Celina Gerlich - 2019 Scholarship Recipient
The 2019 recipient of the Anne Springman Scholarship, Celina Gerlich, recently shared with the Twice But Nice Board of Directors the impact receiving the scholarship made in her life. The funds were provided to Celina to help her pursue her secondary education.
Celina shared, “The scholarship covered nearly all the books, supplies and tuition for my first year of study in the Biological Sciences Program at NAIT. This lifted an enormous weight of my back as I was able to focus on my studies and was able to earn and maintain a 4.0 GPA in all of my courses! I was also able to take less hours at my part time job at Elk Island National Park so I could delegate more time to studying. I did not acquire debt from my first year of study, because of this scholarship.”
Celina was acknowledged for her excellence in the program by both her instructors and her peers. Aside from her high academic standings, Celina was the President of the Biological Sciences Technology Club at NAIT which represents over 150 students. This club won several awards for our initiatives and fundraisers!
Celina developed an at home citizen sciences project for students to participate in called Project FeederWatch. As a club they received a grant to provide bird feeder and bird seed for a year to 30 students that signed up for the project. In addition, the club built and sold 53 Bee Hotels and raised $1800 dollars. “We donated the majority of this money to the Beaverhill Bird Observatory for the development of a new research facility,” Celina explained.
Celina is an active volunteer within the conservation community and spends several hours a week volunteering with the Alberta Native Plant Society and the Edmonton & Area Land Trust. She added, “This summer will be my fourth summer working at Elk Island National Park as a Conservation and Restoration student.”
Celina will be graduating with a Diploma in Conservation Biology from NAIT, however that is just the start to studies. She is enrolled at the U of A in the fall to continue towards a Bachelor’s degree.
“There was a time in my life where I did not think I could have this kind of a future. I didn’t think anyone believed in me and I didn’t believe in myself – but I was so wrong! I want to thank Twice But Nice for believing in me through the Anne Springman Scholarship – it is that support that has contributed to my success so far – and I’m just getting started,” concluded Celina.
The Anne Springman Scholarship is offered to a Grade 12 graduate who was a member and volunteer with bcg Fort Saskatchewan. This scholarship was renamed the Anne Springman Scholarship in memory of the years of service Anne provided to Twice But Nice.