Bailey Parnell honours parents’ aspirations

For Bailey Parnell, giving forward, particularly in post-secondary education, is something she and her husband, Hamza Khan, were inspired to do through their own experiences as students who relied on bursaries and scholarships to help fund their undergraduate tuitions.

“We both have a strong belief that education is a foundation for so much more. It was for both of us. It definitely propelled us into new possibilities for our families and new possibilities for our ancestors, really,” she said.

Together, Bailey and Hamza established the Parnell-Khan Bursary for Equity-Deserving Students at TMU. It was important to them that their donation be in the form of a bursary, based on a student’s financial need and not necessarily academic standing. 

The couple knew they could have an impact at their present income level. “I was one of those people who didn’t think that it would be a possibility until much later,” she said, referring to giving within her financial means and making giving part of her value system. “If you have that value when you don’t make a lot of money, you will most definitely have that value as you make more money, so it’s kind of just like a practice.”

The internationally recognized public speaker and founder and CEO of a soft skills training company for corporate, business, government and not-for-profit organizations, Bailey knew it was important to have the scholarship in honour of her and Hamza’s parents, who didn’t have much, but who aspired to see their children be the first in their families to attain a post-secondary education.

“To have a scholarship in your name can be important for people driven by legacy, but it’s not just our legacy. It is the legacy of the people we named it after,” she said.

Help families realize their dream of seeing their children graduate from university. Consider giving today.