LDSS student’s achievements recognized with $100,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship

By Paul Forman

On a very rare occasion, a secondary school student is able to demonstrate a wide range of academic excellence, possesses an unrelenting work ethic and exudes leadership that is both effective and compassionate.

Leamington District Secondary School Grade 12 student Matthew Kenney clearly has the aforementioned attributes and has recently been recognized by a scholarship selection committee that has granted Matthew a $100,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship.

The Schulich scholarships were first established in 2012 by philanthropist Seymour Schulich, and provide funds to 100 deserving undergraduate students that are studying either science, mathematics, engineering or technology at the university level.

A lifelong Leamington resident, Kenney believes that his passion for engineering and science first came from his creations that he made with Lego blocks. After graduating from Margaret D. Bennie Public School, he found a spark was ignited in his grade nine class with Mrs. Jeffery.

“I started to expand my knowledge about science and that is when my interest really took off,” said Kenney.

Matthew commented that what makes him most proud, in an academic sense, is his recent International Baccalaureate Extended Essay, an original research paper that connected the use of excessive road salts with a negative impact that we are seeing on our local aquatic food webs. He is currently working with Dr. Febria, a professor at the University of Windsor’s Great Lakes Institute, to get those findings published in a science journal.

Matthew will be graduating with an average of 96 percent in his grade 12 courses, and in the fall will be entering the chemistry program at McMaster University in Hamilton. He plans on eventually completing a doctorate degree at McMaster and has ambitions to become a scientist as a vocation.

Though offered multiple offers from other universities, McMaster captured his heart and seemed like the best choice for him.

“Mac has a research focus that will suit my interests,” said Matthew. “I find chemistry to be so multi-faceted, it is interesting to see how the world works. Chemistry really is a building block for every other science.”

Matthew’s leadership has been evident in many school endeavours as he has been a Volunteer Coordinator for Gleaners bringing on new recruits for packaging unmarketable vegetables that helped in aiding Ukraine, he organized cooking classes at the school so that students could learn how to prepare healthy meals, and took it upon himself to set up a 3D printing repair shop that trains students how to make replacement pieces for the school’s popular chess club and replace ment parts for malfunc tioning school equip ment.

Matthew’s chemistry teacher, Julia Dueckman, is proud of how he has recently taken on a role as a teacher assistant of sorts.

“IB exams finished in May, Matthew has come into my other chemistry classes and helped with student experiments and shown others how to use graphing tools,” she said. “He will also be leading a grade 11 class in a lab that he helped to develop.”

International Baccalaureate Coordinator Lisa Jeffery has had the privilege of working with Kenney over the last four years and has become a real advocate in his corner. Jeffery was elated with her student’s scholarship, noting that it was the first time that some one at LDSS had earned that particular scholarship.

When asked to describe this young man, she said, “His work ethic is incredible and it is what really sets him apart. He is resilient when facing big challenges and always finds ways to stay positive and thrive. Academically, Matthew has the ability to identify problems, develops innovative solutions and is able to recruit others to help implement his plans. I have every confidence that he will be successful in whatever field he pursues and the sky is the limit for him.”

When asked what drives his passion, Matthew said, “I just have a desire to succeed. It’s important to work hard and try to engage in every thing around you. Doing these things will help you to develop as a person.”

LDSS student Matthew Kenney was awarded a $100,000 Schulich Leadership Scholarship. He is pictured here with LDSS chemistry teacher Julia Dueckman.