CENES alumni have donated more than $50,000 annually to support current CENES students in their studies.
We would like to thank the generous individuals who have endowed the following awards for CENES students.
Awards & Prizes
The following awards are available to students taking courses offered by the Department of Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies. Each award is based on specific criteria and guidelines. Click the links below to see if you’re eligible.
Alice H. Shelton Prize
A prize, endowed by a bequest from the late Alice H. Shelton, is awarded to an undergraduate student for proficiency in the field of Germanic Studies.
Dr. Isabel MacInnes Memorial Scholarship
A scholarship, established by W. H. Maclnnes, Esq., of Vancouver, in memory of his sister, Dr. Isabel MacInnes, is offered to a student who is entering fourth year. In choosing the winner, consideration is given to overall scholastic achievement and to outstanding distinction in Germanic Studies.
Eli and Milica Syklerocha Memorial Scholarship in Slavonic Studies
A scholarship has been endowed by their daughter Delfa Syeklocha to honour Eli and Milica Syeklocha. The award is offered to a student in the Department of Russian and Slavic Languages and Literatures on the recommendation of the department.
Fred A. Krugel Memorial Prize
A prize is awarded by the Department of Germanic Studies for outstanding work in the field of Modern German Literature.
German Government Book Prizes
Book prizes, the gift of the Federal Republic of Germany through the Consulate General in Vancouver, are available for students showing proficiency in Germanic Studies.
Jan J. Solecki Prize in Slavonic Studies
A prize has been endowed to honour the contribution made by Professor Jan S. Solecki to the dissemination of knowledge of the Slavonic countries. The award is made on the recommendation of the Department of Germanic, Russian and Slavonic Studies to a student who has shown the keenest interest in Slavonic Studies.
Leon Fus Memorial Prize
A prize is awarded to the best student in Polish studies (language, literature or history) in memory of Leon Fus, a distinguished leader of the Polish-Canadian community in Vancouver. The prize endowed by his family and Polish and Canadian friends, is awarded on the recommendation of the Department of Slavonic Studies.
Nicholas S. Sawchen Undergraduate Award in Slavic Studies
Awards have been made available through an endowment established by an estate gift from Nicholas Stephen Sawchen for undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts who have excelled in a Slavic culture, language or literature course and are in good academic standing. The awards are made on the recommendation of the Department of Central, Eastern and Northern European Studies.
T. Halpert-Scanderberg Memorial Prize
A prize, a memorial to Tadeusz Halpert-Scanderbeg, long-time professor of Polish language and literature at the University of B.C., is offered for graduate work in the field of Polish studies. It is awarded to a deserving student on the recommendation of the Department of Slavonic Studies. Should there be no graduate candidate, the prize may be awarded to the most deserving student of Polish language, literature or history who will proceed to third or fourth year courses in this field.
William Rose Prize
Two prizes, gift of the Canadian Polish Congress, British Columbia Branch, are offered to students taking Polish for the first time and demonstrating superior academic achievement. If in the opinion of the faculty, only one student so qualifies, one award of $350 may be made.
MacInnes-Hallamore Scholarship
Scholarships have been endowed by Miss Letitia A. Hay, B.A.'30, M.A.'32, a former student of the late Professors McInnes and Hallamore. Miss Isabel McInnes, M.A. (Queens), Ph.D. (California) was Chairman of the German section of the Modern Languages Department from 1915-1946 when a separate department of German was established. She served as Head of the new department until her retirement in 1948. Miss Joyce Hallamore, M.A. (British Columbia), Ph.D. (Munich) was a member of the Faculty from 1928-1968 and served as Head of the Department of German from 1948 until she retired in 1968. The awards are made to students entering third or fourth year in the honours or major program in the Department of Germanic Studies and are made on the recommendation of the Department.
