A McNair Secondary graduate is one step closer to achieving his goal of becoming a doctor for those in less developed countries - thanks to a couple of scholarships.
Kian Bellinger, fresh out of McNair, is the recipient of a $5,000 BC Excellence Scholarship from the Ministry of Education and Child Care and a $1,000 Kronier Family Scholarship from the Richmond Community Foundation.
The BC Excellence Scholarship is only given to 55 high school graduates in B.C. who have demonstrated service and leadership, states the provincial government’s website.
Bellinger appears poised to continue demonstrating service and leadership as he plans to put the money towards becoming a physician.
“Hopefully, one day, I could be an emergency care doctor to help people overseas,” said Bellinger, adding that he hopes other students will also live their lives to the fullest by following their passions, potential and instincts.
“I feel like one thing many people don’t realize is that not a lot of students think they have the possibility to make a difference in the community. But, honestly, all it takes is the will to do it and the want. Then, anything can get done,” he added.
Bellinger’s mother, Marilou, said hard work and helping others have been rooted in their parenting since they migrated to Richmond from the Philippines.
Marilou said her son started volunteering at a church close to their home at the age of four. When he turned 14, he and his brother spent time volunteering in a small Filipino village.
When Bellinger was 15, he received certification to become a paramedic with St. John Ambulances. He was also involved in the school’s basketball league as a student coach.
“He won many awards for sports. He received a minimum of seven awards every year on awards day, but he always wanted to do so much. Sometimes I had to tell him to slow down a bit,” said Marilou.
Bellinger will study biotech engineering at Simon Fraser University, while saving money to make his emergency doctor dream come true.
