CREDIT: FANSHAWE COLLEGE
Shalyn Herrett, a third-year student in the fire inspection and fire safety education program, won the Matteo Gilfillan and Associates Inc. award, and Jeabryllin Ruiz, a second-year student in the Fire Safety Systems program, won the Harding Fire Protection Systems Award.

Two Fanshawe students have received national awards from the Canadian Fire Safety Association (CFSA).

Shalyn Herrett, a third-year student in the fire inspection and fire safety education program, won the Matteo Gilfillan and Associates Inc. award. The award is presented to a third-year student in a three-year fire protection engineering technology program with exceptional academic proficiency (greater than 3.6 grade point average) in codes and standards-related courses and an overall grade point average higher than 3.3.

The other student who received an award was Jeabryllin Ruiz, a second-year student in the fire safety systems program. Ruiz was awarded the Harding Fire Protection Systems award, which is presented to a top first or second-year student of a two-year fire protection technician program with a passion for fire and life safety, exceptional overall skills in fire alarm systems and a grade point average of 3.0 or higher.


Frank Donati, the coordinator for both the programs, said that he was “absolutely stoked” to hear the news.

“They’re both extremely good students who worked very hard and have earned the scholarships,” he said. “They’ve put in the work, and I think it’s great that CFSA has recognised them both for the excellence they’ve shown through their education career.”

CFSA is a national non-profit that promotes fire safety through training, education, meetings, and scholarships. The organisation offers over $10,000 in scholarships for a variety of different programs. Students are required to write a small essay explaining their interest in fire safety, the course they’re in and how they plan on utilising their education, and any experience they have in fire safety.

Faculty are also asked for a letter of reference, which Donati explained was a chance to show what the students do on top of achieving high grades.

“Both these students are outstanding when it comes to the academic program, but they’re also fully engaged in their learning by volunteering. Any time there’s an extra role, or extra task, if a faculty member is offering some extra learning, they’re always stepping up,” he said. “If there’s something to expand their skill set, network, anything at all to make themselves the best possible candidate post-graduation in the field they’ve chosen, they do that.”

Donati added that the monetary award with the scholarships will help set up the young students after they graduate.

As for prospective students looking for an award win of their own, Donati said to just put in the effort on your part, as that’s all many scholarships take.

“By achieving the goals you set for yourself and being the best you can in your program, you can go out and achieve these awards which recognise excellence in the field. At the end of the day, these scholarships are there to support the industry and now that you’ve won an industry scholarship, the industry is now more aware of you, and that makes you that much better of a candidate.”