Leading Professional women supporting the MRU midwifery program
For many students, scholarships and bursaries save them from taking on years of student debt, working part-time jobs that can eat into much needed study time and take them away from spending time with loved ones.
In 2019, a dedicated group of women who make up the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) Calgary, took a tour of Mount Royal University’s (MRU) Heath Simulation Learning Centre. The tour was so well received that it reinforced the decision they made in 2017 to create a bursary in support of midwifery students at MRU - the only midwifery program in Alberta.
The Canadian Federation of University Women/Calgary Centennial Bursary for Midwifery supports a student in financial need who is enrolled in their third or fourth year of the Bachelor of Midwifery program. The first recipient of the bursary was Paige Layden, who strongly believes that receiving the bursary helped her and her growing family to get through those rigorous four years.
Since graduating from MRU, Paige has been successful in being the current Midwifery Hospital Liaison for Rockyview General Hospital where a new program was created during COVID to support community midwives. Passionate about midwifery, Paige believes, “the people [the program] has brought into my life and the families I have been able to know along the way have been an incredible blessing!”
CFUW Calgary is made up of a dedicated group of women who have been mentoring and inspiring future leaders since 1923. The backbone of the organization has been in the interest range of women’s rights and education. The local club has also been quite active in the community with charitable support for organizations such as Calgary Reads and the creation of scholarships and bursaries at other post secondary institutions. Past presidents Judy McCaffrey and Patricia Cyca, believe that community support can happen at all levels, “[a gift] doesn’t need to be a million dollars, it doesn’t need to be a hundred thousand dollars, it’s what you can afford to support and it’s amazing, a little here and a little there…Don’t allow the amount to be a barrier, you let the opportunity and experience be what should drive it.”
Since 2017, there have been five grateful midwifery student recipients of the CFUW Calgary midwifery bursary. Erin Harvey-Moon was the 2021 recipient. She believes this funding enabled her to focus on her studies and submerge herself into the world of reproductive health. The bursary allowed her to attend school without the stress of working to provide for herself and her family.
Without the support of donor groups like CFUW Calgary, MRU students would not have access to vital funding that helps ease their financial burden. The president of the CFUW Calgary, Dr. Susan Miller, believes that people thinking of investing in MRU students should not miss the opportunity to support in building someone's future. CFUW’s support is changing lives at MRU every day, and will do so for many generations to come.
For more information about MRU’s Bachelor of midwifery program visit their page here.
May 12, 2022 - Emily Nunn