The Community Foundation of Portage and District handed out several bursaries to local students last week, including a couple of students graduating from Portage Collegiate Institute (PCI) this year.

Colton Olafson won the Jody Lee Fulton Memorial Bursary, which will contribute $4,825 toward his schooling. He shares that it will have a big impact in helping him achieve his career goals.

"I was so excited, and I was really grateful that they selected me to receive this bursary," Olafson added. "It's going to help me in my school to be a commercial pilot."

Paige Griffin was awarded the Radford Award for Science. She describes the qualifications for the bursary.

"It's for high marks in Science subjects, and also for anyone who is going into a career that requires a high level of Science skills."

Griffin notes that receiving this award wouldn't have been possible without the support of some important people.

"Obviously, I'm so grateful to the Community Foundation for the award. It means a lot. The teachers at PCI are definitely the ones who pushed me and got me those marks. I relied on them heavily, and they helped me a lot as I was going through those courses, which were not easy for me. I worked a lot, and they were very, very good and very helpful. I'm very grateful to both of them."

She says that she will be attending the University of Manitoba this fall with a major in Biology.

The winners are all listed below:

Lourdes Sayson - Dr. Donald William Rae Memorial Bursary, $1,250.00

Talia Derksen - Dr. Harvey Hassard Memorial Bursary, $1,492.50

Ciara Irwin - Dr. Harvey Hassard Memorial Bursary, $1,492.50

Logan Calder - Lorraine Rae Bursary Fund, $1,480.00

Colton Olafson - Jody Lee Fulton Memorial Bursary, $4,825.00

Briley Wing - Russ Denton Memorial Bursary, $1,340.00

Brooklynn Chaske - Don & Lois Booth Memorial Bursary, $510.00

Czarina Castellano - Portage & Rural MS Support Bursary, $300.00

Kawthar Alhallaq - Bill & Cathy Skyhar Bursary Fund, $500.00

Narem Sharma - Radford Award for Math, $1,250.00

Paige Griffin - Radford Award for Science, $1,250.00

Kade Maryniuk - Portage Community Development Corporation Bursary, $1,445.00