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Cain, who is from North Preston, N.S., had always been interested in the ways that people are different based on how their brains develop. But she never thought about exploring that further until she attended a career fair where a Black psychologist was talking about her work.

“She said there weren’t many Black women working in the field,” Cain recalls. “To see her doing that and to hear about her journey, I realized that’s what I want to do.”

If representation helped Cain envision a place for herself in the realm of psychology, it was the Senator Don Oliver Scholarship that provided crucial support for her to make that dream come true. Launched with a $1M gift from entrepreneur and investor Wade Dawe, these renewable scholarships offer financial assistance and mentorship to African Nova Scotian students pursuing their undergraduate studies at ������Ƶ. 

“The main purpose is to engage Black people throughout Nova Scotia who faced obstacles in pursuing a university education,” says Senator Don Oliver (LLB’64, LLD’03). “Anything that Wade and I can do to remove barriers and help make that happen is for the good of the province and Canada.”

Dawe, the chair and CEO of Numus Financial Inc., established the scholarship, which others are continuing to support, not just to remove barriers to a Dal education among African Nova Scotian students, but also to recognize and continue his friend Senator Oliver’s legacy of advancing social change as a lawyer and as Canada’s first Black male senator. 

That legacy, which includes laws protecting women, children, people with disabilities, and racially visible individuals, has earned Senator Oliver the Order of Canada, the Order of Nova Scotia, King’s Counsel honours, and the Dalhousie Schulich School of Law’s Weldon Award for Unselfish Public Service.

Gaining confidence and momentum

Cain is one of the first two recipients of the scholarship. She says the timing could not have been better. “This scholarship allows me to both continue my education without constantly worrying about tuition and to stay motivated knowing that, by succeeding, I'm helping to encourage other youth in my community,” she says. 

That renewed sense of motivation was inspired as much by the support of the scholarship as it was by the example that Senator Oliver has set through his work. “The thing that stuck out most for me about him was the way he pushed for representation in different fields,” she explains. “I think about how I got interested in psychology and the importance of representation, so it was a sign to me that this is exactly what I should be doing.”

Gloria Ofume agrees. A first-year Bachelor of Health Sciences student in the Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound Technology program, she says being one of the first recipients of the Senator Don Oliver Scholarship confirmed that she is on the right path.

“It gives me confidence to know that somebody sees I can accomplish what I want to achieve, and that they want to help me do that,” says Ofume. “That faith in what I can achieve really helps me push myself forward each semester.”

Ofume thanks Senator Oliver for the added incentive to excel, and for his efforts to increase representation in Canada’s boardrooms, institutions, and government. It’s a legacy she intends to build on when she fulfills her dream of working in the health sciences.

“I know he has said that he wants recipients to go on and make a case for diversity,” Ofume says.

“[Receiving this scholarship] gives me more encouragement to earn my degree because I know I can become an example for other youth that look like me to dream big.”