Humber held its 2024 Scholarship Celebration at the Universal Event Centre in Vaughan Monday night.
The special reception and dinner allowed students to pick up their awards and celebrate their accomplishments with faculty and the donors who made the scholarships possible.
Luna Reza Ramirez won the Champion of Public Relations Excellence award and said it meant a lot to be recognized.
“Heading to graduation with the scholarship is the cherry on top. It gives me the confidence to step into the workforce,” Ramirez said.
“I am really proud of myself because it really demonstrates all the hard work that I’ve been doing for these four years.”
Ramirez applied for the award when she heard about last semester, and wrote her application essay about how she would advise a client working as part of the communications team.
She was excited to spend time Judy Lewis, a representative of the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms, which sponsored the scholarship.
“Being able to speak with my donor, someone who has been working in the PR industry for so long, I get to learn a lot of those experiences through talking to her,” she said.
Lewis said her organization believes education is the key to advancement, and was thrilled to acknowledge a student like Ramirez.
“Given that the recipient won a merit award, it means that she is supporting the profession, and is striving for excellence in everything that she does,” she said.
Humber gave out 824 scholarships and bursaries last year.
Humber’s President, Anne Marie Vaughan, spoke about the importance of donors.
“You recognize the unlimited potential and you continue to lift them and provide them with motivation and confidence for them to carry on their studies,” she said.
Ramirez said she would advise future students to apply for the variety of scholarships and bursaries available at Humber.
“My advice to people is don’t do it for the scholarship and the award, but because of the opportunities this will open for you.”