Jewel Jacobs receives Bowinn Ma MLA North Van Community Scholarship

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MLA Ma with award recipient Jewel Jacobs

NORTH VANCOUVER – North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma announced the Bowinn Ma MLA Social Justice Scholarship: three $500 community scholarships, awarded to one graduating high school student each from Carson Graham Secondary, Sutherland Secondary and the Squamish Nation.

“I have been helped by so many in my community and this is an opportunity to give back,” said MLA Ma. “Young people are our future and my hope is that this investment will encourage them to continue building a better world.”

These three community scholarships are personally funded by MLA Ma and will be awarded to a graduating high school student from Sutherland Secondary, Carson Graham Secondary, or the Squamish Nation who:

  • Is enrolled in a post-secondary institution
  • Has demonstrated a commitment to social justice
  • Has overcome barriers or disadvantages in their life

The third and final recipient for the 2018 graduating year to receive the Bowinn Ma MLA Social Justice Scholarship is Jewel Jacobs, a member of the Squamish Nation and a graduate of Carson Graham Secondary. She will be pursuing her post-secondary education at Capilano University and plans to be an Indigenous Rights lawyer working for social change. Jewel has been an active citizen in her community and has continued to develop her leadership skills by volunteering to teach and share language with students from other schools and by participating in the Canadian Roots Youth Exchange on Reconciliation. In addition to community work, Jewel presented to the entire student body this year on what reconciliation means to her and she has been an active participant in cultural events and often shares her culture with other people. Furthermore, she is also an advocate for the revitalization of the Squamish language.

“I am grateful to Bowinn Ma for this scholarship opportunity and I am excited about the next step at Capilano University to study and become an Indigenous Rights lawyer,” Jacobs says, “As John Borrows says: ‘we need to explore how we can take that law (Indigenous) and carve it in new and beautiful ways (Borrows, 2017)’”