James Boughner Scholarship winner named

Sameer Abdullah has an affinity for math and science but ask him a question and he quickly becomes a philosopher.

“Life is like tightrope walking,” said the 18-year-old graduate of Paris District High School, who was recently named this year’s recipient of the $25,000 James Boughner Scholarship.

“You have to keep moving and keep your balance with your work and social life. You can’t pick either one or you will fall. You have to keep both and keep on moving.”

Named after a retired Brantford businessman and philanthropist, the scholarship is presented annually to one student from one of the six high schools in Brantford and Brant County.

Abdullah learned the lesson through personal experience.

“I work quite a bit and there were times when I was working more and studying less and ending up with really bad test results,” Abdullah said. “There were also times when I would study all night and work less and then get hit with the reality that the world isn’t cheap.”

Finding balance was a bit of a struggle but Abdullah realized he needed to do it if he wanted to enjoy being a teenager. It’s a lesson he believes will serve him well as he heads to Wilfrid Laurier University to study computer science in the fall.

“I know a lot of kids hate doing math but I enjoy it,” Abdullah said. “Science is another subject that interests me especially physics, how gravity and different forces are very intriguing to me.”

Abdullah said that even though classes haven’t yet started, his post-secondary career is already off to a terrific start.

To qualify for the Boughner Scholarship, students must have an academic average of at least 80 per cent and a record of helping their school and community. They must also have been accepted into a university program in Ontario and have a financial need.

“Winning this scholarship is going to help me a great deal,” Abdullah said. “I thought about university a lot and how it expensive it would be and at times I was really stressed about it.

“When I was told I won the scholarship, I froze and I had completely forgotten the amount it was worth and how massively important it is to me.”

Abdullah spent the first two years of high school at Thistletown Collegiate Institute in Etobicoke before transferring to Paris District for Grade 11.

“It was a big change and in my first semester I had co-op and at the time it was a quadmester schedule so I was out of the school,” Abdullah said. “I started getting more involved with extracurricular activities in the second semester and in my senior year I became a lot more involved with school activities.”

Abdullah started a chess club, ran it and organized an in-school tournament that attracted 25 competitors. He also joined the robotics club.

“We build robots from scratch and then we programmed them,” Abdullah said.

As well, he was part of a student leadership group that organized orientation days for the Grade 9 students.

Abdullah thanked Dr. Rod and Bea Wilson, of the Boughner Foundation for their support. He also thanked his mother Zarlasht and his guidance counsellor, Kate Edward for their support.

“My mom has worked hard and made a lot of sacrifices and it’s because of her that I had an opportunity to win this scholarship,” Abdullah said. “My old high school and Paris District are completely different and Ms. Edward helped me get settled in a whole new environment.”

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