Friday, September 23, 2011

Leader-Post: Help for U of R business students

by Lisa Goudy

The announcement of new scholarships has opened the doors for some University of Regina business students to invest in their future.

The Sylvia Aumuller Awards Fund, a newly created scholarship program, was revealed recently at theUof R. Threeundergraduate PaulJ. HillSchoolof Businessstudents will be selected annually to receive $5,000 each.

"This is an extremely generous award," said Morina Rennie, the acting dean of the Faculty of Business Administration. "It is a significant scholarship for our students and it is going to be a huge help to the students that win these awards to be able to pursue their studies in the Faculty of Business Administration."

Rennie said there are 1,600 undergraduate students enrolled in the Paul J. Hill School this year.

"I think that what it will do is help the students, help some of our students pursue their dreams and I can't think of anything better than that," she said.

The fund was created by a donation of $275,000 by Sylvia Aumuller, a former Regina resident and financial accountant with Alex Marion Restaurants who passed away in June 2009.

Sylvia Aumuller's nephew, Ken Karwandy, said that his aunt achieved her degree through correspondence while working full-time.

"She loved her work. But she had to work hard to get to where she was and recognized how tough it was for students who might have to do the same, so that's why this scholarship came about," said Karwandy.

"She wanted to help students who might be academically able to do things but not have the funds to do it or students that might have economic challenges to achieve what she did."

He said he hopes the scholarships will be able to aid students.

"We're happy for Sylvia because it was her bequest," he said. "It was her legacy and we've been able to make that happen through working with the university."

Uof RPresidentVianneTimmons couldn't agree more.

"I'm just thrilled that (the) community sees the university as a place to invest in," said Timmons. "They are investing in the future when they invest in scholarships for students so I think it is truly a lasting legacy they leave."

She also said she hopes this announcement will encourage others in the community to view the U of R as a "worthwhile investment," she said. With the enrolment at the Uof Rcloseto13,000students, Timmons said scholarships are more important than ever.

"It's a real challenge to keep up our scholarship funds with the numbers we have, so it's a real need for us to invest in scholarships for students," she said.

"I just think she (Sylvia) was an amazing woman and left such a wonderful legacy to the University of Regina and many other organizations."

The deadline for applications is Oct. 15. Eligibility requirements for the scholarships can be found online at www.uregina.ca/awards/scholarships.



Sylvia Aumuller Awards Fund Requirements

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