Kaisha Woods | BC Scholarship Society : Irving K. Barber

Kaisha Woods: BC Aboriginal Student Award propels Terrace student towards her dream

The path to realizing a lifelong dream of becoming a doctor has been made a little smoother for an 18-year-old Terrace student in her second year at UBC Okanagan.

Kaisha Woods,18, is one of the hundreds of Aboriginal students who received the 2014 Irving K. Barber Aboriginal Student Award. With the $3,500 scholarship in hand, Woods says she is able to really enjoy school this year and has time to take care of herself while balancing a heavy course load.

“I’m so thankful that I received the scholarship,” says Woods. “I wouldn’t be living as comfortably without it.”

Established in 2008, the BC Aboriginal Student Award is available for Aboriginal people pursuing post-secondary education and is intended to improve access to education for Aboriginal students. This year, the Irving K. Barber British Columbia Scholarship Society has granted a total of $917,500 to a record 310 Aboriginal students in BC to support their studies at post-secondary colleges and universities throughout the province.

After graduating high school in 2013, Woods was keen to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. At age five she watched dedicated nurses and doctors care for her aunt as she succumbed to cancer. The passion and care demonstrated by the healthcare providers has stuck with Woods; she knew then that she wanted to become a doctor to help others.

Woods grew up in Terrace surrounded by a loving and supportive community. Her desire to go to UBC was tempered by concern about moving to a big city away from her friends and family. With her grandparents already in Kelowna, UBC Okanagan was the natural choice - but Woods still misses home now and then.

“I do miss having so many people around me that I know, and I miss knowing where everything is,” says Woods.

Although transitioning from life in Terrace to student life in Kelowna is difficult at times, Woods says that staying balanced helps.

“I study a lot but I also have the kind of friends that like to do random fun things like go bowling or go out for dinner,” says Woods. “It wouldn’t be as easy to do that without the scholarship.”

She is also enjoying the resources available to her in Kelowna through UBC Okanagan. The Pre-med Club hosts regular events including talks by guest doctors and local hikes, and the Aboriginal Centre offers a friendly place to visit and share a meal.

Thanks in part to the Aboriginal Student Award, Woods has found a good group of friends, a balanced self-care routine and some extracurricular activities to ease the pain of the distance from her community.

Once she finishes her program at UBC Okanagan, Woods will be applying to medical school either at UBC or McGill University in Montreal.