Yang Han Commemorative Fund (OTSS)

Award created thanks to the generosity of Yang Han's colleagues

Award Overview

Value of the award:
Minimum $1,000
Number of awards:
Variable
Award frequency:
Annual
Level or program of study:
Undergraduate
Application Type:
Online Scholarship and Bursaries portal, accessible via uoZone.
Application Deadline:
November 3
Renewable:
No

Purpose of this Award

To provide financial support to students registered in the English-language B.Ed. Program at the University of Ottawa whose education would otherwise be compromised.

Eligibility Criteria

The candidate must:

  1. be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident or a person with the protected/refugee status
  2. be registered as a full-time student in the English-language B.Ed. Program at the Faculty of Education of the University of Ottawa
  3. meet the Ontario residency requirement, as per OSAP rules
  4. demonstrate financial need, as determined by the Financial Aid and Awards Service of the University of Ottawa
  5. demonstrate active involvement with children of an immigrant community by helping them adapt to Canadian society
  6. be a member of a visible minority group as per the Government of Canada definition
The members of the visible minorities are defined as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The visible minority population consists mainly of the following groups: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Arab, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese.

How to Apply

Submitted in the Online Scholarship and Bursaries portal, accessible via uoZone, and must include:

  1. the Financial Questionnaire
  2. a brief statement from the candidate describing their active involvement with children of an immigrant community by helping them adapt to Canadian society
  3. a statement from the applicant who self-identifies as a member of a visible minority

About this Award

The Yang Han Commemorative Fund was initiated in June 2006, in memory of Yang (B.Com. '99) by her former colleagues, after she lost her courageous battle with cancer.

‘Yang was a bright and successful young woman with a gentle and kind nature. She loved children, as was evidenced by her plans to pursue a career in Education. Family Outreach International (FOI) is a federally incorporated, non-profit organization that helps Canadian families adopt children from China. Yang took great interest in the FOI families and her dedication to the work of FOI was always apparent. Her relationships with her family were central in her life. Even as she became more ill, she remained both courageous and optimistic, always trying to make life better for those around her who lover her so very much. Yang will be missed but will live on in the hearts of the many lives that she touched. 

Yang had been accepted into the education program at the University of Ottawa. Several FOI families though it would be fitting to establish a scholarship in her name, as a way to show her family how much they mean to us and how much we wish we could alleviate their suffering. Of all the injustices in this world, that Yuling Deng, who has brought the joy of a child to so many hundred of us, should have to endure the loss of a daughter, seems too cruel to understand. We feel helpless to express our overwhelming sympathy and grief to Yang's family. At the reunion in July 2006, it was clear that Yulin and Bob, as well as Yang's fiancé, Michael, were pleased by our efforts'. 

The family, friends, FOI members and colleagues wish to thank the Government of Ontario who helped create this fund through their generous matching contribution.