Media

NEADS Announces Recipients of the 2018 NEADS National Student Awards and AMI Scholarship Programs!

(Ottawa, December 12, 2018) – The National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS), and our generous funding partners: Industrial Alliance Financial Group and private donors, are excited to announce the three outstanding winners of the 2018 NEADS Students Awards Program, including the NEADS Holly Bartlett Memorial Award and the NEADS Christine Nieder Memorial Award in support of the recipients post-secondary tuition and student fees. The academic programs of the recipients listed below represent the programs of study in progress at the time of application. We are also thrilled to announce recipients of the AMI Robert Pearson Memorial Scholarship Program. AMI previously announced the winners of its 2018 AMI Robert Pearson Memorial Scholarship program on November 26th, 2018. NEADS manages the AMI Scholarships in a partnership with AMI.

NEADS Student Awards Recipient ($3,000)

Jessica Romeo, Specialized Honours Visual Arts, York University

NEADS Holly Bartlett Memorial Award Recipient ($1,000)

Morgan Lawrence, Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba
 
NEADS Christine Nieder Memorial Award Recipient ($1,000)

Megan Linton, International and Development Studies, University of Winnipeg

Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) Recipients ($5,000)
 
Laura Lefevre, Masters of Arts Candidate, Interdisciplinary Studies, Royal Roads University (English)

Elisanne Pellerin, Political Science, Université du Québec à Montréal (French)

"A huge congratulations to this year’s award recipients,” says Lauren Gravis, Director of the NEADS Student Awards Program. "We received over 400 applications for the 2018 program. The high amount of outstanding applications made choosing the recipients very difficult. The recipients are no doubt exemplary in what it means to address barriers and self-advocate for themselves in a way that is really transformative for themselves and others. This is paired with the strong commitment to make a difference in their respective universities and communities. We are proud of their astonishing accomplishments and hope these awards will make a significant impact in advancing their academic and career goals”
 
"Being a disabled student, not only am I expected to maintain my workload, I am also required to advocate for my rights, access to education, proper medical care, and dismantling ableism on campus,” says Megan. “This award will help me continue to work towards my goals of making policy that centres the experiences of disabled and mentally ill folks. I hope to use this award to continue my educational pursuits, and advocating for a future that is accessible for everyone."

“I am extremely grateful to be a recipient of the Holly Barlett Award,” says Morgan. “As the recipient of this award I am able to continue studies with my focus on legal reform and developments in the field of criminal law”.

Jessica Romeo says: "I would like to start off by saying that I am very thankful and honoured to have been a recipient of the 2018 NEADS Student Awards. This award will help me tremendously towards the cost of my tuition so I can focus on my academic success and expand my professional knowledge in the artistic field."

“Congratulations to our 2018 scholarship winners! I am very excited that our association can aid students in being successful in their academic pursuits. And I’m proud that we’ve provided over $280,000 in awards to more than 100 deserving disabled students across Canada in the 12 years since we launched the NEADS Student Awards programs," says Roxana Jahani Aval, Chair of NEADS.

About the NEADS Student Awards:
 
The NEADS National Student Awards Program is offered to encourage full access to post-secondary education for persons with disabilities, who often have greater barriers to participation in higher education, as well as extra costs because of their disabilities. Students must currently be registered in and continuing at post-secondary institution and provide documented proof of registration as part of the application and on receipt of the award. The award is offered to outstanding applicants who meet the criteria of the program. The awards are paid directly to the post-secondary institution (in the students’ accounts) that the recipients are attending to defray the cost of tuition fees for post-secondary study.

About the NEADS Holly Bartlett Memorial Award:
 
The Holly Bartlett Memorial Award was established by the NEADS board of directors after the passing of Holly in 2010. Holly Bartlett served on the NEADS Board of Directors as the association’s Nova Scotia Director for a number of years. Holly's accomplishments, in a life that was way too short, were phenomenal. The Holly Bartlett Memorial Award is a tribute to Holly. The scholarship assists students with disabilities realize success in post-secondary education. This is the eighth year for the Award in Holly's memory.
 
About the Christine Nieder Memorial Award:
 
The Christine Nieder Memorial Award was established in 2015 to commemorate the life and contributions of Ms. Christine Nieder, NEADS Board member, who passed away in July 2014. The award will be offered to a graduate student with a disability in the amount of $1,000 in recognition of Christine’s passionate work to address barriers faced to participation in graduate programs of study.
 
About the AMI Scholarship Program:
 
Information and eligibility requirements for the 2019 AMI Scholarship program will be posted on the AMI websites later this month. Visit www.AMI.ca/scholarship  and www.AMItele.ca/bourses  for complete details.
 
About Accessible Media (AMI) Inc.
 
AMI is a not-for-profit media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians who are blind or partially sighted. Operating three broadcast services, AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French, AMI’s vision is to establish and support a voice for Canadians with disabilities, representing their interests, concerns and values through accessible media, reflection and portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

For more information, please contact: Janis Davidson Pressick, Communications Manager 800-567-6755 ext. 0971, janis.davidsonpressick@ami.ca
Look for an announcement of intake of applications for all NEADS Awards Programs and the AMI Robert Pearson Memorial Scholarship early in 2019 on the NEADS website: www.neads.ca
 
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For further information contact:
 
Frank Smith, National Coordinator National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) Rm. 514 Unicentre, Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6 tel. (613) 380-8065 ext. 201 frank.smith@neads.ca www.neads.ca
"Supporting access to post-secondary education and employment for students with disabilities"