Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association
2021 Scholarship Application
The Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association (NACCA) continues to operate with the vision to be a community that is strong and connected, where Black youth are connected to their past while firmly stepping into the future, and where the town of Newmarket and environs are welcoming and supportive.
Through our scholarship program, we recognize and celebrate students who are involved in building their community through volunteerism and leadership, and have demonstrated excellence in their academic pursuits. NACCA will be awarding Scholarships of $1000 each to selected recipients in support of their post-secondary education. One student who has overcome significant setbacks while excelling in these areas will receive the Iris Malcolm Memorial Award* ($2000). For example, if five students are selected, four will receive an award of $1000 each and one will receive $2000 (not both). A total of ten students and thirteen awards will be presented for 2021. See the video presentation here.
NACCA is excited to introduce two NEW additions to our Scholarship Program this year: the Wasim Jarrah Business Excellence Award* and the Rightsline Computer Science Scholarship!
*The Wasim Jarrah Business Excellence Award is given to graduating students in the Town of Newmarket who are looking to pursue post-secondary education and who have demonstrated excellence in business and entrepreneurship studies. Only NACCA Scholarship Award recipients who are graduating from a secondary school in Newmarket and pursuing business will be eligible for this award. The value of the award is $500. A total of three students will be awarded. This means that a Newmarket student entering business has the opportunity to earn $1500 in scholarship.
Through our scholarship program, we recognize and celebrate students who are involved in building their community through volunteerism and leadership, and have demonstrated excellence in their academic pursuits. NACCA will be awarding Scholarships of $1000 each to selected recipients in support of their post-secondary education. One student who has overcome significant setbacks while excelling in these areas will receive the Iris Malcolm Memorial Award* ($2000). For example, if five students are selected, four will receive an award of $1000 each and one will receive $2000 (not both). A total of ten students and thirteen awards will be presented for 2021. See the video presentation here.
NACCA is excited to introduce two NEW additions to our Scholarship Program this year: the Wasim Jarrah Business Excellence Award* and the Rightsline Computer Science Scholarship!
*The Wasim Jarrah Business Excellence Award is given to graduating students in the Town of Newmarket who are looking to pursue post-secondary education and who have demonstrated excellence in business and entrepreneurship studies. Only NACCA Scholarship Award recipients who are graduating from a secondary school in Newmarket and pursuing business will be eligible for this award. The value of the award is $500. A total of three students will be awarded. This means that a Newmarket student entering business has the opportunity to earn $1500 in scholarship.
The Computer Science Rightsline Scholarship$5k annual commitment: the scholarship recipient will be awarded $5,000/per year (3-4 years depending on the Computer Science program. Maximum $20,000 over a 4 years program). Applications for a new recipient will recur every 4 years (3 years if the recipient graduates from their program).
The Computer Science Rightsline Scholarship recipient will also receive: Paid Internship/Co-Op: Support in securing summer internship/co-op in the field of Technology. Depending on the program the recipient would work either with Rightsline or leverage their network to help in the search. Mentorship and support: Quarterly mentoring session with CEO and executive leadership team throughout the program and quarterly mentoring session with Leaders in the field (Technology / Entertainment) industries. Networking: We believe in the power of a network and we want to support the recipient along the way. Upon graduation, we would like to continue to mentor and assist in finding a full-time role. The recipient will have the opportunity to come on board in a full-time capacity. Corporate Training: Navigating a career can be a challenge. Rightline would like to provide corporate training, feedback and insights giving the recipient the experience in performance appraisals, growth opportunities and leadership skills. |
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We reflect on our grounding principle behind the scholarship award program:
Nia (NEE-ah)
purpose – to restore Black people to their traditional capacity; to be responsible to Those Who Came Before (our ancestors) and to Those Who Will Follow (our descendants) and "to make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness."
Eligibility
All applicants must meet the following criteria:
How to Apply
Please carefully review and complete this scholarship application form in full. All responses are bound by NACCA’s privacy and confidentiality policy and all responses will remain private. Should you have any questions, please contact Karen Mell at [email protected].
Submission Deadlines
All scholarship applications are due by March 31, 2021. Scholarship winners are announced at the end of June, 2021.
Submissions should be made by emailing [email protected] preferably in pdf format.
Statement of Impartiality and Independence
The Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association and its members, volunteers and executive council, understand the importance of impartiality and the consideration of any potential conflicts of interest in carrying out its scholarship selection process.
The selection of recipients for the NACCA Scholarship is conducted in an impartial manner through an independent selection committee. Candidate selection is based on evidence obtained from the applicants and is not influenced by other interests or other parties.
Other Details
Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association (NACCA) Scholarship Gala
Due to the covid-19 pandemic, NACCA's Annual Scholarship Gala has been cancelled. However, NACCA’s commitment to our youth, their education and leadership, is an integral focus of our mandate. Therefore, the 2021 Scholarships will be awarded to students who meet the scholarship criteria.
Nia (NEE-ah)
purpose – to restore Black people to their traditional capacity; to be responsible to Those Who Came Before (our ancestors) and to Those Who Will Follow (our descendants) and "to make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness."
Eligibility
All applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Applicant must self-identify as a person of African descent /Black / African Canadian / Afro Caribbean or any other term denoting an African (racialized Black) ancestry.
- Applicant must be a York Region resident and graduating from a York Region secondary school in June 2021.
- Applicant must show proof of acceptance and enrolment in a post-secondary institution (including apprenticeship and trade programs) as a full-time student beginning in September 2021.
