3 minute read
with young adults Scholarships
hand in hand with young adults
Opposite right: Jennifer still lives with the long-term effects of a brain tumour she had nine years ago, but she’s not letting it stop her. She’s entertaining dreams of becoming a pastry chef with the help of a KCCFA scholarship. She samples one of the many delectable delights at Manuel Latruwe Bakery.
Sweet dreams
Jennifer was a nine-year- old tomboy, riding bikes and climbing monkey bars with the neighbourhood kids, when she was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour. It changed her life forever.
Radiation treatments left Jennifer with hearing and learning impediments and she had to relearn how to walk and talk. After years of physiotherapy, Jennifer still has slight problems with balance and, at 17, she was finally able to ride a two-wheel bike again. “It took a while,” she says in her characteristically understated way, “but I did it.”
But it’s the cognitive damage Jennifer sustained during radiation treatment that probably looms largest in her life. Her recovery period was long and complicated, so she missed a lot of school, putting her behind a grade. But with determination and hard work, Jennifer managed to catch up. Today, she is studying Hospitality Management at SAIT with plans of becoming a professional pastry chef.
“I’ve always enjoyed making something others can enjoy,” she says. “And I’ve always enjoyed baking more than cooking. To me, dessert has always been more of an event or celebration than a meal.”
KCCFA is helping Jennifer make these sweet dreams reality through a $1,000 scholarship. Last spring, she was one of 24 young people to receive a scholarship. The first scholarship for cancer survivors in Alberta, it is designed to help individuals like Jennifer get a leg up in life through post-secondary education.
“Finally, there was something I had a chance of achieving,” Jennifer says. “I was so pleasantly surprised by this generosity I couldn’t even talk.”
Jennifer isn’t one to dwell on the particulars of her cancer experience. Nor is she one to complain: “I get along fine,” she says. “My brain just processes things a bit slower now. It gets all the messages, but it’s like they get interrupted, so it takes a bit longer for them to get in and out.”
Although at first glance Jennifer may seem a bit reserved, she isn’t at all. Far from it. This young woman has undeniable grit and grace.
A leg up in life
In 2008/09, KCCFA awarded $24,000 in scholarships, helping 24 cancer survivors pursue their dreams through education. Need
Cancer and its harsh treatments can have lasting effects on growing minds and bodies, resulting in missed school and missed opportunities for young people. In Alberta alone, there are more than 1,800 young people living with the long-term effects of cancer today. Lifelong disabilities may include: • short stature • unsteady gait • blindness • deafness • motor impairments • cognitive difficulties • infertility • psychosocial, neurological and endocrine disorders.
Impact
In 2008/09, KCCFA established the KCCFA Derek Wandzura Memorial Scholarship and helped 24 young people like Jennifer take that all-important step into adulthood.
Note: In our fall 2008 newsletter, we reported that 26 cancer survivors received a scholarship of $1,000 each; however, two of the candidates relapsed and were unable to use their scholarships. Their bursaries will be held in trust until they are able to use them.
