The McCall MacBain Scholarships at McGill are Canada’s first comprehensive, leadership-driven scholarships for master’s and professional degree studies. Designed to encourage purposeful leadership, the scholarships enable students to pursue a fully funded master’s or professional degree while participating in mentorship, coaching, and a leadership development program at McGill University.
Students and graduates from more than 1,200 universities applied for the first year of global admissions. From that pool, 242 participated in regional interviews and 88 finalists were selected - including Waterloo's Sarah Rourke. In March, she and the other finalists will attend the final round of interviews to meet with leaders from academia, business, government and the social sector. In the end, the committee will select up to 30 students to be the newest cohort of McCall MacBain Scholars.
“It still feels surreal," says Rourke. "I am proud of how far I have come throughout my undergraduate career, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be recognized for my accomplishments."
Rourke is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and minoring in Fine Arts Studio. She is interested in astrophysics and cosmology of dark matter and contributed to five public art projects. She has held co-op jobs at the National Research Council Canada, Harvard University and SNOLAB - is a world-class science facility in northern Ontario that specializes in neutrino and dark matter physics.
This summer she won first place at the Canadian Astroparticle Summer Student Talk Competition for her talk on “Producing the World’s Cleanest Noble Gas for DEAP-3600″. The annual event is for undergraduate students from Canada and around the world who are working in the field of astroparticle physics.
Rourke has been actively involved with campus life during her time at Waterloo. She was actively involved in Waterloo's orientation week and was an orientation leader. She also revived and leads FemPhys, a student club for undergraduate, graduate students in physics and related fields. Their aim is to facilitate education, sharing of experiences and friendships for women, nonbinary individuals and minoritized people in physics at UWaterloo. One of the club’s recent initiatives was to host a mentoring night to connect more than 100 students with diverse mentors.
"I would not be where I am today without my community," says Rourke. "FemPhys has empowered me to assume my place in the field of physics, and it truly fulfills me to give back to that community.”
“McGill, Montréal, Québec, and Canada attract talented students from all over the world,” said John McCall MacBain, Chair of the McCall MacBain Scholarships at McGill. “Our aim is to provide a life-changing opportunity for students who have a track record of contributing to their communities and a genuine desire to make a positive impact.”
If Rourke is not selected as a McCall MacBain Scholar, she is eligible to receive a $10,000 Canadian Finalist Award for studies at McGill.
The McCall MacBain Scholarships program also offered Regional Awards of $5,000 each to 38 more Canadian candidates who were among the top in their region. University of Waterloo graduates Snit Abrha (Dipl’22) and Benjamin Easton (BA’22) earned Regional Awards, which are tenable at any public university in Canada.