McCall Scholarships: Clare McDade looks ahead
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
McCall Scholarship recipient Clare McDade may be leaving Huron County for the University of Ottawa in the fall, but she’ll be bringing her sense of community along with her.
The St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School graduate was awarded this scholarship after years of volunteering and community involvement, but earning recognition and funds was never the point. “I didn’t do all of this as a goal to get a scholarship,” McDade told The Citizen. “I was just serving my community, building some relationships and having experiences.”
But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t pleased when the phone rang with the news. “It was incredible,” she recalled. “I felt so grateful, and I was a bit surprised because it’s just kind of unreal!”
For McDade, the McCall Scholarship represents something even more valuable than financial assistance - it’s a vote of confidence in her future. “It says, ‘we see what you’ve been doing, and we want to invest in you and support you,’” she pointed out.
When she heads to the University of Ottawa, McDade has chosen to study biomedical science as an essential starting point for her chosen career path. “I hope to be a healthcare worker,” she told The Citizen. “Ultimately, I can come back to my community and serve.”
As a French Immersion student since the first grade, this program will allow her to continue pursuing her love of language as she studies. “To be able to do my degree in French is really cool because I can continue that skill,” McDade explained.
McDade is excited to experience campus life in Ottawa. Throughout high school, she’s been living in Goderich while making the trip to high school in Clinton by bus. Going off to university means living on campus, walking to class and adjusting to life in a city. “I love Toronto. I love London. I’m excited to live in an urban area,” she confessed. “But it will take some adjusting, I think. There might be some culture shocks that I don’t expect.”
The academic adjustment may prove to be the bigger challenge. “As someone who’s interested in going into the medical field, I think my most daunting personal challenge is just the competitive academic environment and meeting those expectations,” McDade explained. “I want to keep proving myself, and this scholarship is a motivation. It’s a reminder that I’ve done hard things before, and I can do them again.”
One of the things she will miss most about St. Anne’s is the close-knit, small-school atmosphere. “It’s just a really amazing example of the community supporting the school, which you might not find in a larger area,” she reminisced.
Her advice to other students heading off to college or university is simple: don’t assume everybody has it figured out, and remember to cut yourself some slack every now and then. “Remain kind and empathetic and supportive for these new people we meet,” McDade advised. “You might fail a midterm, or you might really struggle with one class or struggle to balance everything, but that’s normal. Giving yourself some grace can go a long way.”