George J. Kadar Memorial Scholarship

Award Overview

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

Purpose of this Award

To provide financial assistance to students at the Faculty of Medicine who have demonstrated an ability to overcome personal adversity in pursuit of their life goals.

Eligibility Criteria

The candidate must:

  1. be registered as a full-time student in a program at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ottawa
  2. be an Ontario resident, as per OSAP rules
  3. demonstrate financial need, as determined by the Financial Aid and Awards Service of the University of Ottawa
  4. have demonstrated an ability to overcome personal adversity in pursuit of their life goals
Note : Preference will be given to applicants from non-traditional fields of pre-medical studies, i.e. engineering, music, law, etc.

How to Apply

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

  1. the Financial Questionnaire
  2. an essay of 500-750 words, describing how the applicant has triumphed over some sort of personal adversity in his/her life, and how those experiences will inform the manner in which he/she cares for his/her patients in the future

About this Award

This scholarship is awarded to eligible medical students in any year of their studies who have demonstrated an ability to overcome personal adversity in pursuit of their life goals. George Kadar was a brilliant engineer and scholar who embraced learning with a passion and focus that was quite simply unrivalled. After losing his family in the Holocaust, he managed to convince a private business owner to sponsor his education at the Technical University of Budapest, from which he earned his degree in electrical engineering. Taking flight from communist Hungary during the Revolution of 1956, he immigrated to Toronto after seeing “Maple Leaf Wrestling” playing on a television set while at Pier 21. He went on to become an eminent and trail-blazing satellite engineer and consultant, travelling the globe and loving every minute of his work along the way. A supremely proud father and a dedicated husband, he continued to work full-time as a satellite engineering consultant while well into his seventies.

At age 77, after receiving a diagnosis of advanced pancreatic cancer with a uniformly dismal short-term prognosis, he set about reinventing the way in which patients deal with this dreadful disease, simultaneously educating himself in oncology, cell biology, chemotherapeutics and vaccine therapies and the like. Over the next 6 years, he achieved 2 previously unheard of complete clinical and radiographic remissions, and in the process, directly inspired and provided guidance to approximately 60 other individuals from the world over who suffered from the same condition. 

He passed away on November 2nd, 2009, but not before forging a brightly lit path for any others who might be brave enough and brilliant enough to try and negotiate the treacherous waters of a cancer diagnosis. The donors have established this scholarship in order to recognize a medical student who is imbued with the same sense of perseverance and passion that was constantly on display throughout George's remarkable life. 

The donors wish to thank the Government of Ontario who helped create this fund through their generous matching contribution.