As students across the region head back to school this September, StellerVista Credit Union is celebrating another kind of return to the classroom: more than $25,000 in StellerStudent awards provided to local students pursuing their next chapter in education and training.

This year marks a major milestone for the growing program. For the first time, StellerStudent awards were also offered across the West Kootenay and Boundary region, with $10,000 in awards going to students from the Castlegar, Slocan Valley, and West Boundary areas.

The expansion builds on success in the East Kootenay, where the StellerStudent program was formally launched in 2023 and has now supported students in Cranbrook, Fernie, Sparwood, Elkford, and throughout the region for four consecutive years.

StellerVista created the program after taking a fresh look at what education – and opportunity – actually looks like for families in rural British Columbia. While traditional student award programs focused heavily on academic achievement and university pathways, StellerVista wanted a program that recognized a much broader range of students, ambitions, and ways to build a successful future right here at home.

“Education has changed, and the paths young people are taking have changed with it,” said Jeff Fero, Director, Marketing and Community Engagement of StellerVista Credit Union. “We see our members heading to universities and colleges, but we also see them entering trades programs, technical schools and other forms of specialized education and training.

The StellerStudent program was designed to recognize that there is more than one way to learn, more than one way to succeed, and more than one way to build a future.”

For StellerVista, the program is also an investment in the long-term strength of rural communities. Students pursuing education and training today will become the tradespeople, professionals, entrepreneurs, technicians, healthcare workers, business owners and community leaders who help shape the Kootenay and Boundary for years to come.

“As a credit union, we talk a lot about keeping opportunity local and helping our communities grow,” Fero said. “Supporting students is one of the most direct ways we can do that. Whether someone is beginning a pre-med degree, an HVAC certification, pilot training, or anything else, we want local students to know that their goals matter and that their community is behind them.”

With four years of StellerStudent now established in the East Kootenay and a successful first year complete in the West Kootenay and Boundary, StellerVista plans to continue building the program and helping more students across the region invest in what comes next.

StellerVista Credit Union

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