Mary Stewart MacInnes Memorial Scholarship
One scholarship, established by W. H. MacInnes, Esq., of Vancouver, in memory of his mother, Mary Stewart Maclnnes (1841-1936), is offered to a student in the Faculty of Arts, Applied Science, Agricultural Sciences, Forestry, or Science, who is entering the fourth year of University work. In choosing the winner, consideration is given, not only to scholastic standing but also to achievement in the field of student government and in athletics, or to special interest in Germanic Studies. The award is made on the recommendation of the Department of Germanic Studies.
Stephen and Katherine Kirstiuk Scholarship
In honour of Stephen and Katherine Kirstiuk, a scholarship has been endowed by their family and friends. The scholarship is awarded to a student who has an outstanding interest and academic record in Ukrainian history and language. Should there be no such candidate in a given year, the scholarship may be awarded at the discretion of Russian and Slavic Languages and Literature, within the Department of Central, Eastern and Northern European Studies, to a student whose interest in Ukrainian Studies is attested by his or her work in a course offered within the area of Russian and Slavic Languages and Literature, and is of high academic quality.
Past Winners
Dr. Isabel MacInnes Memorial Scholarship
Alexandria, 2019
Alexandria is a 5th year dual major student in German and Mathematics in the Faculty of Science at the University of British Columbia - Vancouver Campus from Calgary, Alberta. In her first semester of university, as an eager science student, she took Beginners' German I (GERM 100) to connect to her roots and to study the language of her mother who had immigrated to Canada from Germany in 1981. Since then she has completed all German language courses and completed two exchange semesters at the Freie Universität in Berlin. During that exchange she became fascinated with German literature and culture and came back with the desire to complete a major in German alongside her major in Mathematics. She is very grateful for the world of opportunities that German studies opened up and thankful for the CENES Department for the awards.
Eli and Milica Syklerocha Memorial Scholarship in Slavonic Studies
Dru Dario Dharsi, 2020
Martina Serra, 2019
Anna Alger, 2017
My name is Anna Alger and I am a fourth year Interdisciplinary Studies student from Calgary. I decided to study Russian, as well as other courses offered by CENES, because my mother is from Russia and I wanted to learn the language properly - my father's Russian is limited as he is an English speaking Canadian, and I grew up in Canada surrounded by English speaking relatives. Now I am able to communicate with my relatives in Russian with less difficulty, and it's been a great opportunity to learn more about my Slavic heritage by taking other courses in areas such as Russian literature, Slavic literature and film, etc.
Jan J. Solecki Prize in Slavonic Studies
Jiaqi Zheng, 2021
Emmett Mark, 2019
Regina Vdovina, 2017
My name is Regina Vdovina. I am a fourth year UBC student majoring in Modern European Studies and minoring in Russian. My interest in Slavic Studies came from my family history. Both of my parents are of Slavic descent and were raised in the Soviet Union. My mom was born in Kyrgyzstan and my dad was born in Krasnokamensk, Russia. I have always been interested in Russian history and culture and decided early on to pursue Russian as my minor. The support of the Jan J. Solecki Prize has only strengthened my interest in pursuing Slavic Studies.
MacInnes-Hallamore Scholarship
Kevin Chan, 2019
I have a long-standing interest in East German history, therefore I majored in German to complement my studies in the history honours program. Classes in the CENS department endowed me with a bettering understanding of German culture and the ability to conduct research in German. Thanks to the department, I will spend the coming six months in Germany to conduct archival research for my history thesis and take a semester at the Universität Konstanz. I am incredibly honoured to receive the MacInnes-Hallamore Scholarship. The generous support provided by the scholarship encourages me to further develop my interests in German studies and enriches my research.
Zhanna Kutlimeotva, 2019
I am honored to be one of the recipients of the MacInnes – Hallamore Scholarship for my German studies. When I applied to the Arts program at UBC, I did not have a definite academic plan for my education. In my first year at UBC, I took a German course as an elective because I wanted to regain and upgrade my German skills which I initially received as a child while living in Germany for three years. From my first German classes, it became clear that professors from the CENES Department genuinely care about their students; they are very supportive and encouraging to grow. I kept registering for German classes every term and by the end of the 2nd year, I decided to major in German with the perspective to become a teacher of German. Learning German with a literacy approach in UBC changed my understanding of foreign language education. Immersion into the German culture through literature and films, development of critical thinking and communication skills, group work and presentations are important lessons from my undergraduate experience, which I am thankful for and want to follow in my approach to teaching German in the future.
