Sonja Power (BSE.CHE’18) was in her grade 12 advanced English class when she was called to the guidance office and handed an envelope – an offer of a Schulich Leader Scholarship at UNB. “I opened the letter and remember reading it at least twice before saying anything. It would definitely be fair to say that I was speechless!” She remembers walking back into her English class feeling profound relief that she could stop worrying about how she would pay for university. “I also realized my parents were right - hard work does pay off!”

Sonja is one of 20 UNB students over the past decade to benefit from the prestigious Schulich Leader Scholarship, Canada’s largest STEM scholarship. Through The Schulich Foundation, these prestigious entrance scholarships are awarded to outstanding high school graduates enrolling in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) undergraduate program at 20 partner universities in Canada. Every high school in Canada can submit one Schulich Leader nominee per academic year based on academic excellence in STEM, entrepreneurial leadership and financial need.

After graduating from UNB with a bachelor of science in engineering (chemical engineering) in 2018, Sonja immediately started work with Lockheed Martin Canada in Montreal – but as a systems engineer, not a chemical engineer. Sonja sees this adaptability as an important feature of an engineering education: “One of the first things I have learned since graduating is how adaptable engineering is as an educational background. Regardless of the type of engineering you specialized in, your most important asset will be the same: an analytical way of thinking and applying mathematics and science. Through that and with a bit of hard work you can learn to do nearly anything!”

Now, at just 24, Sonja is a technical lead at Lockheed Martin, leading a team of eight people with diverse backgrounds. She loves how her STEM career has continued to challenge her since graduation, saying, “I have learned more in the three years since graduating than in my four years of studying.” Since her employer now permits fully remote work, she recently bought a house in Lunenburg, N.S.: “I decided to seize the opportunity to leave the city and head for somewhere where I can be more connected with nature, my family, and myself.”

Sonja counts the Schulich Leader Scholarship as her life’s proudest achievement thus far. “It changed my life, as it has for many young Canadians. This was something I had worked for since middle school, putting in countless nights and weekends studying and doing volunteer work. The feeling of any other educational award just does not compare, nor has any award I have received at work since.”

As an alumna, she feels it is important to share the success she’s found through the Schulich Leader network, opening up opportunities for others following in her footsteps. She worked with David Goodman of the Schulich Foundation to establish a partnership between the Foundation and her employer, Lockheed Martin Canada, connecting current Schulich Leaders and alumni with co-op and full-time opportunities at Lockheed Martin.

Asked what advice she has for young people today, Sonja’s response is twofold: “The first is to keep an open mind and stay dedicated. There will be times when you'll ask yourself, ‘Is it all worth it?’ Trust me, it is. Hard work in your youth pays handsome dividends later in life. Turns out, our parents all told us this for a reason.

For Wesley Finck (BSE.EE, D-TME’20), becoming a Schulich Leader helped define the direction his life would take. “For an undecided teenager interested in too many things and with little exposure to post-secondary STEM pursuits, the scholarship provided direction, certainty and security,” he said. The scholarship also gave him the freedom to adapt and adjust after graduation, when life – and the covid-19 pandemic – necessitated a change in plans.

Wesley is one of 20 UNB students over the past decade to benefit from the prestigious Schulich Leader Scholarship, Canada’s largest STEM scholarship. Through The Schulich Foundation, these prestigious entrance scholarships are awarded to outstanding high school graduates enrolling in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) undergraduate program at 20 partner universities in Canada. Every high school in Canada can submit one Schulich Leader nominee per academic year based on academic excellence in STEM, entrepreneurial leadership and financial need.

Wesley says he cherishes his time at UNB. During his second and third years, he served as a residence hall proctor in Aitken House. “I learned so many valuable interpersonal skills during these two years and definitely pushed myself well past my comfort zone in constructive ways,” he said. Fredericton started to feel like home for him during the summer after his third year, when he did research on campus and spent time exploring the city on his bike. He extended his degree by a year, enabling him to take some classes that interested him but would not have been possible otherwise. He helped UNB's media lab develop its first virtual reality studio, and co-founded a new club, Emerging Technology UNB.

Since graduating in May 2020, the STEM skills fostered by the Schulich Leader Scholarship have allowed Wesley to adapt in unexpected ways. He was accepted into a master’s program in energy science and technology at ETH Zürich, one of Europe’s most prestigious universities. In summer 2020, the ongoing pandemic led him to the difficult decision to defer those studies for a year, which ultimately led him to a true technological passion.

While working and awaiting the start of his deferred master’s degree, Wesley began volunteering for an urban agriculture and social innovation project in Vancouver’s east side. Through this volunteer work, he was introduced to an emerging distributed software system technology called Holochain.

Holochain is an open-source framework for building fully distributed, peer-to-peer applications, and Wesley is excited about its potential. “As I learned more about the technology, I realized how interested I was in the intersection of the internet, humanity, biology and complex adaptive systems. It opened up a whole new world of career possibilities and completely broadened my perception of what it could mean to be a software developer,” he said. “Ever since first year, I was interested in programming and had worked on a number of software projects throughout my degree. However, programming had always felt tangential to the problems in the world I was passionate about addressing, at least until I discovered Holochain.”

After much deliberation, Wesley decided to decline his admittance to the master’s program and focus on building his skills as a Holochain developer. “Among many other considerations,” he said, “I had to reflect deeply on which pursuit would be the most meaningful and engaging on a day-to-day basis.” He now works as a junior Holochain developer for a small design and development company called Sprillow. “Looking back, I'm really happy with the way things have turned out and am proud of myself for being flexible and adaptable in a time of unprecedented change.”

Wesley is passionate about having a positive impact on the world, and that extends to his engagement with the Schulich Leaders network. As a student, he volunteered as a network development co-chair. Since graduating, he has been the alumni network development chair. In both positions, his focus has been on strengthening a sense of community and culture within the network.

“I see so much potential in the Schulich Leaders network,” he said. “It's still so young and I truly believe we are just at the beginning of something great. To me, the Schulich Leader community is a reminder that if we work together, we can be an immense force for good in the world. It's also the most valuable part of being a Schulich Leader, as the network will last a lifetime.”