Vivian Hui, a third-year University of Toronto Engineering Science student from Markham, Ontario, has won the 2011 Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation (CEMF) Undergraduate Scholarship – Ontario Region in a strong field of competitors.
Hui will join four other undergraduate engineering students, from the regions of British Columbia, Prairies, Quebec and Atlantic, as the newest ambassadors and role models for women in engineering across Canada in 2011.
The CEMF awards five $5,000 scholarships annually to the most promising women in an accredited undergraduate engineering program in Canada. The award recognizes leadership and extracurricular activities. All the recipients are actively involved in their communities, volunteer many hours to helping others and are strong role models for the engineering profession. Competition was fierce this year, with many outstanding applicants.
Hui – who is enrolled in Engineering Science with a chosen major in infrastructure – is a co-chair of the U of T club Eyes of Hope. The club fundraises for charities such as World Vision Canada, Free the Children and Habitat for Humanity, for which it has so far raised over $30,000 to build a home. It also engages in projects such as the Umbrella Painting Initiative, which engages homeless youth in creative activity during weekly suppertime drop-ins at Toronto’s Knox Presbyterian Church.
“Vivian is a devoted volunteer, exceptional future engineer and ambassador for the profession who is richly deserving of this prestigious scholarship,” said Cristina Amon, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “I am delighted that she is being recognized by the CEMF for her many leadership contributions to the community.”
The winners “are joining the ranks of over 100 other remarkable women who have received a CEMF scholarship, and who, collectively, represent the very best the engineering profession has to offer,” said Huntley O’Connor, P.Eng., CEMF President. “We are confident each will go on to successful careers as professional engineers.”
The awards will be presented at the CEMF annual awards luncheon being held in Halifax next month.
Since 1990, the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation has promoted engineering as a career choice for young Canadian women through its extensive scholarship program, a website that attracts thousands of new visitors a month, social media programming, and via the scholarship winner presentations to high-school students.
