When Merah Gasmo was awarded a TD Scholarship for Community Leadership in 2020, her final year of high school was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Facing an atypical university experience, Gasmo says receiving the scholarship allowed her to take a chance and move more than 1,300 kilometres from her hometown of Regina, Sask., to enroll at the University of Victoria in Victoria, B.C.
“Getting this scholarship meant that I could start a whole new journey in my life,” she said.
"I had never been to Victoria prior to applying to university and moving here. COVID was still pretty intense during that first year, so a lot of people did that first year from home on a laptop. The scholarship money meant that I could apply to live in residence and move to Victoria and actually have somewhat of a first-year university student experience.”
With rising tuition and living costs, many students across Canada face financial challenges when it comes to funding post-secondary studies. Sixty-five per cent of students polled define themselves as financially unstable, and 45% are currently unable to adequately cover basic needs such as food and housing, according to a new survey from TD.
TD Scholarships for Community Leadership are available to 20 students across Canada who show an outstanding commitment to making a positive difference in their communities. The scholarship provides up to $70,000 over four years to split between tuition and living expenses, and also provides opportunities for paid summer employment, peer networking and mentorship.
“My first year was obviously very different than what it would be like in non-COVID times, but it still meant that I got to meet new people and build a new community of first year students in my residence and cohort,” Gasmo said.
“That is really special, and it’s something that I wouldn’t have been able to do without the scholarship.”
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Supporting students with paid summer jobs
As a busy full-time student in the Elementary Curriculum Bachelor of Education (BEd) program at the University of Victoria, Gasmo says the scholarship allowed her to focus on her classes and practicum placements during the school year. Beyond supporting students in their tuition and living expenses, the TD Scholarships for Community Leadership program also provides opportunities for paid summer employment at TD, or a community organization funded by the TD Ready Commitment.
For three summers, Gasmo used the community leadership skills she developed in high school in her hometown at the Regina Folk Festival, training and coordinating more than 300 volunteers. This past summer, Gasmo worked at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria — a TD Ready Commitment-funded organization — to help build the gallery’s new school tour program for elementary and high school students.
The opportunities for paid summer employment through the TD Scholarships program is a “wonderful opportunity” for students to gain work experience in a professional setting, said Jeri Engen, Educator for School and Family programs at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.
The gallery worked with Gasmo to curate her internship and leaned on Gasmo’s teaching experience to create resources and curriculum materials for elementary and high school teachers to use in their classrooms, using artworks from the gallery’s permanent online collection—which allows the public to view the over 20,000 works.
“We quickly realized that Merah’s teaching experience during her practicum provided invaluable insight into how best to develop the Teacher Study Guide resource to help students get the most out of their tour experience at the gallery,” Engen said.
While Gasmo was confident creating lessons and resources for teachers, she says the experience researching and developing art-based curriculum helped forge a new connection and appreciation for the art world.
“I don’t have an art background, but they found a way for me to fit in with my teaching background,” Gasmo said.
“I learned a whole bunch of new skills and information that I wouldn’t have been able to learn otherwise.”
From student to teacher
Four years of hard work paid off for Gasmo in June, when she graduated from the University of Victoria with a bachelor’s degree in education. With future plans to return to the Prairies and work as an elementary school teacher, Gasmo is currently staying in Victoria to pursue a master’s degree in education, focusing on nature-based learning and creating resources and activities to help teachers bring their classes outside and create a human-nature connection.
“My goal is to be very practical in all of the research that I’m doing because when I’m finished with this program, I want to go back into the classroom and use everything that I’ve learned to help the students in my own class," Gasmo said.
Hopefully, other teachers will also see and hear about what I’m doing and be able to implement that in their own classrooms.”
Applications for the 2025 TD Scholarships for Community Leadership are open until November 13, 2024. For graduating high school students who are thinking of applying, Gasmo has a piece of advice she learned from her stepdad: You don’t know until you try.
“There’s no way you’re going to get this opportunity if you don’t apply—so just try. You need to provide your references and be intentional with how you're showing the impact in your community ,” Gasmo said.
“Be proud of everything that you’ve done to be able to get to that point, and just take the application process as another experience that you’re able to learn from.”
Have you shown leadership in helping to make a meaningful and lasting difference in your community? Apply today!
Applications for the 2025 TD Scholarships for Community Leadership are open until November 13, 2024.