- Applicant must submit a doubled-spaced, printed or typed statement about their achievements and why they think that they are deserving of the Scholarship Award. This should outline their academic achievements, volunteer work, leadership roles assumed, and may list extracurricular and/or community contributions made throughout their years as a secondary school student.
- Applicant must hold an overall academic average of 75% or higher.
- Applicant must submit two letters of reference— one from a school staff member, and one letter of character reference from a community member who is not a family member.
- Applicant will provide their high school transcript to support this application (grade 11 and mid term)
- Applicant will consent to the publication of their name and image by NACCA, if selected as a scholarship recipient.
- If you are applying for the Rightsline Computer Science Scholarship, write an essay, in no more than 500 words, a response to the following question: What is your perspective on a digital future?
- Rightsline Scholarship applicants may only apply for one scholarship and must meet all the criteria listed above (and provide ALL attachments required per the application form below).
How to Apply
Please carefully review and complete this scholarship application form in full. All responses are bound by NACCA’s privacy and confidentiality policy and all responses will remain private. Should you have any questions, please contact Karen Mell at [email protected].
Submission Deadlines
All scholarship applications are due by March 31, 2021. Scholarship winners are announced at the end of June, 2021.
Submissions should be made by emailing [email protected] preferably in pdf format.
Statement of Impartiality and Independence
The Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association and its members, volunteers and executive council, understand the importance of impartiality and the consideration of any potential conflicts of interest in carrying out its scholarship selection process.
The selection of recipients for the NACCA Scholarship is conducted in an impartial manner through an independent selection committee. Candidate selection is based on evidence obtained from the applicants and is not influenced by other interests or other parties.
Other Details
Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association (NACCA) Scholarship Gala
Due to the covid-19 pandemic, NACCA's Annual Scholarship Gala has been cancelled. However, NACCA’s commitment to our youth, their education and leadership, is an integral focus of our mandate. Therefore, the 2021 Scholarships will be awarded to students who meet the scholarship criteria.
Congratulations Class of 2021!
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The NACCA Scholarship Awards is dedicated to recognizing, celebrating and supporting the leadership, volunteerism, achievement and academic excellence of Black students. Join us on July 7, 2021 as we celebrate the accomplishments of this year’s eleven (11) scholarship and award winners.
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| Rightsline Computer Science Scholarship Essay by Prevail Awoleye |
Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity. (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
*The Iris Malcolm Memorial Award
The Ten Dollar Story
When Iris Malcolm passed away at Southlake Regional Health Centre in September 2015, she left seven adult children behind (all scattered throughout the diaspora) and Ten Dollars in her purse. She did not graduate from high school and subsequently got no opportunity to pursue postsecondary education. She spent most of her life volunteering in the church and working diligently to take care of her children. She was peaceful, humble, and worked quietly. She had many gifts and talents but limited access to opportunities for higher education.
At first, the Ten Dollars in her purse felt like a badge of shame to her youngest daughter who was left to carry out her final arrangements as she felt that there was no inheritance, no grand story. Soon, she realized that there was an overarching narrative to her mother's life that would become the driving force for creating NACCA and the Scholarship Gala. The link that connected the past to the present was that Iris’ great-great grandmother would have likely worked on a plantation somewhere in Jamaica, cut-off from access to education and higher learning. Therefore, the significance of this legacy is the story that this award is rewriting. By overcoming significant setbacks, Iris was able to carve out a different narrative than the one prescribed by history.
The Ten Dollars from Iris’s purse was used to invest in NACCA in order to change the story of lack, to dismantle structures of Black exploitation and oppression, and to create narratives of opportunity and access for the people of African descent, regardless of origin. Retrieving and redignifying the stories of our ancestors is a rebuilding strategy. This award is the memory and hope for a more equitable future.
The Ten Dollar Story
When Iris Malcolm passed away at Southlake Regional Health Centre in September 2015, she left seven adult children behind (all scattered throughout the diaspora) and Ten Dollars in her purse. She did not graduate from high school and subsequently got no opportunity to pursue postsecondary education. She spent most of her life volunteering in the church and working diligently to take care of her children. She was peaceful, humble, and worked quietly. She had many gifts and talents but limited access to opportunities for higher education.
At first, the Ten Dollars in her purse felt like a badge of shame to her youngest daughter who was left to carry out her final arrangements as she felt that there was no inheritance, no grand story. Soon, she realized that there was an overarching narrative to her mother's life that would become the driving force for creating NACCA and the Scholarship Gala. The link that connected the past to the present was that Iris’ great-great grandmother would have likely worked on a plantation somewhere in Jamaica, cut-off from access to education and higher learning. Therefore, the significance of this legacy is the story that this award is rewriting. By overcoming significant setbacks, Iris was able to carve out a different narrative than the one prescribed by history.
The Ten Dollars from Iris’s purse was used to invest in NACCA in order to change the story of lack, to dismantle structures of Black exploitation and oppression, and to create narratives of opportunity and access for the people of African descent, regardless of origin. Retrieving and redignifying the stories of our ancestors is a rebuilding strategy. This award is the memory and hope for a more equitable future.
2021 Winners!Full Bios
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Our DonorsThe Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association Scholarship Program is made possible by the generosity of corporations, community organizations, small businesses and individual donors in our community.
Mayor’s Charity Golf Tournament Rightsline Wasim Jarrah Steve Baxter & Nicole Baxter-Lynn Anonymous Unwind Yarn House The Modern Monstera SoCo Collective Andrea Grant-Jones & Gary Jones Community members who purchased NACCA masks |
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