Queen’s University recognized a special group of students on Wednesday as it hosted the annual reception for major admission award recipients.

At the event in Wallace Hall, a pair of upper-year students offered their advice and personal insights for life at Queen’s and beyond.

Kyle MacNeil, a fourth-year student at the School of Computing, from Upper Rawdon, NS, says that if it wasn’t for the Chancellor’s Scholarship, he wouldn’t be at Queen’s. However, he added that the benefits of the award were more than financial. He also found a community. 

“All the other people who received Chancellor’s Scholarships – we created a group on Facebook – that helped when I first came to Queen’s because I automatically connected with this group of people,” he says. “One of them is my best friend now and the fellow recipients have helped each other over the years.” 

Emily Heffernan is a third-year electrical engineering student from Alliston, Ont., and a recipient of the Chernoff Family Award. She spoke about the challenges of university life – expected and unexpected – and urged her fellow recipients to remain flexible and resilient.

“My biggest advice is to find something that you are really interested in,” she says. “Don’t worry if you think it’s the ‘right’ thing to do or what you are ‘supposed’ to do be doing, but just find something you are passionate about and I find that everything falls into place.”

Currently, there are 245 entering and in-course award recipients at Queen’s from across the country, and across all faculties and departments.  

The selection process at Queen’s is rigorous, with more than 200 faculty, including members of the Retirees Association at Queen’s, volunteering to evaluate the nearly 1,200 submissions.  

“Major Admission Award recipients are engaged in their communities, and demonstrate outstanding leadership abilities, creativity, initiative, and academic excellence,” says Ann Tierney, Vice-Provost and Dean of Student Affairs, who emceed the event. “They continue a high level of engagement and academic success throughout their time here at Queen’s, and we are proud to recognize their accomplishments.”

The awards are generously supported by numerous donors. Many donors want to give back this way because they, too, received some form of support, recognition and encouragement when they were students. Their generosity has a significant impact within the Queen's community and the recipients of their awards. 

The 2016-17 Major Admission Award application is now open for students applying to Queen's for the 2016-17 academic year. The deadline to apply is Dec. 1, 2015. Visit the Student Awards website for further information about Queen’s Admission Awards.