Thank you to everyone who participated in the “50+ Scholarship: Lifelong Learning Contest,” designed to help our readers pursue their next career move, hobby or creative passion. We were excited to see the number of entrants, and their passion for lifelong learning.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the scholarship opportunity.
The $400 grand prize goes to Bonnie McDonald, who will put her winnings towards the business course “Sales and Planning Toolkit” at the Continuing Studies program at Langara College. McDonald is the author of the soon-to-be-released “How to Get the Job You Love: 7 Simple Strategies to Getting Work You are Passionate About in Any Economy –Guaranteed!,” and she will use lessons from the course towards the marketing of her book. McDonald’s book is inspired by her recent experiences. In 2010, her husband fell ill and became paralyzed. McDonald had to leave her career in sales to become the sole caretaker and they were forced to transition from living on a two-income home to living without any income.
Bonnie McDonald.
Bonnie views starting over at age 55 as an adventure. After she attended the Zoomer Show in Vancouver, she learned that the baby boomer generation has more opportunities than any previous generation. McDonald says, “if we are open to continued learning, we will stay vibrant and full of passion for life.”
In second place, Judy Rachmani won $200 by choosing her favourite learning-related quote as part of the Facebook draw. Rachmani used to be an avid photographer when her parents lived over 9,600 kilometres away and relied on Rachmani to take pictures of their grandchildren. Later, Rachmani took up card-making, and created cards for charitable organizations such as Post Pals.
Judy Rachmani.
At age 58, Rachmani now plans to combine the two interests, and will study digital photography and integrate the art into her card-making. Rachmani will put the prize money towards a digital photography course at the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel. The course is designed for “beginners and experienced photographers who want to improve and take more creative pictures.”
Thank you again to all who participated; please be sure to join us on Facebook or sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up with upcoming contests, giveaways, and articles.
