Taron Topham is a finalist for the LORAN scholarship. It`s a massive scholarship that awards the winners $100,000 to continue their studies at the post-secondary level.
Roughly 150 people in the province applied for the scholarship. 20 of the applicants including Taron were invited to the semifinals last month in Winnipeg. The day included an interview and more to decide who would move one step closer to winning the $100,000.
Out of the 20, Taron and just three others from Manitoba were chosen to advance to the finals. Those take place early next year in Toronto.
The award, in general, is a national one.
“You know, it’s a very prestigious award and It’s an honour that I’ve gotten this far,” said Topham. “I was honestly pretty surprised that I was chosen as a semi-finalist.”
“The only advice I was given going in, was to be myself. I thought that was the least I could do so I just went into it with a good mindset and it’s worked out so far,”
To be considered for the LORAN scholarship, you have to be heavily into volunteering. Some other criteria include being into athletics and being a solid person.
Taron checks off all of those boxes very easily. The 17-year-old, of course, plays hockey in the Parkland with the Midget Rangers after starting the season with the Kings. He’s also involved with student council and 4H.
“The selection committee felt those attributes were pretty attractive,” said Topham.
Taron will be one of just over 80 applicants from around Canada that will be in Toronto for the finals. Of those, up to 34 will receive the $100,000 scholarship towards their post-secondary studies.
The Grandview native knows everyone that will be in Toronto is super deserving of winning the award, but, he also likes his chances. Especially with some of the feedback, he’s already received.
“I’m sure everyone put a ton of hard work and effort in, but when it came down to it, the committee said I was one of the most personable ones there,” said Topham. “It really just made it feel that things are paying off.”
Winning the $100,000 would simply be a dream come true for the 17-year-old.
“It would mean the world to me, and it would give me more satisfaction in all of the work I’ve done,” added Topham. “I love what I’ve been doing and this would just sort of be the cherry on top.”
Not only do you have to be influential in your community through volunteering and sport, but you also have to excel in school. That’s also exactly what Taron does. Right now, he maintains a 95 average in school.
Moving forward, Taron wants to go into sciences and one day he wants to become a radiologist.
If Taron gets selected for one of the LORAN scholarships, it’s expected that he goes to school out of province.
“The University of Regina is looking pretty promising right now,” said Topham. “There are 24 universities that you can redeem your scholarship at. I just want to go into this with an open mindset and we’ll see what happens in the end.”
