Scholarship Support Opens Opportunities
Ashley Johnson
Joint, Honours Biomedical Science and Honours Music
Music means everything to Ashley. “Everything. I don’t know how I could live without it. I just HAVE to sing. Music lets me express anything and everything.” As enthusiastic as Ashley is about music, it isn’t her only passion. She “loves” the challenge of science and chemistry, and “could not live without music” in her life, so she decided to pursue both her interests. At first, the thought of a Music minor crossed her mind, but Ashley realized that she wanted no limit on the Music classes she could take. So despite the intense schedule, Ashley was excited to pursue a joint Music and Medicinal Chemistry major.
When applying to universities, Ashley decided to audition for the Rudolf and Hedwig Rempel Music Scholarship given by Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo. The entrance scholarship gives two $2000 awards for four years to successful first year applicants enrolled in Music at Grebel. Ashley thought it was a longshot, since she had only just started singing seriously later in her life, but with her gifted voice and talent for song, she succeeded in her goal. “The Music faculty saw something in me,” Ashley said. “It gave me much needed reassurance that this was something I could do.” The scholarship, along with all the praise she had heard about the Music program at Grebel, made her decision easy. Since joining the Grebel community, Ashley has sung in the University Choir, sing-alongs, and joined the music Living-Learning community.
Ashley is currently on a co-op work term at a pharmacy. So far, she has enjoyed the experience to the point where she is considering a Pharmacy graduate program, and at the same time, her voice professor recently explained to her the benefits of a Music graduate program. Regardless of her eventual decision, Ashley is enthusiastic about both subjects, and plans to never stop singing and finding ways to keep her chemistry skills sharp.
It is normal for first year university students to feel anxious about making friends in a different environment than they are used to. Ashley was shy and nervous about leaving her comfort zone, afraid of being unable to find students to connect with. But then, after her scholarship audition and during her residence tours, Ashley found the answer at Grebel. “I might sound like a broken record, but the COMMUNITY is the best part about Grebel. In the tour alone, I met so many wonderful people who left a lasting impact and I knew it would be the best spot for me.” The community events and dinner table traditions helped combat her shyness, and “made [her] feel a lot better about making such a big transition into university.”
Another big draw for Ashley was the music Living-Learning community, a place where Grebel students in the music faculty bond over events, learn from upper-years and about themselves. “I got to connect with students who were just as interested in music as I was!”