gift of education to first year students who have faced financial need as well as personal hardship.

Destiny Lush – one of the inaugural recipients of the Basil Dobbin Family Foundation Inc. Bursary – now has an incredible opportunity ahead of her.

CRITICAL TIMING

Ms. Lush is no stranger to determination and perseverance. Born in Ontario, she moved to St. John’s, N.L., at just six months of age and was raised mostly by her grandmother. In elementary school, Ms. Lush was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. She worked hard to graduate with honours from Holy Heart High School last year.

Ms. Lush believed that she had funding for university until she finished Grade 11 and learned that circumstances had changed and that this was not the case. The Basil Dobbin Family Foundation therefore came at a critical time for her, and she was more than thrilled to receive the news.

“The email came in and I told my grandmother and she started to cry. I told her she was going to make me cry too,” said Ms. Lush. “Without this bursary, not only would I be financially strained, but with my personal situation, I truly don’t believe I would be able to attend Memorial. I don’t know how to express how much it means to me without sounding totally cliché.”

She is pursuing an international bachelor of arts with the goal to be the first university graduate in her family and to inspire her siblings to follow her path and make education their priority. Her career aspirations are to teach English in Korea with the option to return to Newfoundland and Labrador to teach, as well.

A GENEROUS DONATION

The Basil Dobbin Family Foundation Inc. established The Basil Dobbin Family Foundation Inc. Bursary Endowment with a generous donation of $1,175,000, allowing these bursaries to be awarded in perpetuity. This foundation is committed to supporting education for young people in Newfoundland and Labrador. The bursary is awarded to students in their final year of high school in N.L. who have demonstrated both critical financial need and perseverance in the face of challenges. The bursary is renewable for up to three years and is intended to fund full tuition, mandatory fees and supplies. The program includes not only the bursaries, but also provides funding for academic supports to help ensure student success.

“Education, and particularly a Memorial University education, is an incredible asset. We are aware that not everyone has the same access to support, so our family foundation wanted to do something about that,” said Dr. Jill Dobbin. “It was important for us to give to young students for their first year of university both financially, and with academic supports, to put them on the path to success. An investment in education will not only benefit these young minds, but also benefit Newfoundland and Labrador and our collective future.”

‘I WON’T LET THEM DOWN’

This bursary has done more than provide financial stability for Ms. Lush, it has inspired her to push forward in an incredibly difficult year.

“It’s honestly like a script in a movie,” exclaimed Ms. Lush. “I graduated high school in the midst of a global pandemic, I began my first year of university online – my computer crashed, and there have been health issues within my family. What more could happen? But this bursary has done more than ease my financial strain. It has given me a reason not to give up. If things got worse with our medical issues, I could see wanting to give up, but the Dobbin Foundation picked me and I won’t let them down.”