The COVID-19 outbreak certainly affected everyone, and one sector who is bearing the brunt of the pandemic are students in college or universities paying off their student loans. These students, who normally earn well during their summer breaks, lost job opportunities due to the disease. According to Statistics Canada, employment for Canadians aged 15 to 24 was 15.3 percent below before the pandemic hit. For this reason, a number of them are struggling to pay off student loans especially now that the six-month payment freeze is over.

A scholarship can truly be a life-saver during these times for those who are entering college or university. It’s truly a breath of fresh air to be relieved of some of the financial burden. While getting financial help is not the be-all and end-all for success after post-secondary studies, it leads to positive things—just ask these famous recipients of scholarships.

William H. “Bill” Gates

If you don’t know who Bill Gates is, then you’ve been living under a rock. But before Gates became the business magnate that we all know today and as the co-founder of the Microsoft Corporation, the largest personal computer-software company in the world, he was a recipient of a National Merit Scholarship back in 1973, which he received because of an outstanding PSAT score. Now one of the richest people in the world, Gates knows how to pay it forward. In 2017, he launched The Gates Scholarship or TGS, with his wife Melinda. TGS provides scholarships to 300 students from low-income backgrounds so they can realize their full potential.

Jeff Bezos

It’s not a coincidence that another business magnate, Jeff Bezos, was also a recipient of a National Merit Scholarship, like Gates. It shows that these individuals truly know how to use the benefits of scholarship funds to the fullest. The Amazon CEO received the scholarship back in 1982 and by 1994, he went on to be the founder of what is now the world’s largest online shopping platform. As of this year, Amazon accounts for a massive 40 percent of Americans’ online shopping spending, leaving all the other online retail companies in the dust. Like Gates, Bezos is determined to pay it forward, through the launch of Bezos Day One fund, which benefits non-profit schools and charities dedicated to homelessness causes in the United States.

Manoj “M. Night” Shyamalan

1. Night Shyamalan, as he is more commonly known, may not be multi-billionaires like Gates and Bezos, but he is certainly no chopped liver in this list. Shyamalan impressed and scared the wits out of movie audiences worldwide with the 1999 blockbuster “The Sixth Sense.” Shyamalan then became well-known for the most mind-bending plot twists in films and continues to deliver. These days, Shyamalan hit the small screens with his series “Servant” made in true Shyamalan form.

Stephanie Meyer

Fans of the “Twilight” film saga know Stephanie Meyer as one of the most popular young adult authors, even handpicking Robert Pattinson to play the lead character of the series, Edward Cullen. But not everyone knows that Meyer has always been studious and hardworking. When Meyer graduated from her high school in 1992, she accomplished high grades that she earned the National Merit Scholarship. Using her award, she attended Brigham University and majored in English University, graduating in 1997 with a BA in English. This year, Stephanie released “Midnight Sun,” the much-anticipated follow-up to the “Twilight” series written from the perspective of Edward. The book went on to sell a million copies during the first week of its release.

Oprah Winfrey

We’ve saved the best for last on this list. The acclaimed TV personality, actress, author and entrepreneur received a full scholarship to Tennessee State University Oprah Winfrey got a full scholarship to Tennessee State University after her win at an oratory contest and the Miss Black Tennessee pageant. Following her stint at the university in 1976, Oprah went on to become a reporter and coanchor for the ABC news affiliate in Baltimore, Maryland and a cohost of the Baltimore morning show “People Are Talking.” This paved the way for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 1985 and the rest, as they say, is history.

SOURCES:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Oprah-Winfrey

https://reubensinghmanchester.com/5-notable-recipients-scholarships/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bill-Gates

https://www.thegatesscholarship.org/about-gates

https://www.newsweek.com/why-amazon-jeff-bezos-dont-deserve-all-that-hate-opinion-1538358

https://www.bezosdayonefund.org/