The Best School Year Ever contest is an opportunity for four students from across Canada and the USA to win a one-year boarding scholarship to attend SMUS. The four finalists for the 2024 iteration of the contest include Leonardo Dell'Isola (Niagara Falls, ON), Lexi Carswell (Banff, AB), Julia Sherrard (Dawson City, YT), and Georgia James (Las Vegas, NV). Along with their families, these four talented and dedicated youth were flown from their hometowns to visit the Senior School campus on March 1, to see SMUS for themselves. But how did they get to this point in the contest?
Students started by submitting a written entry by December 1st, where they were asked to answer three questions:
- What is ONE thing you are most passionate about and why?
- What specific aspects of SMUS would you get involved in?
- What leadership qualities would you bring to SMUS?
Based on their contest submission, semi-finalists are then chosen and asked to create a three minute long video detailing themselves, their interests and goals, and how they will make their next year at SMUS the best school year ever. This stage is crucial in determining how the selected students will excel academically at SMUS, but more over, contribute passionately to the school community and be a unique and vibrant addition to the boarding experience here. Upon reviewing their videos, the semi-finalists are then narrowed down to four finalists.
- Watch Leonardo's 2024 finalist video
- Watch Lexi's 2024 finalist video
- Watch Julia's 2024 finalist video
- Watch Georgia's 2024 finalist video
After all that hard work, on Friday, March 1, these finalists came to see SMUS in person for the very first time. They spent the morning eating breakfast in School House, meeting each other and the staff, and getting acquainted with winners and finalists of years past. Those same past BSYE students then take this year's finalists on a tour of the school, before returning for an open question and answer period. After lunch in the illuminated Graves Hall, students were able to sit in on classes of interest to truly get a feel for what it's like to be a student at SMUS, and explore Victoria in the evening.
On Saturday, March 2, these four students will participate in an interview, where the judges will determine which two students will receive a finalist scholarship of $48,000, and which two will receive winning scholarships of up to $75,000. They'll round off their visit by attending the closing night of the Senior School musical, Something Rotten!, and see SMUS in full effect. We look forward to seeing these students join our classrooms this fall!
Learn more about The Best School Year Ever contest at bestschoolyearever.ca.
