High school student awarded $120,000 STEM scholarship – The Queen's Journal
Whether he’s building robots or tutoring his classmates, Aden Blanchette is ready to dive into life at Queen’s
From Northern Ontario, Aden Blanchette is heading south with a $120,000 scholarship in hand.
Blanchette, a high school senior from Timmins, a city in Northern Ontario, has been awarded one of Canada’s prestigious STEM scholarships—the Schulich Leader Scholarship—to support his upcoming studies at the University. The scholarship is valued at $120,000 and is awarded to 100 STEM students annually through 20 partner universities. The recipients are chosen from a group of over 300,000 candidates, and 1500 nominees.
In an interview with The Journal, Blanchette expressed his excitement about coming to Kingston and starting the next chapter of his academic journey. He will be joining the Smith Faculty of Engineering in the Mechatronics and Robotics stream—a direct entry program that combines mechanical, electrical and computer engineering with elements of robotics, automation and programming.
“A lot of [my teachers] have attended Queen’s,” he said. “They’ve told me a bunch of good things [about Queen’s]. The community there is fun, and the classes are also. They liked their experience [there].”
This past year, Blanchette channelled his passion for STEM into building a robotic arm and a 3D-printed game for his English class. While he doesn’t have any specific projects in mind, Blanchette is looking forward to continuing to brainstorm and work on different projects at the University.
“I find it super cool being able to put numbers in ways that let you discover new things. I’ve always just had this interest in STEM,” he said. “And then [my physics teacher] mentioned his daughter who is studying Mechatronics Engineering [at Queen’s], and the way he described it made it sound like it was exactly what I wanted to do in my future.”
As a Schulich Leader, Blanchette is committed to not only leaving his mark on the University’s STEM programming but also making a positive impact on the community at large.
“One of the ways I really enjoyed helping my community is by being a person that anyone could come up to,” he said. “I was a tutor, and I still help my friends in their classes. I hope I’m still able to do that at Queen’s. I hope I understand my material well enough for that.”
By the end of his undergraduate experience, Blanchette hopes he will be able to look back and be proud of the friends and decisions he’s made and feel accomplished.”
“Oh, and build a bunch of little robots,” he added. “That would also be cool.”
Mechatronics, Scholarships, Schulich leaders, STEM
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