After an entirely virtual selection process, three new undergraduate Wilson Leaders have been selected. They will participate in an intensive leadership development program from September this year until April 2022. During that time, they will learn about national issues through problem-based learning sessions, mentors and speakers and their own work on a community project.

Monica Banayoty, Samantha Li, and Christopher Schankula make up the sixth cohort of undergraduate Wilson Leaders.

Banayoty is a Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences student drawn to opening up bottlenecks in healthcare and wellness, whether streamlining the kidney donation process or finding ways to reduce patient no-shows. Li is a Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization student exploring the use of effective visuals to share scientific concepts and combat misinformation. Schankula is an Engineering and Society student with a five-year history of offering free coding lessons to K-12 students both locally and internationally. They will be joined by a graduate cohort, to be selected later this summer.

Sean Van Koughnett, director of the award and associate vice-president Students and Learning and dean of students notes that, despite the pandemic, the Wilson Leadership Scholar Award has seen a boost in applications.“It’s indicative of McMaster student culture that students aren’t just looking for ways to get through the pandemic themselves. They’re actively creating ways to contribute to others and to develop their strengths.”

“We’re immensely grateful,” he continues, “to Chancellor Emeritus L.R. Wilson, for his generosity in founding this award program and in his recognition that McMaster students have something unique to offer the world.”

More information is available at www.wilsonleader.ca.