Congratulations to Chanel Khuu from Canmore, AB, who is the winner of The Best School Year Ever® contest for the 2019-20 school year. Chanel, who will be starting her Grade 11 year at SMUS in September, wins a full boarding scholarship worth $55,000.
"Chanel had a quiet confidence that really impressed the judges," says Mr. Paul Leslie, Director of Admissions and Engagement. "She was bright and cheerful with a strong interest to try new things. She was very open-minded and ready to adapt."
In addition to announcing Chanel as the grand prize winner, we are excited to offer $35,000 scholarships to each of our five other finalists: Peo Boitumelo, Diego D'Lorm, Alana Norie, Salma Rafi and Zola Sayers-Fay.
"At each step of the contest our judges have tough decisions to make; whittling the numbers down to 40 semifinalists, then to a top 16 and ultimately choosing the winner from our six finalists," Paul says. "It's a very difficult decision at this stage because all of these students are amazing and would be an asset to any school. All of them are worthy of the grand prize."
The Best School Year Ever is now in its sixth year. Paul says the longevity of the contest stems from the success we've seen in bringing amazing students to the school.
"When we look back at all of the students who have come to our school through The Best School Year Ever contest, we end up with a who's who of some of the very best and brightest students in the school," Paul says. "Although The Best School Year Ever is a way for us to strengthen our boarding program, it's also very much strengthening our entire school community. These students excel and contribute to academics, arts, athletics, service and leadership; they have been school prefects and valedictorians, heads of clubs and councils, sports team captains and leads in our musicals."
We also want to thank all of the students across North America who entered this year’s contest. The calibre of the entries and the amazing students who entered made our judges' task of choosing the scholarship winners even harder.
Congratulations to all of our winners!
