AFGC 2021 Scholarship Recipients

My name is Jacob Badalucco, and I am 17 years of age.

Many of my passions and hobbies include: training with team Vortex, a high-performance Taekwondo school; sport shooting with my dad and brother during my free time; having political discussions with family and friends; and going boating during the summer months.

I just recently graduated alongside the class of 2021 from Sutherland Secondary School in North Vancouver and have now been accepted into the University of British Columbia where I am hoping to work my way up through the different levels of academia in order to pursue my dream of becoming a lawyer.

The Abbotsford Fish and Game Club has been a vital contribution to my passion for hunting and shooting ever since I can remember. I grew up in a family that lives and breathes hunting. It was only natural to develop the same love for it as my parents. I especially love adventuring with my dad on crazy backpacking excursions in the alpine, scouting and hunting for mule deer.

Another passion of mine is jump rope. I have been on a competitive team for over ten years, winning many provincial, national, and international titles under my belt. I look forward to continuing these activities when I begin my first year as a full-time university student.

I will be attending the College of New Caledonia in their bachelor’s of science in nursing program. I could not be more honoured to be one of the recipients of this scholarship and thankful towards the Abbotsford Fish and Game Club for supporting my education en route to my dream career of being a nurse.

I will be attending the University of British Columbia in Vancouver in the fall where I plan to obtain my Bachelor of Science in chemistry.

I have always been interested in the sciences and took as many science courses as I could in high school. In the future, I hope to combine my passion for fish-keeping with a career in chemistry or obtain my doctorate to pursue higher academic opportunities.

I hope to further my love for music while at university as I have been in multiple jazz and orchestral bands for the past six years and have played the piano since I was 8 years old.

I would like to thank the Abbotsford Fish and Game Club for the opportunity this scholarship has presented me, as I will be able to fully focus on my studies.

Hello, my name is Avery Wong. I am 17 years old and have just graduated from Byrne Creek Community School as of June 2021. I have only been an active member of AFGC for three or so years but coming out to the club has been a weekly highlight for me, thanks to the steel challenge sub club, as well as the IPSC sub club.  

This September, I will be attending UBC as a part of the faculty of applied science. Here, I hope to gain the experience, knowledge, and connections in order to have a successful career in chemical engineering, or bioengineering. The applied science program is a very difficult program, but I still plan on dedicating time to, practicing, competing, and succeeding in competition shooting. This however, is only possible due to the assistance that the AFGC scholarship provides for me.

This is why I am incredibly grateful to AFGC and its community, for providing me the means to become successful and secure my future, as well as allowing me to continue my journey in competition shooting.

This past year was full of navigating unknown territories as school was in an online format! I moved back in with my parents from my home in Vancouver and spent 90% of my days in my room and on my laptop. Despite challenges that arose, I successfully completed my third year at UBC Vancouver and hope to graduate May of 2022!

As my dedication to my studies continues, this scholarship helps contribute to my tuition when there is not always time to work during the school year. As a student living in Vancouver I have many expenses, and this scholarship helps to lessen the financial weight on my shoulders so I appreciate every cent!

Thank you Abbotsford Fish and Game Club!

Sadie

This past year at Thompson Rivers has been crazy, and definitely not what I expected going into my first year of university. I faced hardships moving to a new city and navigating through the challenges of online learning, but overall, this experience helped me grow as a person and I learned how to be more independent. Through the Early Childhood Education Program at TRU, I learned more about caring for children and what it means to run a successful preschool. I look forward to starting my second year in the ECE program, and I am excited for the opportunities my learning will bring.

I am thankful that I was able to receive the AFGC scholarship in the past year at TRU. Balancing my studies while also attending regular practicum training, I was not able to work a separate job during the school year; the AFGC scholarship helped to relieve much of my financial stress, but also pushed me to focus on my studies, which allowed me to make the Dean’s list first and second semester.

Thank you AFGC, for your generosity and ongoing support through my time in University.

Thanks,
Madi

This past year was definitely a very challenging one for me. Taking my first year of UFV courses online was definitely a big change in how I am used to learning, but I am very proud of how hard I worked in order to maintain my grades. This school year presented a lot of challenges, but I am happy to be on the other side of it and am very excited to continue my studies!

The AFGC scholarship helped me immensely this year. Tuition is a huge financial burden, and between focusing on school and both of my jobs, it put a lot of stress on me. This scholarship allowed me to put school first, and I was able to purchase textbooks and supplies without worrying about overloading my schedule with extra shifts.

This coming year, I am continuing my studies at UFV, and I hope to declare my major in psychology. I will be continuing to teach dance classes, and I am very excited to see where tis next school year takes me. I plan to continue representing the AFGC to the best of my ability in my future years at UFV.

Thank you so much to the Abbotsford Fish and Game Club for continuing to support me and others with this scholarship.

Sophia

My name is Elisabeth Klassen, and I’m going into third year in my Bachelor of Software Engineering at the University of Victoria. I’ve been a member of the Abbotsford Fish and Game Club for the past eight years.

The scholarship provided by the Abbotsford Fish and Game Club proved very helpful for me this year. Engineering is a field that only gets more complex as the years go on, and this year was complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which made classes all the more difficult to manage. The Abbotsford Fish and Game Club scholarship was extremely helpful, as it helped me in affording my tuition fees, and in affording the new equipment necessary to continue my studies virtually. It also helped take the weight off my shoulders in considering how I would pay for my education, which was a great boon during such a stressful time. This, in turn, allowed me to achieve good grades and continue to obtain coop opportunities in order to work further towards my degree and towards getting a job as an engineer or a computer programmer in the future.

As always, university continues to be a learning curve – just as soon as I get used to one thing, another comes up to take its place. I had to learn a lot about independent living and working this year, and I had to learn how to adapt my learning style and study habits to a complex, unprecedented situation. This was difficult for me, as it was for many people, but I was able to persevere. This year of university brought a lot of new challenges, but those challenges taught me new strengths. I am happy with my chosen path, and I am looking
forward to my third year at university and all the new tests it will bring.

A big thank you to the Abbotsford Fish and Game Club for continuing to support me as I go on this journey. This help and support has been and continues to be a great aid to me as I move forward.