Founded in Toronto in 1988, the Loran Scholars Foundation is a national charitable organization awarding scholarships for students entering university in Canada. Loran Scholars receive the country's largest undergraduate merit award on the basis of character, commitment to service and leadership potential.
Loran Scholars
The Loran Scholars Foundation selects up to 36 students each year for an undergraduate scholarship valued at $100,000. It has been active since 1990. The scholarship is tenable at 25 public universities throughout Canada; however, the lower level awards can be used at any public Canadian university or college. Twenty-two Loran Scholars have gone on to win Rhodes Scholarships. It consists of annual stipends, a matching tuition waiver, summer internship funding, annual retreats and scholar gatherings, and mentoring over four years of study.
Candidate selection
The Loran Scholar selection process is rigorous. The selection process is as follows:
Close to 2,500 nominees come as sponsored candidates, with endorsements from their schools. Each secondary school can sponsor up to three students, and each CEGEP in Quebec can sponsor up to eight students. Evaluations are made by 39 committees in 23 regions, from St. John's to Victoria, and then close to 500 semi-finalists, or approximately 10 candidates per committee, are chosen for regional interviews.
Over 2,500 candidates come through the direct pool. The national assessment panel evaluates the application of each candidate, and telephone interviews are conducted with semi-finalists in December.
Up to 88 finalists are invited from across Canada to attend two days of National Selections in Toronto.
Up to 36 candidates are selected as Loran Scholars. In addition, up to 104 candidates are offered finalist and provincial awards.
Notable alumni
Since the award was established in 1990, the foundation has selected 599 Loran Scholars. Past Loran Scholars include Lucas Skoczkowski, founder and former CEO of Redknee; Graham Fox, president and CEO of the Institute for Research on Public Policy; Diane Nalini de Kerckhove, a jazz musician and physicist; youth engagement leader and social justice advocate Michelle Dagnino; CPR assist device inventor Corey Centen; François Tanguay-Renaud, Director of York University's , and Associate Dean Research at ; Fédération des communautés Francophones et Acadienne du Canada executive director Alain Dupuis; Thalmic Labs co-founder and CEO Stephen Lake; and Orpyx CEO Breanne Everett. In 2017, several Loran Scholars were recognized for their impact. Patrick Hickey received the Young Humanitarian Award from the Canadian Red Cross. Afzal Habib, co-founder of Kidogo, and Stephen Lake, co-founder and CEO of Thalmic Labs were on Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Amy Tan and Lauren Albrecht were featured on Avenue Magazine's Top 40 list, for Calgary and Edmonton, respectively.
Awards
Several scholarships are awarded by the foundation.
$100,000 Loran Award. There are 36 available to be awarded in the 2019-2020 selection year.
$5,000 Loran Finalist Award, offered to all qualified finalists who attend National Selections but are not selected as Loran Scholars. There are 52 available for 2019-2020.
$2,000 Loran Provincial Award, offered by regional committees to outstanding semi-finalists who are not asked to attend national selections. There are approx. 50 available.
Honour Citation, granted to students who distinguish themselves at regional interviews but are not offered any monetary awards.
Semi-Finalist Certificate, issued to students selected for a regional interview.
Criteria
Loran Scholars are selected on the basis of character, service, and leadership potential.
Financial value
Each Loran Scholar receives a scholarship valued at $100,000 over four years. The award has three main financial components:
The Loran Scholars Foundation offers a $10,000 living stipend per annum.
The partner institution at which the scholar chooses to study grants a tuition waiver up to $10,000 per annum.
Scholars have access to up to $10,000 for three tri-sectoral summer internships.
A unique aspect of the Loran Award is the mentorship program, where each Loran Scholar is paired with a mentor who is a business or community leader. Current and former mentors include ACE Bakery founder Martin Connell, OC, O.Ont; Canadian senator Hon. Landon Pearson; former Ontario Premier Bob Rae; social entrepreneurScott Gilmore; Second Cup co-founder Frank O'Dea; Dr. Alice Chan-Yip, C.M. of the Montreal Children's Hospital; TV host Lindsay Cameron Wilson; and McMaster professor Dr. Gary Warner. Furthermore, the Loran Scholars Foundation offers funding for three summer internships:
The Loran Scholars Foundation previously administered the W. Garfield Weston Award for outstanding college-bound students in Canada. Established in 1999 with the support of the W. Garfield Weston Foundation, it awarded up to 25 scholarships to entering college students, and up to 25 scholarships to upper-year college students. The foundation selected its final class of W. Garfield Weston Scholars in 2012.
