Holland College student Emily VanToever, who is graduating from the Construction Electrical Technology program, has earned more than good marks this year. She also walks away with a 2015 Nissan Micra! Four other students, Jay Dearborn, Industrial Electrical Technology; Tara DesRoches, Legal Administration; Darren Lundrigan, Heritage Retrofit Carpentry; and Roy Vandermaar, Energy Systems Engineering Technology, start their summer $1,000 richer, all made possible thanks to the generosity of Calgary businessman and former Islander, Lou MacEachern.

While over 60 students were nominated for the Earn a Car Award for their outstanding efforts, the top five nominees were identified and interviewed by a selection panel on Wednesday morning. The car and four cash awards of $1000 were then presented at a celebration at the Prince of Wales Campus later that afternoon.

Candidates were nominated by faculty and staff on the basis of merit, character, and academic achievement. Mr. MacEachern said his hope was to motivate students to work toward achieving their personal and academic best throughout the 2014/2015 academic year.

“This wasn’t about rewarding the student with the highest marks,” said MacEachern. “This was about encouraging all students to roll up their sleeves and work to their full potential.”

MacEachern grew up in Hazel Grove, PEI, and, like many of his generation, left school at a young age to help on the family farm. In 1956, he returned to Queen Charlotte School in Charlottetown as a mature student, after which he attended post-secondary training at Prince of Wales College and then Dalhousie University. MacEachern moved to Calgary, where he married, raised a family, and made his mark as a leader in business and as a benefactor in the community.

“Lou’s generous support of our College and our learners is truly outstanding,” said Holland College President, Dr. Brian McMillan. “It is certainly evident that this incentive produced many personal bests for our students this year. We are both pleased and proud of their tremendous efforts.”

In his remarks, MacEachern announced his commitment to fund the initiative again in 2015/16.