Titus Tan, 2018, 2019
I was honoured to receive MacInnes-Hallamore Scholarship for my German studies. I originally intended it to be my second major (besides Media Studies), but I shifted to German Studies major during my second year. To be honest, I had been not so sure about moving into the direction of language and literature, but it turned out to be unexpectedly fitting for me (and it may as well be for you!) since I always loved digging into philosophy (Where are most philosophers come from, if not Germany!) and unfamiliar realms. By receiving this award, my effort in studying in this program is acknowledged by the department, which strengthened my intention to dig into this trail that is fraught with surprises and (maybe most importantly) fun!
Dylan Sanderson, 2018
It was my privilege to receive the MacInnes-Hallamore Scholarship. I was first drawn to the Department's course offerings by a desire to learn the language, as I was an avid reader of German-language literature in translation and extremely interested in 20th-century German history. It took me less than a month to fall in love with both the language and the very special and unique learning environment provided by the Department. It was not long afterward that I decided to pursue a German major in addition to my participation in the Honours History program. My professors, with their unparalleled passion and expertise, have been a huge source of inspiration for me. Thanks to this scholarship, I have been able to further immerse myself in my study of German, including two study trips to Europe during which I was able to both practice my language skills with native speakers and become more acquainted with the culture, as well as engage in other academic pursuits pertaining to German Studies, such as participating in a month-long seminar in Poland concerning the history of the Holocaust and a six-week immersion language course while staying with a German host family. I continue to study the language, culture, and history of the German-speaking world in both an academic capacity and during my free time and look forward to sharing my passion for German Studies with others in the future.
Mary Stewart MacInnes Memorial Scholarship
Eric Laycock, 2017
I was honoured to receive the Mary MacInnes Memorial Scholarship for my German studies. I originally intended it to be my second major (besides Cognitive Systems), but mastering German is a Herculean feat (cf. Twain’s essay). I was fortunate to learn from passionate UBC professors. I fell in love at first with its power to build nuanced concepts (perhaps: Feinkoernigkeit). In the end, my studies led me to an intimate embrace of German culture. While I might lie to close friends about reading original Kant, my proudest moment was being able to enjoy a beer in a pub with three strangers. They were from Stuttgart. We spoke in German, and we spoke about politics.
Nicholas S. Sawchen Undergraduate Award in Slavic Studies
Erik Bruendl, 2021
Chihiro Tanigawa, 2021
Ainsley Isabelle Lim-Urquhart, 2021
Sarah Hall, 2021
Sarah Wappel, 2021
Jordan Kantypowicz, 2021
Ellen Sy, 2021
Anni Persson, 2021
Colby Payne, 2021
Sasha Dobisz, 2021
Elizabeth Grabert, 2021
Trisan Niu, 2021
Maria Wesolowski, 2020
Simon Krakovsky, 2020
Samuel Delorme, 2020
Eva Leitin, 2020
Isabell Ava-Pointon, 2020
Brodie Kuzmuk, 2020
Stephen and Katherine Kirstiuk Scholarship
Diego Salinas De Los Santos, 2020
Tessa Grogan, 2017
My name is Tessa Grogan. I am a fourth-year UBC student majoring in anthropology, minoring in archaeology and I am currently the VP Communications of the UBC Russian Cultural Community. My family's Ukrainian heritage inspired me to take my first Russian course at university and I haven't looked back since! Studying the Russian language has greatly helped in my anthropology major where I am particularly interested in Russian expat communities in Canada and Slavic cultures. The generous support of the Stephen and Katherine Kirstiuk Scholarship has enriched my research and encouraged me to continue my studies in the Russian Language Program.
T. Halpert-Scanderberg Memorial Prize
Marcie Brunhild Schlick, 2019