Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Scholarship helps survivor of Shilo soldier realize dream
Stepdaughter says he would be proud of her plan to aid teens
Master Cpl. Timothy Wilson (CP)
Canada Company founder Blake Goldring (left) and Defence Minister Peter MacKay (right) present scholarships to (left to right) Sheralynn Kennedy, Kirsten Hess Von Kruedener, Natasha Roberge, Myriam Mercier, Jocelyn Ranger, Robert Girouard and Adam Naismith aboard HMCS Fredericton in Toronto Friday. Kennedy is the stepdaughter of Master Cpl. Timothy Wilson, who died in a vehicle rollover in Afghanistan. (FRANK GUNN / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
TORONTO -- Sheralynn Kennedy says if her stepfather were alive today, he'd be proud she wants to dedicate her life to helping troubled teens.
The 18-year old is entering the University of Winnipeg on scholarship with the dream of earning a PhD in psychology and working with teens in jails or group homes. But her stepfather isn't around to congratulate her.
Master Cpl. Timothy Wilson, 30, with the Second Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry based in Shilo, died in an armoured car rollover in Afghanistan four years ago. Wilson, who was born in Grand Prairie, Alta., was the 10th Canadian soldier to die during the mission.
Kennedy was just a month shy of 14 and says her younger teenage years were hard without him.
"There were a lot of influences in my life and some of them were unstable, so I just want to be there for adolescents who are going through the same thing that I am," Kennedy said Friday.
Kennedy is one of eight children of soldiers killed in the line of duty who will be heading off to university next week with scholarships.
The students are receiving up to $16,000 each over four years from a group of companies and wealthy business people under the banner Canada Company. That group includes banks, insurance companies, Barrick Gold chairman Peter Munk and Research In Motion billionaire Jim Balsillie.
The eight students received their scholarships at a ceremony Friday aboard HMCS Fredericton, which is in Toronto to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Navy.
The fathers or stepfathers of the students died while on duty in Afghanistan, and one died during a failed fighter-jet training exercise in Alberta.
Kennedy was one of three winners to receive their first payment. Jocelyn Ranger, 25, and four others received the second instalment of their scholarships.
Ranger's father, Chief Warrant Officer Robert Girouard, was killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan in 2006.
Ranger's husband is currently on duty in Afghanistan, and she says without the scholarship it would have been impossible to go to school, pay a mortgage, and raise her two-year-old son. She also has a baby on the way, due in 15 weeks.
Ranger is studying business at Algonquin College in Pembroke, Ont., and hopes to continue on to a human resources degree, and eventually work in government.
"It was always a goal of my dad to encourage us to obtain a post-secondary education, and he was reaching a point in his career where he possibly could've assisted us," she said.
Her brother, Robert Girouard, also received a scholarship this year, and her other brother, Michel Girouard, received a Canada Company scholarship last year.
-- The Canadian Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 4, 2010 A9
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