Alexie Glover

If at first you don’t succeed…

Every year that she’s been at UVic, Alexie Glover applied for all the awards she’s eligible for, but lost out to other students in her program.

“My parents helped me out in the beginning, but now I pay for everything…rent, insurance, electricity, my cell phone and internet bills, groceries, even haircuts,” says Alexie. “Over half my loan goes to tuition so I usually have two—sometimes three—jobs to stay in school.”

Finding her forte

Undeterred, and in spite of her financial and work pressures, Alexie studied hard and saw her grades improve each semester. Academically, everything clicked for her in a fourth year oral history class. “I gave voice to the wives and kids of military, to validate their experiences,” Alexie says of her work on this seldom told story. “The project was so appreciated by the military organization I worked with, they published it in their journal.” Buoyed by this success, Alexie, now in her fifth and final year, felt a renewed confidence to apply for scholarships.

Perseverance pays off

While filling in her student loan paperwork, Alexie felt the familiar buzz of her phone notifying her of a message. She saw it was from Student Awards and Financial Aid, and scanned it with trepidation. The first scholarship application read “unsuccessful,” but further down was good news. She’d won the Allan and Elizabeth McKinnon Scholarship. Tears pricked at her eyes.

“It was a moment of indescribable relief,” she remembers. “My tuition went from $2,600 to $400, instantly becoming more manageable. And when you’re not stressed about money it makes everything else better.” After years of feeling like she was second best, this tangible result gave Alexie the confidence to start thinking about graduate school.

“That scholarship says someone has recognized that I am a good student. The first thing I did afterwards was add it to my résumé,” she says with a smile. “I hope the donors who support this award realize the effect it’s had on my life.”