Scholarship invests in Indigenous students — and keeps UCalgary retirees connected

Having grown up poor, Dr. Arvi Rauk understands better than most the power of a financial boost.

Rauk was born in Estonia in 1942. Two years later, his family fled their homeland, escaping first to Sweden, then to Canada, where they settled in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. He was a bright lad, but his parents didn’t have the money to support his post-secondary education.

But a scholarship, courtesy of the local steel mill, drastically changed his life. 

“Without that, I couldn’t have gone to university,” says Rauk, who went on to earn a Bachelor of Science and PhD from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., before joining the University of Calgary as a chemistry professor in 1970. 

Never forgetting the impact of the gift, he’s made sure to pay forward that kind of generosity.

Now a professor emeritus, Rauk was one of the members of the UCalgary Retirees Association (UCRA) who decided to create an award eight years ago to support Indigenous students.

“We’re quite proud to sponsor that scholarship,” says longtime UCRA treasurer Rauk. “It was the right thing to do, for sure.”

Reducing barriers core element of Indigenous Strategy 

There are significant barriers deterring Indigenous Peoples from pursuing advanced education in Canada, according to studies noted in UCalgary’s Indigenous Strategy, ii' taa'poh'to'p.

“We thought, ‘This is a group that really needs help.’ So, we came up with the idea of directing the award towards Indigenous students,” says Rauk. “I’m a strong believer in education. These scholarships aren’t anything that large, but we’re hoping they help.”

Laurel Schaffer — a third-year Bachelor of Education student specializing in elementary-school social studies and working towards an embedded certificate in Canadian Studies — is the most recent recipient of the UCalgary Retirees Association Award for Indigenous Students.

“The impact was extremely far-reaching in my life,” says Schaffer, who is Métis. “I come from a small rural town (Bassano), so I was forced to move for post-secondary schooling as opposed to students who live in urban communities. I have to pay not only rent, but transportation, groceries and other living expenses, which really increases my financial strain.

“The award honestly alleviated a lot of the burden, which has allowed me to focus more on my studies. It has given me confidence that my hard work and studies are paying off. It’s such a heartfelt award to receive. I was so, so happy to get it.”

Zoe Kreutzer, who received the award in 2023, is now in her first year of a master’s in counselling psychology. But, at the time, the award supported the completion of her after-degree bachelor’s degree in psychology.

“The most obvious thing is relieving the financial stress,” says Kreutzer, BComm’19, BA’24. 

“It allowed me to take on less additional (part-time) work, so I could focus more of my efforts on my classes and my grades. I was also doing a lot of volunteering at the time, mentoring Indigenous youth, so it gave me more time to work with the girls and to do my research.”

Award gives both financial and confidence boost

In addition to improving the bottom line of recipients, recognition from the UCRA resonates. 

“It was great validation for the work I was doing in school and with the community, so it boosted the confidence a little bit,” says Kreutzer, a member of the Upper Cayuga First Nation, part of the Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario. “I’m very appreciative of that.”

For bolstering Indigenous students’ sense of empowerment, the annual honour is welcome, says Schaffer. “Some students may feel under-represented and under-valued in academic spaces, and I know that acknowledgement, from an award like this, can foster a sense of belonging and pride — I know it has for me. It’s definitely really helpful for Indigenous students.”

With plans to become an elementary school teacher, Schaffer wants to be in a situation where she can help to accommodate all learners. 

“I’m really about equipping them with all their necessary skills and being super-inclusive in the classroom — because I think all students deserve equal opportunities, and not just those that are more privileged than others,” she says. “I want to see our future generations succeed as much as they can.”

Kreutzer, who is interested in conducting research on the mental-health benefits of physical activity on Indigenous youth, envisions a future as a registered psychologist.

“Basically, bringing Indigenous ways of knowing into the more mainstream field of psychology,” she says. “I really want to connect with community and do positive research with community.”