By Patchen Barss
Rebecca Doherty finished high school a straight A student. Her educational journey, though, taught her more than what appeared on her final exams. Along the way, she developed from a shy, introverted kid to someone with a sophisticated, bold understanding of the world and the things she wants to get out of it.
She will start university with a solid understanding of what she loves and what she’s good at: mathematics, curling and other sports, camping and outdoor activities, and volunteering with sporting and equity-seeking organizations. She knows how to advocate for herself and others, and understands how to find joy and pride in her day-to-day life. Most important, she knows what she values more than anything else in life: her community.
“I'm someone that students trust and teachers trust and the community trusts to help them get to where they would like,” she says. At school, teachers send other kids to Doherty for advice and guidance. In the broader community, she mentors and tutors younger kids, and advocates for greater inclusion and accessibility. At age 17, she is already someone her community relies on. She has forged a bond of trust and support with the people around her that not only enriches her community, but also plays an important role in her knowing herself as well as she does.
“Where I am today in my journey has come from support of my family, friends, mentors, teachers and community partners — everyone,” she says. “I was able to learn how to self-advocate for accommodations and resources that helped me grow as individual, and overcome challenges I have experienced.”
She was fortunate to have sufficient external support and internal drive to understand her own strengths, recognize the validity of her accomplishments, and take pride in her abilities as a student.
She has been a math tutor for years, and has savings from a part-time job in retail. With a financial and symbolic boost from an EKO scholarship, she is now bound for Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke Quebec, to study finance and mathematics.
Community will remain central to her university experience — she is a natural leader and helper, with a highly developed sense of empathy for the people around her.
“I'm very excited to go to Bishop’s, to challenge myself academically and also to have opportunities that the university gives me being at a smaller school in a more rural area,” she says. “I have more than 500 volunteer hours of community service already. So that's where you'll see me.”
Meet our 2025 EKO Scholars