Two incoming Lassonde students receive prestigious $100K+ Schulich Leader scholarships

This press release was first published on News@York

TORONTO, Sept 9, 2023 – Students entering the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University were among the 13th cohort of Schulich Leaders, recipients of Canada’s largest, most prestigious Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) scholarship.

Out of a pool of 350,000 potential candidates across Canada, more than 1,400 students were nominated, with 100 recipients receiving this award.

With the help of the scholarship, the graduating high school students from Ottawa and the North York area of Toronto will further their knowledge of engineering at York to support their goals of entrepreneurship and using technology to grow community.

Bill Nguyen, 18, of North York, Ont. is entering a computer science program and Krishiv Panchal, 18, of Ottawa, Ont., will study engineering.

Nguyen will receive a $100,000 scholarship and Panchel will receive $120,000.

“We are proud to welcome Bill and Krishiv,” says Jane Goodyer, dean of Lassonde. “Their selection from among thousands of candidates highlights not only their academic excellence but also their leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and dedication to driving meaningful change. At Lassonde, we believe in empowering students to tackle the world’s biggest challenges through innovation and collaboration, and we’re excited to see how Bill and Krishiv will leverage this opportunity to make a lasting impact in the STEM field and beyond. With the support of the Schulich Leader Scholarship, they are well-positioned to shape the future of technology and inspire others along the way.”

Bill Nguyen

Born to immigrant parents, Nguyen grew up in North York among a tight-knit Vietnamese community and speaks Vietnamese fluently. He went to secondary school at Chaminade College School, an all-boys Catholic school near Lawrence Avenue West and Black Creek Drive. Participating in traditional Vietnamese line dancing and volunteering at schools, Nguyen says he always had older role models to look up to provide him mentorship.

“Eventually a lot of those role models went off to do their own things, and then I assumed some of those responsibilities. The community gave so much to me, so I just want to help as much as I can.”

While he had always had an interest in science and technology, it was during the COVID-19 pandemic where he solidified his future path.

“During Covid, everyone was in their own bubble, and it made me realize how much I missed my community,” says Nguyen. “I realized it was technology that was keeping me connected to my people.”

Drawn to York equally for the educational opportunities and the location that will allow him to stay in his community, Nguyen says he would like to keep connection at the centre of the work he does and is interested in developing social-media applications in the future.

Pushed to apply for the Schulich scholarship by his chemistry teacher, Nguyen got the news that he was a recipient while on a school camping trip.

“I’m very blessed to have received the support I did and feel so lucky to have received this scholarship,” says Nguyen.

“When I got the news, I was astonished. All my friends were around me. I was ecstatic and ran to my chemistry teacher right away. I was like, ‘Sir, sir, we did it!’”

Krishiv Panchal

Born in Ahmedabad, one of the largest cities in India, Panchal grew up speaking Gujurati with his family and moved to Winnipeg when he was five.

“We didn’t have that much money when we came to Canada, so it was tough starting out. My family didn’t have many connections growing up, so it was tough to get opportunities,” recalls Panchal.

Panchal’s passion for STEM was discovered when he was in high-school and the COVID-19 lockdowns hit. Like a lot of other young people stuck at home, he spent a lot of time playing video games and had an issue with his controller.

“It got to a point where it was super annoying, so I had to pull out my screwdriver and see what was going on inside,” says Panchal. “I was blown away with all the circuitry going on and studied it. I eventually got to the issue, fixed it, and that was when I discovered my love for engineering.”

He moved to Ottawa halfway through Grade 10, where he attended Canterbury High School. Panchal says he found his school in Ottawa was underrepresented in STEM, and he wanted to help his fellow students apply their studies.

Because of these combined experiences, Panchal started an initiative called Thrive, which helps students connect with internships in their local communities and other opportunities.

Drawn to the Lassonde program for its entrepreneurial elements, Panchal says he likes to come up with innovative solutions to problems, a trait that came in handy when he had severe insomnia in high school and created an app to help himself regulate his sleep schedule, something he plans on refining, with the help of York researchers, to help him understand the mechanisms of sleep more.

“Sleep is a huge problem among students, especially when they are up late studying for tests, pulling all-nighters. I’m so glad that this scholarship will help me tackle this issue.”

The Schulich Leaders Scholarship is awarded to students who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership, charisma and creativity, as well as financial need.

“We are proud to celebrate the continued success of Schulich Leader Scholarships, the premiere STEM scholarship program in Canada. This group of outstanding students will represent the best and brightest Canada has to offer and will make great contributions to society, both on a national and global scale. With their university expenses covered, they can focus their time on their studies, research projects, extracurriculars, and entrepreneurial ventures. They are the next generation of entrepreneurial-minded, technology innovators,” says program founder Seymour Schulich.