Bursary to UBC a ‘huge blessing’: White Rock teen
Published 10:30 am Saturday, July 4, 2026
An Earl Marriott Secondary grad will head to UBC this fall with the burden of tuition and other school-related expenses off his shoulders for up to four years, courtesy of Bright Beginnings Foundation.
Jason Makoshi Bagudu signed a contract for the bursary on June 24, foundation officials announced.
BBF raises funds to support “post-secondary education for talented Surrey students who face financial challenges and who have not qualified for the bigger scholarships.”
“Such students should also demonstrate a good work ethic and the academic potential required to succeed in attaining a post-secondary education,” information at brightbeginningsfoundation.ca adds.
Bagudu, 17, described the award as “definitely a huge blessing and a huge help.”
“It would definitely be hard to sustain my schooling without this type of support,” the teen said Friday (July 3).
“I’m just really grateful for what has been given to me.”
Bagudu – who started at EMS after moving to the Semiahmoo Peninsula from Nigeria with his mom and two younger brothers around three years ago – said he learned of the bursary opportunity through the school’s Teams app, and plans to study sciences when he starts at UBC in September.
He’s eyeing a career in medicine, but has yet to settle on a particular field. At the moment, family medicine, anesthesiology and dermatology all appeal, he said.
“In my last year of high school, I was really thinking about what i wanted to do (and) I just saw myself liking the medical field more,” he said. “I think there needs to be more doctors in the world, and more medicine professionals.”
Bagudu said he was “dumbfounded” to learn he’d been chosen for the bursary – worth approximately $44,000 – noting he’s certain he was among “a lot” of students who had applied.
The BBF, founded in March 2015, is entirely volunteer-run, website information notes. Ninety-nine per cent of donations received go towards providing the bursaries.
Board member Karen Kilbride said a recent contribution came out of a neighbourhood charity garage sale held in Ocean Park. Participants of that annual event donated the event’s $1,000-plus proceeds to the foundation, she said.
For more information on Bright Beginnings Foundation, visit brightbeginningsfoundation.ca