Cambrian hands out inaugural Koski Award

Whitney Jarvis has faced many challenges in her life. From the age of 15, she bounced from one foster home to the next.

At 25, Jarvis had decided she would take life by the horns. She chose to enrol in the social service worker program at Cambrian College to help others in similar situations as her own.

Her hard work and dedication paid off. Jarvis is one of more than 400 students to receive financial assistance from the college each year.

The single mother is the first recipient of the Evelyn Koski Crown Ward Assistance Award. Valued at $1,500, it is awarded by the Cambrian Foundation.

“That money allows me to spend more time with my daughter,” said Jarvis. “I don’t have to get a part-time job just to afford to go to school, so I am very grateful to have received this award.”

A former professor at Laurention University and a former social worker in Sudbury-Manitoulin, Evelyn Koski was the wife of Dr. John T. Koski, the first president at Cambrian College. She created the Evelyn Koski Crown Ward Assistance Award to help those who have been in foster care further their education. She now resides in Toronto.

In the 2013-2014 school year, the Cambrian Foundation awarded more than $500,000 in bursaries and scholarships.