July 30, 1998
(Education)

Back to School keeps 13 Newfoundland students in school

Roger Grimes, Newfoundland and Labrador Minister of Education, and Domenic Pilla, general manager of Petro-Canada Eastern Region, are proud to announce that 13 Petro-Canada attendants from Newfoundland have been awarded Back to School bursaries this year.

Thanks to the partnership with the Newfoundland and Labrador government, Back to School will be awarding $10,000 in bursaries across the province this year.

Mr. Grimes stressed the importance of post-secondary education: "I am pleased that our partnership with Back to School has worked so well to date for young people in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is important that we encourage our youth to pursue a post-secondary education and the involvement of the private sector brings added weight to the message as well as additional financial resources."

BACK TO SCHOOL

Petro-Canada's social vision places a strong emphasis on enhancing the quality of education opportunities available to Canadians on a national basis. The Back to School bursary program is designed to encourage Petro-Canada site attendants across Canada to further their education.

Mr. Pilla emphasized the corporation's commitment to the program: "With the rise in tuition fees, it has become important for private companies to play a role in education, governments cannot do it all. Most of our service attendants combine studies and work and we feel it is to our benefit to support their efforts with these bursaries."

Back to School is an innovative and unique partnership between governments and private enterprise, including the provincial Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Lewer Insurance Agency, Core-Mark, Karrys, Econogros, TRA and for the second year, Pepsi Cola Beverages.

Of the 17 applicants this year, 13 are winners (11 gas attendants and 2 wholesales employees) in Newfoundland. We also attributed four double bursary for the best scores in each region of Canada. One of the 13 winners in Newfoundland, Corey W. Slaney from Dunville, is a double bursary winner for Eastern region. Slaney expressed the feelings of Petro-Canada site attendants across Canada: "For many years, Petro-Canada has stressed the need for further education and retraining when it comes to Canada's youth. Through bursaries and training programs, Petro-Canada encourages the youth of tomorrow to develop skills and expertise to compete in the global market. Thus, I feel quite confident that I have the support of Petro-Canada to continue my education and the pursuit of my goals."

Contact:

Helene Tomlinson
Back to School
1-800-561-6074

Carl Cooper
Department of Education
(709)729-0048

1998 07 30              11:10 a.m.