Targeted Scholarship Program

Targeted Scholarship Program

In 2023, after 17 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in awards, MROO created the targeted scholarship program. In the past, scholarships were awarded exclusively to the relatives of members entering the second year of a university or college program. This new program charted a new path. These targeted scholarships focus on supporting graduate students in Ontario who are doing research or pursuing a career that will positively impact the lives of seniors.

The first partner school was Carleton University. In 2024 an agreement was signed with Lakehead University and McMaster University was added in 2025.

2025 Targeted Scholarship Recipients

MROO has awarded a $3,000 Scholarship to Carleton University graduate student, Will Sloan. This is the third year that Carleton University has participated in this program. 

Will, who is from Ottawa, is in his second semester of a Master of Science in Computer Systems Engineering at Carleton University. His graduate research focuses on using everyday devices like hearing aids or earbuds to measure the physical health of people. He hopes his research gets used by seniors to track their health to detect health problems before they become an issue and track their rehabilitation progress. His goal is to complete his master's thesis and hopes his work will have a tangible and real-world positive impact on the lives of others. For example, he would like the findings of his research to be used by healthcare professionals to improve or make their work easier and more impactful. 

Will obtained an undergraduate degree from Carleton University in Computer Systems Engineering. When Will graduates, he hopes to start a robotics company with the focus on automating tasks that people do not want to do – enabling people to have more free time to do what they enjoy.  In his free time (which is limited right now), Will likes to play Magic: The Gathering a digital and tabletop collectible card game. This MROO scholarship will allow Will to focus on his research throughout the summer of 2025. 

This is the second year of MROO’s partnership with Lakehead University.  This year, MROO is excited to announce this year's Targeted Scholarship at Lakehead University goes to Kay-Lynn (KC) Woilford.

KC, who was born and raised in Thunder Bay, is in her final year of a Master of Social Work with a specialization in Gerontology. Her graduate research focuses on understanding disenfranchised grief in long-term care and supporting personal support workers who provide exceptional person-centred care. 

In 2022, she obtained an Honours Bachelor of Arts with Specialization in Gerontology from Laurentian University, and she completed an Honours Bachelor of Social Work from Lakehead University in 2024. As a Registered Social Worker, KC values and supports anti-oppressive and anti-racist approach in her research and work.  She explains, “I am dedicated to building strong foundational relationships in the spirit of reconciliation, to continue to learn to be a strong ally and partner with Indigenous communities and 2LGBTQ+ people by always focusing on inclusivity, respect, and collaboration.” 

KC volunteers in Thunder Bay – she is a committee member at Dementia Gardens and at Compassionate Communities Thunder Bay. After graduation, she plans to continue her work in long-term care with a palliative care approach. She hopes to increase the understanding of dementia studies and the benefits of person-centred care. 

Bill Latham, long-time Director of Zone 8 (Thunder Bay, Kenora and Rainy River Area) and in his final term, explains the importance of these Targeted MROO Scholarships. “MROO’s Scholarship with Lakehead University allows us to support the next generation of students who are working hard to improve the lives of all older Canadians through their important research.

"He adds, “KC is certainly doing that. We hope this MROO scholarship helps KC to reach her academic goals and alleviates some of her financial stress. Congratulations, KC, and best of luck in your future endeavours, we applaud and support your important research!” 

New this year, MROO has awarded a $3,000 Scholarship to McMaster University PhD student, Mingi (Edward) Chu. This is the first year for this Scholarship with McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA) and MROO. Edward is currently in a Ph.D. program in Biomedical Engineering at McMaster University. He completed his undergraduate studies in the Health Sciences program at McMaster with a specialization in Child Health and completed a master's in health information science at Western University.

Edward’s research is centred on developing a robust osteoporotic fracture prediction tool that utilizes DXA (Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry) imaging in combination with Machine Learning algorithms. Osteoporotic fractures are a major concern among aging populations, often leading to significant declines in quality of life, loss of independence, and increased mortality. Through this project, he aims to provide clinicians with a novel diagnostic tool capable of assessing bone quality more precisely in older adults. This will enable early intervention and tailored prevention strategies, with the goal of improving the health and wellbeing of older adults across Canada. In his free time, he is passionate about coffee, particularly specialty coffee. Edward enjoys experimenting with various brewing techniques, extraction methods, and bean origins. Originally from South Korea, Edward considers Richmond Hill home. Congratulations Edward, and best of luck with your research project! 

2024 Targeted Scholarship Recipients

The first recipient from Lakehead University, was awarded to May Remenda, who lives in Thunder Bay (from Nipigon, Ontario). May completed a Master of Social Work with a specialization in Gerontology from Lakehead University. 

May's thesis work focuses on enhancing dementia care for Indigenous residential school survivors who are often relocated to long-term care facilities far from their communities and support systems. By advocating for culturally safer care practices, which respect and integrate their unique heritage and histories, her work aims to ensure these elders are treated with dignity and kindness in their final years. After graduation, May will be working as a Knowledge Broker at the Centre for Education and Research on Aging & Health (CERAH). 

At her recent graduation ceremony (May 30, 2024), May received another award - the Dean Braun Scholar award which is presented to the student with the highest academic standing in the program. Congratulation to May!

MROO also awarded its second targeted scholarship with Carleton University to Phillippe Forster, from Gatineau, Quebec, who was in his first year of a Master of Applied Science in Computer Engineering. His thesis work is seeking to improve at home patient monitoring systems that would be able to reduce patients trips to the hospital by creating a device that can monitor ECG activity, blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation, and create stethoscope measurements. Professor Bruce Wallace, Executive Director of SAM3 AGE-WELL National Innovation Hub, is supporting Phillippe in his research aimed at improving senior's ability to age in place with the AGEWELL group. After his graduate work, Phillippe would like to work for a startup company in the health or technology sector.

2023 Targeted Scholarship Recipients

MROO’s first Carleton targeted scholarship was awarded to Aidan Lochbiler, who was pursuing a Master of Science in Computer Engineering with a specialization in Data Science at Carleton University. 

After completion of high school Aidan attended Carleton University where he received his undergraduate degree in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering. Aidan is now completing his first year of his Masters of Science degree studying Computer Engineering with a specialization in Data Science at Carleton.

Aidan is currently doing research monitoring and understanding the behaviours of individuals while operating autonomous (self-driving) vehicles versus manual vehicles. Aidan hopes his research will lead to improving autonomous driving overall while also improving the safety of these systems. Concurrently this research could also lead to improved physiological metrics that detect cognitive decline in senior drivers. This could lead to better testing that could allow seniors to maintain their drivers licenses longer, helping to reduce the social isolation that often increases when driving privileges are lost.

Aidan hopes to use this knowledge and have a positive impact on people’s lives either in the engineering arm of an automaker or in further research with Transport Canada.