AMI Robert Pearson Memorial Scholarship

The AMI Robert Pearson Memorial Scholarship is a national scholarship open to all disabilities.

Amount: $5000

Number: 2 (one student from the English community and one student from the French community)

Deadline: May 31st, 2023

Established in 2012, the AMI Scholarship Program was created to celebrate AMI’s commitment to making accessible media for all Canadians. In 2016, the program was renamed the AMI Robert Pearson Memorial Scholarship in honour of Robert Pearson, AMI’s first Accessibility Officer.

AMI has collaborated with the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) to administer the program and engage students with disabilities from across the country.

AMI is a not-for-profit media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians who are blind or partially sighted. Operating three broadcast services, AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French, AMI’s vision is to establish and support a voice for Canadians with disabilities, representing their interests, concerns and values through accessible media, reflection and portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

New for 2022: Each recipient will also receive a Queen size Tempur-Pedic ProAdapt mattress, valued at around $2,799.

Criteria

Applicants must:

be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada
have a permanent disability
- For the purpose of these awards, a permanent disability is a permanent functional limitation which affects the ability of the student to participate fully in post-secondary education.
be currently registered in and returning to a full-time program of study at an accredited Canadian post-secondary college or university
- For high school students starting post-secondary studies in September 2022: applicants must be accepted to a post-secondary institution at the time of application
- Full-time is defined as 40% of a course-load, as per the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program

How to Apply

Use the online application available through the NEADS National Student Awards Program main page
Unless otherwise indicated, by filling out the application you will be considered for all NEADS Student Awards Program awards. Previous recipients of a NEADS award cannot reapply.
For the AMI scholarship, you must answer the AMI specific application question in your application:
- “AMI’s vision is to establish and support a voice for Canadians with disabilities, representing their interests, concerns and values through accessible media, reflection and portrayal. What changes would you make to ensure accessibility and inclusion across all media platforms? What advice would you offer content creators and broadcasters to guarantee a more inclusive experience for all?”
Once submitted, applications forms are final and may not be modified.
Applicants are invited to submit their application in the official language of their choice (English or French). Documents are reviewed by bilingual staff for completeness
Once your application has been submitted, it will be reviewed for completeness and adherence to the above guidelines
Assuming all guidelines are met, selection committees review applications based on the selection criteria described above
As part of the application, you will be asked for:
- References
- Proof of enrollment
- Good Academic Standing verification form

All recipients will be contacted by email. Due to the volume of applications received, only those selected as award recipients will be contacted. Recipients will be notified early in 2023.

Should you be selected as a Recipient, before you are provided with the funding, you will be asked for proof of disability. Where possible, the type of disability should not be mentioned in the documentation to respect your privacy and confidentiality. The following forms of documentation/proof that indicate you have a permanent disability are accepted:

Letter from student accommodations/accessibility centre
Documentation from a medical professional
Proof of disability benefits or federal or provincial financial assistance for students with disabilities (e.g. Canada Grant for Students with Permanent Disabilities)

Any other type of documentation will not be accepted. Electronic files are accepted in the following formats: Microsoft Word (DOC), (DOCX) and Adobe Acrobat (PDF).

The awards are paid directly to the post-secondary institution (in the students’ accounts) that the recipients are attending to offset the cost of tuition fees for post-secondary study.

Contact Information

Janis Davidson Pressick, Marketing and Communications Manager

(800) 567-6755 Ext. 0971

Email: janis.davidsonpressick@ami.ca

Greg David, Communications Specialist, Accessible Media Inc.,

647-417-0631

Email: Greg.David@ami.ca

NEADS Financial Assistance Program Team

Email: etes@neads.ca

Criteria

How to Apply

Contact Information

See Also