Summer is a time for students, staff and families to take a break, reflect and recharge after a busy school year. Over the last few weeks, we’ve celebrating many outstanding achievements by students and staff throughout the Vancouver School District. From scholarship winners to award, and recognitions – many have gone above and beyond this past school year! Today, we highlight two recipients awarded VSB’s $2,500 Teacher Recognition Scholarship:

Eva Jiang, Grade 12 student from David Thompson Secondary, was one of two recipients from this year’s Teacher Recognition Scholarship. Entering secondary school, Jiang felt shy and nervous and so she joined the New Faces Leaders program. There, she met Mrs. Winnie Monk, a physical education teacher at David Thompson. With Ms. Monk’s help, Jiang grew in confidence and became a leader herself.

“For a timid student, an encouraging teacher makes all the difference,” Jiang says. “She was just a very wonderful teacher. She made learning about leadership very valuable and rewarding and something that I did want to learn…She’s genuinely a very great person and that’s why I wanted to write my scholarship about her.”

Jiang is honoured to receive this year’s Teacher Recognition Scholarship. In the fall, she will attend UBC to study computer science. She encourages everyone to try to achieve their goals even if they think the chances are low.

Another recipient from this year’s Teacher Recognition Scholarship is Katie Evans, Grade 12 graduate from Point Grey Secondary. Evans attended different schools and tried different programs, but most of them did not feel like a great fit for her. That changed in Grade 7 when she met Mme. Amanda Wardrop in the late French immersion program at General Gordon Elementary. Starting the year, Evans felt like she was struggling but, with Mme. Wardrop’s help and influence, she felt bright and glowing with excitement by its end.

“To me what the scholarship was, was an appreciation of a teacher who really made an impact on my life, and sort of helped me discover the way that I like to learn and make that learning fun,” Evans says. “I haven’t talked to her much since, but the things that I learned in her class and the things that I did really inspired me.”

With Mme. Wardrop’s encouragement, Evans began to pursue theatre and creative writing, eventually participating in poetry slams and being published in journals. She is attending Reed College in Portland, Oregon, in the fall to join its first-year humanities program.

Congratulations to this year’s VSB Teacher Recognition Scholarship winners Eva Jiang and Katie Evans! We wish you the very best as you continue with your education journeys.

Since 2018, in appreciation of the commitment and expertise of teachers, the District awards two student scholarships in honour of the positive impacts teachers have on students. The scholarships provide students with $2,500 to support their ongoing educational pursuits.