Eesti Sihtkapitali Kanadas stipendiaat: Mihkel Jaenes

Mihkel Jaenes is one of 7 exceptional Canadian-Estonian youth to be granted a 2019 EFC Scholarship. A second-year commerce student at McMaster University, Mihkel was born and raised in Toronto but has spent significant time in Estonia.

He attended TES Estonian School and is now a teacher in the TES Kindergarten and helps with the children’s day program at Metsaülikool. He speaks Estonian fluently and hopes to be able to incorporate Estonia in his future career.

On being Estonian:

Being Estonian means a lot to me. It’s my identity as well as my heritage and it has shaped the person I am… To me, the Estonian language is one of the most beautiful languages in the world. Knowing Estonian opens many doors, from opportunities to live in Estonia, make new friends or to achieve a broader understanding of Estonian culture.

On the role of EFC:

The Estonian Foundation of Canada is important to our community because it creates a network of Estonians in Canada…[EFC] supports many activities in the Estonian community and grants scholarships to young Estonians, providing them with the opportunity to study and do more in life…[The Foundation] also helps us to stay connected to Estonia.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, Estonian Foundation of Canada has granted over 130 scholarships to Canadian- Estonian youth since 2003. See www.estonianfoundation.ca for details on eligibility and application dates or to make a donation to help support youth in our community.