Spryfield High School Student Wins $100,000 Scholarship

Silas Moore said it was an average day in April when he left his math class at JL Ilsley High School in the Spryfield area of ​​Halifax to check his email. A new message in his inbox read: “Congratulations.”

He was about to find out that he was the winner of one of Canada’s most prestigious scholarships.

Each year, 1,500 high school students across the country, each representing a different school, are nominated to win a $100,000 or $120,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship. Only 100 of those students were selected.

“I remember calling my mom and saying, ‘I think I did it,’ and that was such a big moment in my life. And you know, you’re going to have a lot of feelings. But for me, I came out so many cons in my life… I remember saying, ‘I finally did it,'” he said.

Moore’s resume includes an internship at IBM and mentorship at Brilliant Labs, a charity that helps children learn coding and digital skills.

Mentorship with learning paths

But he did not get the scholarship without support.

Moore says he was mentored by high school teachers and Pathways to Education, a nationwide high school program aimed at youth in low-income communities.

Before the organization came to Spryfield in 2010, the district had a 55 percent pass rate, according to Chebucto Connections, a neighborhood hub. Ten years later, according to the Pathways to Education website, the pass rate had risen to 70 percent.

Supporter Ben Clost has been with the organization for four years. Moore was one of his first student mentees.

Clost remembers the day he heard the good news. He said Moore came in wearing a Memorial University of Newfoundland sweater and sweatpants, with a big smile on his face.

“It was like cheers and hugs and high fives and, I mean, it was just amazing. We were so proud of him,” Clost said.

‘Children are going to be inspired’

For Moore, the stock market is about more than himself.

“I feel like growing up in Spryfield, coming from a low-income area, a lot of these kids will take some inspiration and understand that, you know, even a big scholarship, even the biggest scholarship, is welcome to them,” he said.

Clost said many students in the district are struggling financially, and that makes it harder to go to college. Pathway to Education exists to help students in low-income neighborhoods like Moore who grew up in public housing, graduated from college, and progressed to employment or post-secondary education.

The program provides tutoring, mentoring, and scholarships to students. Clost said any student at JL Ilsley High School, or students in that area, is welcome to participate in the program.

Moore said he plans to come back in a few years and talk to students at Pathways to Education. In the meantime, he will begin his science education at Memorial University in the fall.