New Hatch Scholarships will benefit exceptional students in the Faculty of Engineering
By Gary Francoeur
Selina Liu, a third-year student enrolled in McGill’s Faculty of Engineering, has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the prestigious new Hatch Scholarships.
The awards program, established thanks to a $2-million endowed gift from Dr. Gerald Hatch, BEng’44, DSc’90, and Hatch Ltd., the engineering firm he created, seeks to support top-tier students who have completed at least one year of a Bachelor of Engineering degree and who are contributing to campus life at McGill.
Liu, a native of China who moved to Canada when she was 12, certainly fits that bill. While pursuing a chemical engineering degree with a minor in environmental engineering, she has served on both the Chemical Engineering Student Council and the Engineering Undergraduate Society, governing student bodies that represent student interests.
She is also the finance coordinator for the McGill Farmers’ Market, which promotes sustainable food and agriculture at the University and in Montreal, and volunteers with Greenpeace McGill, which raises public awareness about global environmental issues.
“Receiving the Hatch Scholarship is great recognition and proves that all my hard work is worth it,” Liu says. “This award doesn’t just motivate me to stay involved – it pushes me to do more.”
“Students are our Faculty’s greatest asset,” adds Interim Dean of Engineering Andrew G. Kirk. “Only the best are accepted, and because of that we have a particular responsibility to ensure that these exceptional young men and women have the support they need to reach their full potential. Donors like Dr. Hatch play an invaluable role in that process.”
Hatch has a long history of supporting his alma mater. He donated $3 million in 2008 to create the Hatch Fellowships in Engineering to support top graduate students, as well as the Hatch Faculty Fellows in Engineering to recognize outstanding professors whose work has “potential for collaborative, interdisciplinary research.”
He is also an Emeritus Member of the McGill Engineering Faculty Advisory Board and has been inducted into the Order of Canada, the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame. He has received two honorary degrees and holds a doctorate from MIT.
“Supporting post-secondary education is one of the cornerstones of Hatch’s commitment to the communities in which we work and live,” says Rob Metka, a member of Hatch’s Board of Directors and leader of the company’s operations in Quebec. “We’re proud of our ongoing involvement with the University and we congratulate Selina as she receives the inaugural Hatch Scholarship.”