Shannon Cupskey, BC Territory Manager at Chalifour Canada — a subsidiary of TIM-BR MART Ltd. — is a former Kwantlen Polytechnic University business student who, during her first year of studies, participated in a sales class that required students to raise a minimum of $500 toward Kwantlen scholarship funds. The “carrot” was that if the students were successful and able to raise $12,000 (cumulatively), they would not be required to take the final exam.

“Knowing personally how scarce time can be working a full-time job and attending school part-time, I was inspired to try and raise as much award funding as I could,” said Cupskey, who worked at Chalifour during her studies. “I approached our store owners about joining forces and, being entrepreneurs themselves, they were more than willing to participate in such a great cause because they recognize the importance of helping the next generation of professionals to achieve their goals.”

The young entrepreneur managed to convince 10 Lower Mainland IRLY lumber yards to pool their resources and create a $10,000 IRLY Building Centre/TIM-BR MART bursary. She raised an additional $8,000 from outside contacts, bringing her total funds raised to $18,000.

“Needless to say, I did not have to write the final exam,” she said happily.

Today, Cupskey is both a Kwantlen alumna, as well as Kwantlen donor and says “every little bit helps” when you are trying to study. “If the scholarship can buy a student some time for studying and spending time with their family, or free up a little time spent having to work, it is worth it. Our alumni are of the highest calibre and, as employees, are extremely valuable. Our university is well-rounded and offers a full breadth and depth of different programs. If the student is dedicated enough, they are pretty much guaranteed success.”