Ten students win $30k Amazon scholarships

Ten graduating high school students from British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario will each receive $30,000 in the third annual Amazon Future Engineer Canada university scholarship awards.  

The scholarship will help cover university tuition over four years, along with the opportunity to complete a paid summer internship at one of Amazon’s Canadian Tech Hubs.

Scholarship winner Rayton Chen.

The Amazon Future Engineer scholarship program supports graduating high school students from underserved and underrepresented communities who have demonstrated exceptional academic performance and leadership in school, work and community activities. To qualify, candidates must plan to study computer science or a related field at an accredited Canadian university, and demonstrate financial need. “The 2023 Amazon Future Engineer scholarship winners represent the bright future of Canada’s science and technology community, and we’re proud to help make their path easier to travel,” said Cynthia Caglar, head of Amazon Future Engineer Canada.

“Amazon Future Engineer’s mission is to give all young people the opportunity to explore their potential, and our winners demonstrate that when they succeed, their broader community benefits.”

Scholarship winner Divina David from Victoria, BC, founded a competitive robotics team that spotlighted the contribution of women to STEM education and helped kickstart the integration of robotics into her school’s curriculum. This September, she starts the first year of a Software Engineering degree at the University of Victoria.

“I want to help create a future where more young women – especially those from diverse backgrounds – feel confident exploring STEM education, and the Amazon Future Engineer scholarship will give me an opportunity to inspire more young people about the academic and career paths available to them,” she said.

Rayton Chen of Windsor, ON is pursuing a Computer Science degree at the University of Waterloo. While a student at Vincent Massey Secondary School, he led the Vincent Massey Computer Science Club, which gives students the opportunity to develop problem-solving skills through competitive programming. Rayton was also a co-director of CodeReach – a free, student-run program that teaches coding to Grade 7 and 8 students (and where he got his first lessons in the field).

“Technology has given me the opportunity to give back to my community, and I am so grateful to be recognized by Amazon,” he said.

The complete list of Amazon Future Engineer Canada scholarship winners for 2023 includes:

Benjamin Kaganovitch (Pembina Trails Early College, Winnipeg, MB), studying a double major in Computer Science and Physics at the University of Toronto
Brian Yan (Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute, Markham, ON), studying Computer Science at the University of Waterloo
Katherine Daley-Chigbu (Prince of Wales Secondary School, Vancouver, BC), studying TrackOne, undeclared Engineering at the University of Toronto
Kenzy Soror (Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute, Kitchener, ON), pursuing a double degree in Computer Science at University of Waterloo and Business Administration at Wilfrid Laurier University
Anthony Chen (Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute, Toronto, ON), studying Software Engineering at the University of Waterloo
Divina David (Pacific Christian School, Victoria, BC), studying Software Engineering at the University of Victoria
Rayton Chen (Vincent Massey Secondary School, Windsor, ON) studying Computer Science at the University of Waterloo
Tumi Fabiyi (Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School , Calgary, AB), studying Computer Engineering at the University of British Columba
Hamidah Oderinwale (Cardinal Leger Secondary School, Brampton, ON), studying Math and Computer Science at McGill University
Sierra Sandy (R.B Russell Vocational School , Winnipeg, MB), studying Software Engineering at the University of Waterloo