Algonquin College is pleased to support Project Hero, an initiative to provide free tuition to the children of Canadian soldiers who are killed in active service.

Algonquin is among several Canadian colleges and universities who have signed on to Project Hero which was launched by Memorial University in Newfoundland.

In October of 2009,  Algonquin College became the first Ontario College to implement Project Hero when Jocelyn Ranger, a Business student at its Pembroke Campus received free tuition. 

Jocelyn's father was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2006.

She was presented the scholarship by CFB Petawawa Commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Keith Rudderham, and Pembroke Campus Dean, Karen Davies.

Click here for a related article by Lisa Brazeau on the CFB Petawawa website. 

Jocelyn and her brother Robert Girouard were also recipients of a Canada Company scholarship.  Read more in a Globe and Mail article by Christie Blatchford here.

Project Hero Eligibility Requirements:

• The child of a fallen soldier is eligible for a maximum of eight semesters' tuition.

• Students must be enrolled in a full-time program at any Algonquin College campus.

• Eligible candidates are citizens or permanent residents of Canada and must be under 26 years of age.

Applications for Project Hero can be made through the College Registrar's office.

More information on Project Hero can be obtained by contacting Jamie Bramburger, Manager, Community and Student Affairs, Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley. 

Email:  brambuj@algonquincollege.com or phone 613-735-4700, ext. 2756

MEDIA RELEASE - August 28, 2009

New Algonquin College Award
Honours Fallen Soldiers

PEMBROKE - Algonquin College will support Project Hero by offering free tuition to dependent children of Canadian Forces personnel killed while serving in an active military mission dating back to February 2002.

“I am extremely proud that Algonquin College is participating in this important initiative which further recognizes the devotion to duty of our Canadian Forces members,” said Robert Gillett, President of Algonquin College. “Participating in Project HERO serves to demonstrate our unwavering support of the men and women of the Canadian Forces,” Gillett said.

Algonquin’s Pembroke campus has a long association with the nearby Canadian Forces Base Petawawa and the College provides geomatics training to Canadian Forces members at its Ottawa campus.

Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley Dean, Karen Davies, says joining Project Hero is a very proud day for the Pembroke Campus. “We are neighbours to CFB Petawawa and have a large contingent of military dependants who study with us each year. This is the right thing for our College to do. We feel deep gratitude to the soldiers of the Canadian Forces and understand the impact the Afghanistan mission, in particular, has had on CFB Petawawa,” adds Davies.

“It's great to see an institution with such strong ties to the Canadian Forces choosing to participate in Project HERO and providing a tangible means of support to those who have lost a serving parent,” said Kevin Reed, one of the creators of Project HERO. Reed is chairman of Grey Horse Corporation and Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the Canadian Forces’ 31 Brigade Service Units.

Under the proposal, a child of a fallen soldier would be eligible for a maximum of eight semesters’ tuition. Eligible candidates are citizens or permanent residents of Canada, under the age of 26 and registered in a full-time program at Algonquin College. Applications can be made through the college registrar’s office.

CFB Petawawa Commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Keith Rudderham, says: “We are very pleased with this initiative.  Algonquin College has recognized the sacrifices made by the men and women of the Canadian Forces and is helping the children of those soldiers who have given their lives for our Country. We commend Algonquin College for its leadership in supporting Project Hero,” adds Rudderham.

Launched earlier this year, Project Hero seeks to encourage Canadian post-secondary institutions to provide tuition to the children of fallen Canadian soldiers. A number of institutions have chosen to participate in the initiative.

For more information, contact: 

Jamie Bramburger, Manager of Community and Student Affairs

Algonquin College in the Ottawa