Shannen’s Dream Scholarship

Applications for 2024 are now closed. 

The Shannen’s Dream Scholarship is named in honour of Shannen Koostachin, a courageous young leader from Attawapiskat First Nation who sparked a national movement for safe and comfy schools for First Nations students. Learn more about Shannen and her legacy.

The Shannen’s Dream Scholarship is an award to assist First Nations youth with post-secondary education costs (university, college, trades). As a “pay-it-forward” scholarship, winners must make a fair and measurable contribution to the Shannen’s Dream campaign or related First Nations initiative as a condition of receiving the award. Examples of this could include coaching youth sports, doing a presentation about Shannen Koostachin and Shannen’s Dream, starting a club at your school to learn more about equity, etc. Pay-it-forward does not mean a financial contribution back to the scholarship.

The Shannen’s Dream Scholarship is made possible by generous donations from the Collure family from Richmond Hill, Ontario, and education technology company Top Hat. With the support of these amazing donors, we are delighted to announce that four $10,000 scholarships are available to assist First Nations youth with post-secondary education costs this year. 

The scholarship is open to First Nations youth who meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Open to First Nations youth 30 years old and under.
• Must be enrolled in a post-secondary program (university, college or trade school) at a Canadian institution with a duration of no less than 13 weeks.
• Consideration criteria: 1) the recipient contributes to their First Nations community (urban or rural) and, 2) demonstrates academic or extra-curricular accomplishments at school, such as taking part in clubs or sports teams.
• "Pay-it-forward" requirement: The recipient agrees to make a fair and measurable contribution to Shannen’s Dream or a related First Nations initiative as a condition of the award. The recipient must agree to provide the scholarship committee with details of their contribution within one year of receiving the award.
• This is a one-time award not renewable to past recipients.
• Financial need will be considered.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with questions!

To provide more information about the scholarship application process and help you know what to prioritize in your application, we have uploaded the scholarship evaluation form. We hope this gives you a better idea of what the scholarship committee is looking for in a strong application.