Aug 4: Vancity Student Awards Academic Excellence

Vancouver, August 4, 2000 - Vancity Student Awards Recognize Academic Excellence

Vancouver - Each year, Vancity offers financial awards to deserving students in British Columbia to help them achieve their educational goals, and 2000 is no exception.

This year, Vancity awarded 35 scholarships recognizing outstanding academic achievement and student involvement in their communities: the $2,000 Vancity Stan Parsons Memorial Scholarship (one award); the $500 Vancity Student Awards (30 awards); and, the $500 Vancity Teacher Savings Division Bursaries (4 awards).

Vancity Student Awards are presented each year to deserving students who are Vancity members, or who have a Vancity member in their immediate family. The awards recognize young people who have balanced academic achievement with a demonstrated commitment to the social and environmental well-being of their schools and communities. The year 2000 recipients of Vancity Student Awards (including their school and hometowns) are:

• Anna Hung, Gladstone secondary school,Vancouver
• Catherine Bisaro, Kitsilano secondary school, Vancouver
• David Puterman, Lord Byng secondary school, Vancouver
• Diana Lo, Vancouver Technical secondary school, Vancouver
• Emily Chow, Eric Hamber secondary school, Vancouver
• Erin Pui-Wen Shum, Gladstone secondary school, Vancouver
• Jennifer Bustard, Kitsilano secondary school, Vancouver
• Sylvia Tan, Eric Hamber secondary school, Vancouver
• Amy Judd, Garibaldi secondary school, Maple Ridge
• Lisa Mullin, Pitt Meadows secondary school, Pitt Meadows
• Ashley Allen, Mountain secondary school, Langley
• Colin McAlpine, Sardis secondary school, Chilliwack
• Megan Towler, Sardis secondary school, Chilliwack
• Philomena Michelle Hodson, Sardis secondary school, Chilliwack
• Julien Traverse, Meadowridge school, Abbotsford
• Audrey Budylin, King George secondary, Coquitlam
• Colin Hardin, Gleneagle secondary school, Coquitlam
• Joel Doonan, Pacific Academy, Coquitlam
• Melanie Tam, Centennial secondary school, Port Moody
• Chinazor Agbasi, Burnaby North secondary school, Burnaby
• Hitesh Patel, Moscrop secondary school, Burnaby
• Raiveer Kaur Hundal, Alpha secondary school, Burnaby
• Vishal Anand, Moscrop secondary school, Burnaby
• Christina Anne Wilmer, Grand Forks secondary school, Grand Forks
• Claire Louise Fowkes, Correlieu secondary school, Quesnel
• Elaine Leong, Argyle secondary school, North Vancouver
• Karla Mukai, Hugh McRoberts secondary school, Richmond
• May Lee, R.C. Palmer secondary school, Richmond
• Kimberly Suvajdzic, Len Shepherd secondary school, Surrey
• Parmit Chilana, Princess Margaret secondary school, Surrey

The prestigious Vancity Stan Parsons Memorial Scholarship is awarded to an outstanding student who has combined high academic achievement with significant community involvement. Burnaby Alpha secondary school student and community volunteer Victor Law is the recipient of the Stan Parsons Memorial Scholarship for 2000. Four Vancity Teacher Savings Division Bursaries are awarded to graduating Grade 12 students in recognition of the educational heritage of the former Teacher Savings Credit Union. The 2000 recipients of Vancity Teacher Savings Division Bursaries (including their school and hometowns) are:

• Elisa Mok, Erik Hamber secondary school, Vancouver
• Ashlee Smith, North Delta senior secondary school, Delta
• Anita Turner, Delta secondary school, Delta
• Chelsea Johnson, J.N. Burnett secondary school, Richmond

Vancity is Canada's largest credit union, with $6.4 billion in assets, 262,000 members, and 39 branches throughout Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Victoria. Vancity owns Citizens Bank of Canada, serving members across the country by telephone, ATM, and the Internet. Both Vancity and Citizens Bank are guided by a commitment to corporate social responsibility.