2022 Bright Futures Scholarship Winners

Volunteers make the thousands of programs Calgary Public Library runs every year possible. These programs wouldn’t be what they are without the support of reliable and proactive student volunteers who help empower younger generations, offering new ideas, experiences, inspiration, and insight. The Bright Futures Scholarship celebrates the hard work these role models do with the Library.  

Three scholarships, valued at $3,500, $2,000, and $1,000, are made possible by the support of Barbara Killick, formerly a senior staff member at the Library and who understands the positive impact volunteers make on the lives of those in their community. 

Congratulations to the 2022 Bright Futures Scholarship recipients Hamidat Bello, Riya Sharma, and Divyashree Chockalingam! 

Hamidat Bello ($3,500 scholarship)  

Hamidat has volunteered for more than four years at the Library, along with giving her time to other organizations like the Alberta Children’s Hospital, Ignite Science Society, and the Mental Health for South Asia Club at the University of Calgary. She credits her volunteer work for making her a more open and empathetic person and is grateful for the meaningful connections she has made at the Library. She will be attending the University of Alberta to study neuroscience and plans to continue volunteering while in school. 

Riya Sharma ($2,000) 

Riya’s volunteer experience at the Library sparked a passion for learning and giving back to the community. These experiences paved the way for her to be a leader who acts with empathy and courage in all her volunteer pursuits, like being the General Management Director at Youth Leaders in Law, the trainer for her school’s volleyball team, and a junior dance instructor at Soul Feet Productions. Riya will study engineering as she wants to positively impact the future with her creations. Riya wants to encourage other students like her, including South Asian women, to change the world through fields like engineering.  

Divyashree Chockalingam ($1,000)  

After attending reading and coding programs at the age of 12, Divyashree knew she wanted to volunteer with the Library. She enjoys the reciprocity of volunteering, giving to her community and getting back fresh perspectives and the satisfaction of making a difference. Inspired by her work helping others learn to code, Divyashree has chosen to pursue software engineering in university. She will continue to volunteer and is grateful for the attributes she gained from volunteering, like leadership, confidence, taking initiative, punctuality, and, best of all — making a positive change in the world.