Education and Early Childhood Development
December 5, 2016
The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Dale Kirby, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development:
Provincial Government Recognizes Rhodes Scholars
Mr. Speaker, today I rise in this Honourable House to recognize two individuals who have demonstrated a strong propensity to emerge as 'leaders for the world's future' and as a result, have been recently named to the Rhodes Scholars-elect class of 2017.
Neria Aylward of St. John's and Maike van Niekerk of Corner Brook are two of the 95 scholars from around the world selected to commence studies at the University of Oxford in October 2017.
Mr. Speaker, Ms. Aylward completed her undergraduate degree as a Blyth Scholar at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge. Her third-year dissertation studied Inuit political activism in response to the international seal hunt controversy, and for this dissertation she undertook fieldwork in Iqaluit, Nunavut. Ms. Aylward also has a keen interest in international diplomacy, having interned in the Humanitarian Mediation Programme at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva, Switzerland. She is a graduate of Holy Heart High School in St. John's.
Ms. van Niekerk is a Schulich Leadership Scholar currently studying oncology-focused nursing at Dalhousie University. She has earned a perfect academic average, while conducting research exploring the relationship between historical traumas, psychological distress, and cancer diagnoses among Indigenous peoples in Canada. Ms. van Niekerk was recently named one of Canada's Top 20 Under 20 for her charitable program, Katrin's Karepackage, which raises money to help offset travel costs for cancer patients living in rural communities. She graduated as class president and valedictorian from Corner Brook Regional High School with a 99 per cent average in 2013.
The Rhodes Scholarship is a life-changing opportunity for exceptional young people with the potential to make a difference for good in the world. I ask all Honourable members to join me in congratulating Ms. Neria Aylward and Ms. Maike van Niekerk on becoming the Rhodes Scholar-elects for the 2017 class. We wish these outstanding all-round students every success in their studies at Oxford and all their future endeavours.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
2016 12 05 1:50 p.m.