Future leader

Cape Breton student wins $100,000 Schulich Leaders scholarship

FRENCHVALE — A 17-yearold Cape Breton student’s passion for helping people and saving the environment has led to her winning a sixfigure national scholarship.

Mary Macinnis attends Riverview High School and she said although she knew she was qualified for the scholarship, she didn’t really expect she’d get it.

“There are so many other qualified people who had applied for this scholarship, who were all at the same level, that it was a huge surprise I got it,” Macinnis said.

Along with a passion for science, which she discovered after doing her grade 10 science fair, Macinnis is also passionate about saving the environment and helping people.

Along with being the copresident of student council, Macinnis was also a part of the school’s environmental group and head of the Headstrong club — a program aimed at promoting good mental health for youth.

“Mary is a wonderful human being,” said Scott Murchison, a guidance counsellor at Riverview High School. “She is kind of one of these quiet leaders and she is doing it for the right reasons.”

A PASSION FOR HELPING

Attending Dalhousie University to start her bachelor of engineering next year because she wants to “make the world a better place for future generations,” Macinnis said she is leaning towards a career in aerospace engineering.

“I’ve always been very interested in space and the unknown so I would love to be a part of that field that hasn’t been answered yet and I would like to be a part of solving them,” said Macinnis who lives in Frenchvale. “I think it’s important for society to know more about space and the world we live in because everything connects together on a larger level. And the more that we know about the universe, the more we can connect that to problems here in our environment.”

Murchison praised Macinnis for “thinking out of the box” and trying to bring students programs to help with their mental health through Headstrong during the most recent lock-down due to the third wave of the COVID pandemic.

“She is a very caring person. She is passionate about the environment, passionate about helping people,” Murchison said. “Mary has this whole package of caring for ourselves, caring for each other and caring for where we live.”