Sarah Johnson Memorial Scholarship

In Honour of Dr. Sarah A. Johnson, Ph.D.
April 10, 1982 – January 28, 2021

This scholarship is available to students of the Life Coaching Certification Program, a Certificate in Psychological Neuroscience Course, a Certificate in Social Neuroscience of Diversity & Inclusion, or any MicroDegree Program. Students must demonstrate a financial need and also be a life-long learner and/or a strong mentor or teacher.

Dr. Sarah Johnson was a very special friend of Dr. Mandy Wintink, our CEO at the Centre for Applied Neuroscience. Sarah and Mandy met in 2003 when Sarah was an undergraduate student at Dalhousie University. Sarah was so keen to do science that she volunteered in the Kalynchuk Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience, the same lab Mandy happened to be a doctoral student. Mandy remembers Sarah bursting with curiosity about the mind, the brain, and science! Sarah was a “Smarty Pants” – someone with a thirst for knowledge and an ability to quench that thirst. In fact, Smarty Pants was the name of a club co-founded by Mandy when she herself was in undergrad and it consisted of other young women in the field. Needless to say, Mandy successfully recruited Sarah to her “Smarty Pants” club and that was the start of a beautiful friendship.

Sarah finished her honours degree and then moved to Toronto to do her masters and doctorate. Mandy was still in Halifax but she and Sarah would meet regularly throughout the years at various Neuroscience, Psychology, and Smarty Pants conferences! (Yes, Smarty Pants hosted their own conference!)

Sarah and Mandy overlapped for a short period of time in Toronto before Sarah moved on to the US to do her post-doctoral training. Sarah and Mandy maintained a close friendship based on many things, including a sincere interest in the formal study of behaviour, psychology, and neuroscience but they also shared an interest in things like Tarot card readings, yoga and mindfulness, Queer issues, and by the end of Sarah’s life, the experience of death and dying, where Mandy served as Sarah’s Healthcare Power of Attorney. Their curiosity for the human mind, behaviour, and brain was never-ending. Even during her journey through cancer, Sarah was gracious enough to share her own personal experiences through cancer with Mandy in a series of podcast episodes on the Mandyland podcast at www.Mandyland.ca. 

Sarah didn’t work directly for CAN but she has always been an inspiration for the work we do at CAN, particularly as a behavioural neuroscientist and her excellence in teaching and mentorship. As a result, Sarah was the obvious choice as the first external reviewer for the inaugural MicroDegree thesis presentations in 2020. 

Sarah was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience in the Centre for Neurodegenerative Disease and Therapeutics at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago in the summer of 2020. In addition to being an excellent scientist, Sarah had many ambitions upon beginning her appointment, including advocating for the removal of financial barriers to students who pursue higher education and continuing to support young scientists through mentorship and teaching excellence. Sadly, her appointment ended way too soon when she had to return to her hometown in Ottawa, Canada in December of 2020 as part of her end-of-life care plan. To read some of Sarah’s science go here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vUKAQnsAAAAJ

Scholarship Details & Criteria

We, at CAN, want to honour Sarah’s spirit and continue her legacy through offering a scholarship in her name and memory. This scholarship is awarded to an individual taking one of the following courses: Certificate in Psychological Neuroscience, Certificate in Social Neuroscience of Diversity and Inclusion, Life Coaching Certification Program, or a MicroDegree. The scholarship is a one-time amount of $500 and can be applied directly to the tuition fees associated with any course listed above. 

The scholarship is awarded based on financial need and to someone who demonstrates Sarah’s spirit of discovery, thirst for knowledge, mentorship, and/or teaching excellence.  Specifically, these are 3 factors that will be taken into consideration when awarding this scholarship:

  • Financial need. Sarah believed that there shouldn’t be financial barriers for students who pursue higher education and, more important, that the stigma associated with financial barriers should be eliminated so that students can advocate for their own needs too. An applicant meets this criteria if they demonstrate any financial barriers that would prevent them from taking a CAN course and pursuing their education. The applicant can communicate this need however they choose.  

  • Smarty-Pants. Sarah was deeply invested in her intellectual pursuits all the way through to achieving her PhD. Along the way, she made significant contributions to science and advanced scientific thinking within the field of behavioural neuroscience. An applicant who demonstrates a Smarty-Pants quality does not necessarily have to have completed graduate school but must be able to demonstrate a sincere thirst for knowledge and a desire to quench that thirst or they must speak to how the course they are taking at CAN fulfills a thirst for knowledge. 

  • Mentorship & Teaching. Sarah was a wonderful mentor and teacher who went over and above to support students who were under her guidance. She was known for an incredible ability to guide students in ways that lead to their success. Sarah was patient and gracious with her time and sincerely cared about the wellbeing of those who she mentored and taught. Sarah was also an excellent teacher drawing upon her arts performance background to deliver exceptional lectures and presentations that always wove together a compelling scientific narrative. (side note: She also was exceptionally organized and made beautiful slides and graphs.) Here we are looking for an applicant who has a history of strong mentorship and/or teaching skills or someone who plans to use their education to support others through mentorship or teaching. 

Application Process

Applicants should prepare a short essay that explains why they would be a worthy recipient of the Sarah Johnson Memorial Scholarship. Applications must be submitted at least TWO months prior to the start of a course in order to be considered. Applications will be reviewed and applicants will be notified about the result of their application within 4 weeks of the course start date. Applicants are encouraged to apply for the course they are interested in at the same time or prior to applying for the course, in order to secure a spot in the course. Applications that are submitted past the deadline will be considered for the next upcoming course. 

Please use the following link to complete the application. 


FAQs
1. I've already registered for the program can I still apply?
If you are registered for a program that has not yet started, then you can still apply for the Scholarship as long as it's at least 2 months before the start date. If you are awarded the scholarship, the scholarship will be applied to your remaining tuition fees.

2. Is my information kept confidential?
Yes, all information submitted will be kept in strict confidence and used only by CAN scholarship committee for assessing the application.  

3. When will I hear back?

All applications will be reviewed in the month following the deadline and the results will be communicated to all applicants within 4 weeks of the course start date.

4. Can I apply more than once?

If you are unsuccessful the first time then certainly, yes you can apply again and you may defer your acceptance into a course if needed. If you are taking a second course through CAN then you can apply for a second scholarship; however, preference will be given to new applicants.