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Undergraduate research award

The Qualico Bridge to Success Program and the Blankstein Momentum Program are incentive-based, donor-funded programs that offer prizes. Students who commit to either program (Fall-Winter Terms) and complete all requirements are entered into a draw for a tuition prize at the end. The prize is valued between $500 - $1000 (amount and number of prizes is program specific) and is applied to the student's tuition for the following term. This incentive helps to reduce the financial stress students may be experiencing when it comes to paying for school. It also aids with persistence and retention of Indigenous students.

In 2018, the Indigenous Student Centre (ISC) launched the EmpoweringU Financial Wellness Program which has been generously funded by Hubert Kleysen, LL.D/14 and Bernice Kleysen.
Realizing the impact of targeted programming, ISC has incorporated Financial Wellness programming as part of a student's academic journey.

Program Objectives:
€¢ Deliver culturally appropriate, holistic programming that removes the shame/fear associated with money & finances
€¢ Provide Indigenous students the knowledge, skills and confidence to make informed financial decisions during their life cycle
€¢ Increase student understanding of saving, budgeting and setting financial goals
€¢ Create awareness about various funding options available to students to assist with educational costs
€¢ Alleviate student financial stress resulting in improved retention and graduation rates

Financial literacy, Tutoring, Reading specialist, Elders, Leadership, student recruitment, orientation course lab sections

Workshops on Indigenous matters; Indigenous Scholars Speaker Series; Indigenous bookclub; Gaa. Wii ji'i Diyaang - group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people on campus working together to support Indigenous achievement and engagement at the U of M; Traditional ceremonies; language courses/activities, orientation