Meet the President’s Entrance Scholarship recipients

Academic excellence, leadership skills, originality and remarkable creative abilities are all qualities that the 12 winners of the President’s Entrance Scholarship at TMU embody. 

Among this year’s scholarship recipients are students who are figure skaters, writers, filmmakers, athletes and activists. Many of them come from distant parts of the world and others grew up right here in the Greater Toronto Area.

The scholarship provides a total of $40,000 in financial support to first-year students, spread over four years. Recipients are also guaranteed space in campus residence.

We met three students who received the scholarship to learn more about their story and goals. They have a common desire to make a difference, commitment to creative and extracurricular activities in addition to academic excellence, and boldness to go after their dreams.

Sonali Chatrani
Business management

A first-generation student, Sonali Chatrani grew up in Barbados and is an aerial silks performer. She enjoys experimenting with the different patterns of shapes and lines that the silks can create, and often comes up with new flows, poses and variations of her own.

“My style is often described as dramatic and swift since I love to use songs with inspiring or heartfelt lyrics. I love that this not only captures the eye but conveys a particular message and mood,” Chatrani wrote in her scholarship application essay. “Aerial skills creativity is about exploring the boundaries of the medium and pushing the limits of what is possible. It calls for my imagination, experimentation and risk taking to lead to a unique and rewarding form of artistic expression.”

Before leaving Barbados to study at TMU, Chatrani was involved with Key Club International as the district chairperson of the Membership Development and Empowerment Committee for the Caribbean Atlantic District. Her contributions to this service-oriented, student-led organization helped develop leadership skills, and learn the value of inclusivity and teamwork.

“I really love it here,” Chatrani said about her journey so far at TMU. “I’m living in residence, so I’ve made a lot of friends and there’s such a great community here. I’m very happy and I feel like I’ve adjusted really well. I have also just started a new student group, a Bollywood dance club, with two colleagues. So I’m looking forward to that over the next year.” 

Anna Petroseniak
Psychology

For Anna Petroseniak, being connected to her Ukrainian culture has been a big part of her life. In high school, she was involved with the Ukrainian Heritage Club and contributed to many initiatives ranging from bake sales, a ‘Play for Ukraine’ tournament and a Holodomor bus, or a mobile classroom, during Holodomor Remembrance Week.

“High school was a great time for me to explore my passions and interests,” Petroseniak said. “I spent time volunteering at a grassroots nonprofit called Glocal Foundation of Canada, where I was focused on improving civic engagement, getting youth to engage with Canadian politics and bringing awareness to certain public issues.”

While volunteering as a youth development coordinator, Petroseniak started her own project, a  (PDF file) digital e-toolkit – a step-by-step guide to Canadian politics and an overview of some of the core aspects of governmental processes in Canada. The toolkit remains a valuable resource for Canadian youth to access reliable information about democracy and civic engagement.

“This scholarship has meant the absolute world to me,” Petroseniak said. “It’s an opportunity to fully devote myself to my studies, and it motivates me to keep striving and pursuing projects that align with my interests. My experience at TMU so far has exceeded all expectations. In just a few months, I feel like I have learned so much and I keep growing in this environment. I’m definitely finding my place in the TMU community.”
 

Keagan Valentine
Computer Science 

Keagan Valentine is a coder, musician and sailor. As co-president of his high school’s computer club, Valentine taught other students how to use the programming language Python. While he can also code in Java and Swing, he recreated the popular game Battleship using NetBeans for a Grade 12 project. 

“NetBeans is an industry-standard tool which can make the design process much easier if you know how to use it, but I had just three weeks to learn it with little guidance from our teacher,” Valentine wrote in his scholarship application essay. “I worked through the logic and design, but the code in NetBeans is set up in an entirely different way than I was used to. Through trial and error, I figured out how to generate the code and submitted my project a day early.”

Valentine was also his school’s music council co-president and performed in six ensembles, winning the music leadership award at the Ontario Band Association’s festival. As a passionate sailor, he mentored many junior racers on his school’s sailing team.

“Winning the scholarship validated and acknowledged a lot of what I’ve done. I also have more financial freedom to pursue what I love,” Valentine said. “I’ve loved going to TMU so far and the control I have over my schedule. I’ve been helping a lot of people with their programming through the TMU Computer Science Discord chat, where I get hundreds of questions everyday. I feel like I’m learning so much here and it’s just really fun."

To learn more about scholarships and awards for incoming students at Toronto Metropolitan University, visit the admissions website.

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