Black Canadian Scholarship Fund Celebrates 30 Years, Gives Out More Scholarships
By Onoshe Nwabuikwu, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
On Saturday, August 8, 2026, at the Julian Norwich Anglican Church, the Black Canadian Scholarship Fund (BCSF) held its annual scholarship award ceremony and also celebrated its 30th anniversary. Established in 1996 by Dr. Horace Alexis, who passed away in 2019 (read his Black Ottawa Scene obituary here), BCSF seeks to aid deserving Black high school graduates to pursue university education at a recognized Canadian university. To qualify, students must be Canadian citizens and/or permanent residents, show financial need, maintain an outstanding academic average, and be actively involved in community and volunteer service. With over 80 recipients in its three decades, BCSF has kept Dr. Alexix’ vision afloat, and this year there were 7 recipients: Muna Ahmed, who is going to study Media Production & Design at Carleton University. Samatar Bakal will study Software Engineering at Carleton University. Aida Bamadh is going to study Kinesiology at the University of Guelph-Humber. Hanson Ogbegie will be studying Communication and Media Studies at Carleton University. Victoria Phillip is planning to study Psychology at Carleton University. Maria Sigheng hopes to focus on Biomedical Sciences at the University of Ottawa. Last but not least is Denzel Oguike, who also won the founder’s award. Each recipient received $6, 000 towards their undergraduate studies.
In his remarks delivered in both English and French, BCSF president Kenton Wiltshire gave a brief history of BCSF while declaring the ceremony open. He also explained that the event was going to be in two main parts. The first part was the award ceremony where the lucky recipients received their cheques. These were presentation cheques handed out for photographs.
The second part of the event was the celebration of the 30th anniversary itself. Mrs. Christianne Millet-Alexis, Dr. Horace Alexis’ wife, put things in proper perspective, recounting how her late husband was moved with concern about inadequate opportunities for Black students, which led to the establishment of BSCF with $5000 with assistance from patients and friends. Thirty years later, there are over 80 recipients. For this part, one more award was given, which is the Founder’s Award that has no monetary value.
This year’s recipient was Denzel Oguike, who’s among the 7 recipients of the $6k award. Oguike, who is on his way to study Computer Science at Carleton University, said he decided to learn more about Dr. Alexis after he was nominated. He discovered that they both shared the belief that love is the greatest gift anyone can bestow on another person and that “creating this award was definitely an act of love,” because it helps to fill a gap for Black students who usually don’t have ample opportunities available to them.
After the Founder’s Award had been presented and the winner delivered his acceptance speech, there was a 1-minute silence observed for Dr. Alexis. The programme moved on to acknowledge past recipients, some of whom were in attendance. The first-ever recipient, Maggie Fondong, traced her journey from Trent University to her teaching career in Fiji Island, to a broader time working with the Canadian government as a junior analyst, in procurement, as an educational career adviser, also helping veterans, and ultimately landing at Health Canada. The high point of her remarks was that, in spite of the unexpected turns that came her way, it has been rewarding overall.
Marie-Ange Janvier, who also served as co-emcee (alongside Patrick Martin), was the keynote speaker. She is a clinical engineer and works both at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. Marie-Ange Janvier echoed Ms. Fondong’s admonition to the new awardees not to compare themselves to anyone else and to be prepared for any unexpected turns. She should know because she herself was a BCSF award beneficiary 27 years ago. She said the award “was much more than a cheque” because it’s a sign that the community is saying: “We see you.” Telling the new recipients that they have no idea as to how far this award could take them, Dr. Janvier asked them, among other things, to “dream big and give back.”
Elizabeth December-Lovell gave the vote of thanks, and recognition plaques were given to some members of the planning committee, after which guests moved over to enjoy the food and cake that was served.
