HSBC Donation Helps Aboriginal Students Gain UVic Entrance

For the first time, Aboriginal students entering UVic from the province’s Indigenous Adult and Higher Learning Association’s (IAHLA) Post-Secondary Institutes will have access to entrance awards thanks to a $50,000 donation from HSBC Bank Canada.

The IAHLA Institutes, based in Aboriginal communities throughout BC, offer academic upgrading and university transfer programs for Aboriginal students intent on gaining university admission.

The HSBC Bank Canada Aboriginal Award will be disbursed to UVic students from a permanent endowment established by the gift. The annual award will be made to a first-year student entering UVic who demonstrates community service, financial need and academic achievement.

“We are delighted that HSBC has chosen to support Indigenous students by helping them access post-secondary education,” says Ruth Young, acting director of UVic’s Office of Indigenous Affairs. “The bank’s generosity will strengthen a key strategic priority of the university – to help more Indigenous students gain admission to and graduate from UVic, while alleviating the financial pressures of full-time study.”

“HSBC is very pleased to support students at UVic by establishing the HSBC Bank Canada Aboriginal Award,” said Sandra Stuart, HSBC Bank Canada’s chief operating officer and chair of the bank’s Diversity and Inclusion Council. “HSBC believes strongly in helping to create greater access to education, which is why we fund awards at post-secondary institutions across Canada. We are especially pleased that this award will help Aboriginal students achieve their educational goals.”

UVic is committed to increasing the number of Indigenous students graduating from all faculties. Through a First Peoples House, student support programs and courses and programs relevant to Indigenous students and communities, UVic makes the campus a welcoming place for Indigenous students, faculty and visitors. The number of Indigenous students attending classes at UVic has increased from 64 students in 1999 to more than 860 Indigenous students today.

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