Courage to Persevere Award

Every year, students continue their education despite facing adversity. We wish to honour and recognize them for their strength!

The Courage to Persevere Project is an initiative that aims to support mental health warrior students by establishing awards at institutions of higher learning.

The first Courage to Persevere Award was established at Simon Fraser University by Megan Monkman and her family to offer financial aid, encouragement, and validation to students living with mental health conditions. Now, a second Courage to Persevere Award will be offered at UVic for Indigenous graduate students.

The awards are intended to honour those students who often struggle in silence. It is a small gesture toward eliminating stigma for all; but it is hopefully a significant act for each student that receives the award. Students will receive funds with no strings attached – meaning that they are not earmarked for tuition, but can rather be utilized in the way the student deems best. This could be for clothes, food, counselling, technology, rent, or any other purpose. We trust them and believe in their dignity.

For Megan and her family, this cause hits close to home. In the final year of her undergraduate studies, she experienced a debilitating mental health crisis which affected her ability to learn, impacted her social well-being, and required a long recovery. She hopes that stigmas and attitudes around such difficult experiences soon change for the better.

Please join us in raising $25,000 to endow this award and ensure that students at the University of Victoria will be supported for years to come!

To learn more, please visit www.courage2persevere.org.

If you have any questions, please contact our Development Office at 250-472-4924, or by email at giving@uvic.ca. Please note our hours of operation are Monday-Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm.