Dawson College graduate Celeste Groux (Enriched Pure and Applied Science, Class of 2019) was awarded the Corinne Mount Pleasant-Jetté Leadership Award on August 22.

“We are very proud of Celeste!” said Diane Gauvin, Academic Dean of Dawson College. “Celeste is one of 10 scholars from across Canada to win an RBC Indigenous Student Award and she is the only student in the country to be selected for this national leadership award.”

The scholarship is given by RBC and is named in honour of the late Corinne Mount Pleasant-Jetté, a prominent member of the First Nations community who was instrumental in leading the launch of the RBC Indigenous Student Awards Program. This leadership award is given to the student who most demonstrates leadership skills in their community and acts as a change agent.

“Celeste is a great role model by showing the things you can accomplish as not only an Indigenous person, but as a woman in Mathematics,” said Jennifer Anne Barley, Branch Manager of RBC in Chateauguay and RBC Royal Eagle representative. “She mentored students in the first year of high school and organized activities for the student body, such as School Spirit Week. Celeste was active at Dawson volunteering for campus events, such as First Peoples Week and Multicultural Days.”

Ms Barley represented RBC at a special presentation of the award at Dawson College and was joined by Clarice Wong of the Ville Marie branch. Celeste’s parents, former teachers, people involved in the Indigenous Initiatives at the College, Dawson College Foundation board members, and other members of Dawson management and staff attended the celebration.

“There are a lot of things I like about my time at Dawson,” said Celeste. “There were so many great teachers and I loved my Humanities classes. I also appreciated all the activities on campus.”

Celeste had applied to several scholarships. “I knew that I would have to pay for my education and I was worried about how much work I would have to do. I have worked full time in the summer since I was 16, and part time during the semester. When I received the congratulatory email from RBC that I had won, I was in shock and so happy.”

Celeste, who has also received another major scholarship from Hydro Quebec, is continuing her studies at McGill University this fall in Honours Applied Mathematics. She will be able to focus on her studies with the RBC scholarship, which will pay up to $4,000 in tuition per year for four years. Celeste lives in Châteauguay and is a member of the Bigstone Cree Nation.