Alberta Blue Cross is reminding Indigenous students across the province to apply for its Indigenous scholarship program. The final application date for the scholarships is January 31, 2025. Potential applicants are encouraged to register soon.
The Alberta Blue Cross Indigenous scholarship program offers 9 scholarships of $1,500 every year. The scholarships are awarded based on personal goals, financial need and community involvement. To increase accessibility, the scholarship is now eligible to Indigenous students in any year of study. Previously, the program offered 3 scholarships to first year students who had just graduated high school and 6 scholarships to mature students in their first year of study. Now, students in any year of study who are attending an accredited post-secondary institution in Alberta are eligible to apply.
“We’ve been privileged to support some incredible individuals in their education journeys through this program,” says Brian Geislinger, senior vice-president of Corporate Relations and Community Engagement with Alberta Blue Cross. “We are thrilled to be continuing this program for 2025.”
As part of Alberta Blue Cross’s commitment to wellness, the long-standing Indigenous scholarship program is intended to support not only the financial wellness of Indigenous students, but the overall wellness of the communities they give back to. At the same time, the program helps advance equitable access to post-secondary education for Indigenous students. Alberta Blue Cross has been running the Indigenous scholarship program for over 25 years, and in that time, more than 100 scholarships have been awarded to Indigenous students. Alberta Blue Cross also sponsors a long-standing program that provides scholarships at every Alberta post-secondary institution across the province. Funding for both programs come from Alberta Blue Cross’s community foundation.
“In 2024 we received a record number of applications for our Indigenous scholarship program and based on this demand we removed potential limits for application, allowing for more entrants in any year of study,” says Geislinger.
The deadline to apply is January 31, 2025. Scholarship recipients are selected by an external committee with expertise in academia and Indigenous education. Successful applicants will be contacted in early March.
More information about the scholarship program, including application forms for Indigenous students, can be found at community.ab.bluecross.ca/programs/indigenous-scholarships.php.