Six students have been named UBC’s recipients of the prestigious Schulich Leader Scholarship.

Maya Achuthan, Anush Mutyala, Patrick Huynh, Jenna Hamilton, Emma Creelman and Nathan Zhao have been named the University of British Columbia’s recipients of the prestigious Schulich Leader Scholarship.

Out of a pool of 350,000 potential candidates across Canada, more than 1,400 students were nominated, of which 100 received this celebrated award.

Maya Achuthan, 18, is a recipient of the $120,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship. A graduate of St. Michaels University School in Victoria, BC, Achuthan will be entering the Faculty of Applied Science this fall. Achuthan was selected for her outstanding academic and extra-curricular achievements, such as designing a blueprint for CRISPR-Cas9 transport to lung cells using lipid nanoparticles as a potential cure for cystic fibrosis and winning the Bronze Excellency Award representing Edmonton at the national science fair.

Anush Mutyala, 18, is a recipient of the $120,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship. A graduate of Chinguacousy Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario, Mutyala will be entering the Faculty of Applied Science this fall. Mutyala was selected for his academic and extra-curricular achievements, such as winning Hack the North 2022, Canada’s biggest collegiate hackathon, at the University of Waterloo. Mutyala also led a team creating graph neural networks to accelerate the drug development process, attracting support from ETHGlobal and Waterloo’s Velocity Incubator.

Patrick Huynh, 18, is a recipient of the $120,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship. A graduate of David Thompson Secondary in Vancouver, BC, Huynh will be entering the Faculty of Applied Science this fall. Huynh was selected for his academic and extra-curricular achievements, such as winning both bronze and silver medals at the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair and contributing to a national research project on Japanese-Canadian WWI soldiers—in partnership with the University of New Brunswick and the Gregg Centre.

Jenna Hamilton, 18, is a recipient of the $100,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship. A graduate of Exploits Valley High in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, Hamilton will be entering the Faculty of Science this fall. Hamilton was selected for her academic and extra-curricular achievements, such as winning the Research Inspired Student Enrichment Award from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. The prize was attending the Boston Leadership Institute Program for Neuroscience Research as a research intern, where she studied complex neurological procedures, assisted in innovative research, and authored a paper on AI and epilepsy.

Emma Creelman, 18, is a recipient of the $100,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship. A graduate of Halifax West High School in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Creelman will be entering the Faculty of Science this fall. Creelman was selected for her academic and extra-curricular achievements, such as collaborating with two student colleagues to develop the award-winning Sea Hive micro-ecosystem which reduces shellfish contamination. Creelman and her team interviewed experts, designed, constructed, and tested the prototype, presenting their results in competition. They won against 48 teams from 17 countries.

Nathan Zhao, 17, is a recipient of the $100,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship. A graduate of Archbishop MacDonald High School in Edmonton, Alberta, Zhao will be entering the Faculty of Science this fall. Zhao was selected for his outstanding academic and extra-curricular achievements, such as the establishment of YegYouth.Tech an organization focused on spreading technological awareness to youth in Edmonton—which partners with Cybera, Alberta’s not-for-profit responsible for driving economic growth through digital technology. Zhao also won a silver medal at the APEGA Science Olympics, competing against more than 20 other teams.

“We are proud to celebrate the continued success of Schulich Leader Scholarships, the premiere STEM scholarship program in Canada. This group of outstanding students will represent the best and brightest Canada has to offer and will make great contributions to society, both on a national and global scale. With their university expenses covered, they can focus their time on their studies, research projects, extracurriculars, and entrepreneurial ventures. They are the next generation of entrepreneurial-minded, technology innovators,” says program founder Mr. Schulich.

About Schulich Leader Scholarships Canada

Recognizing the increasing importance and impact that STEM disciplines will have on the prosperity of future generations, businessman and philanthropist Seymour Schulich established this $100+ million scholarship fund in 2012 to encourage our best and brightest students to become Schulich Leader Scholars: the next generation of entrepreneurial-minded, technology innovators.

Through The Schulich Foundation, these prestigious entrance scholarships are awarded to 100 high school graduates enrolling in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) undergraduate program at 20 partner universities in Canada. Every high school in Canada can submit one Schulich Leader Nominee per academic year based on academic excellence in STEM, entrepreneurial leadership and financial need.