CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

ACC student wins child care scholarship

The Brandon Sun - 6/24/2021

The Manitoba Child Care Association recently awarded Rayna Schwalm with a scholarship for all the contributions she has made to Assiniboine Community College’s early childhood education program.

Each year, the MCCA presents this scholarship to a second-year early childhood education student who has demonstrated professionalism and leadership throughout their studies.

ACC instructor Pam Nightingale originally nominated Schwalm for this award, stating that she spent a lot of her first year in the program helping students who were new to the country and needed some assistance acclimating to the Canadian college system.

“This strong show of character continued into her second year,” Nightingale stated in a Tuesday news release from ACC. “When COVID-19 forced classes to pivot to remote or blended learning, Rayna was willing to share with classmates what worked for her in this learning environment.”

Nightingale also mentioned that this kind of drive translated into other areas as well, since Schwalm managed to maintain a high academic performance and thrive in extra curricular activities.

“She is very organized, has good communication skills and collaborates well with others,” said Nightingale. “Her leadership abilities have also been demonstrated on the volleyball court as she was involved in Cougars Athletics during her time at Assiniboine.”

However, Schwalm remained humble in Tuesday’s news release, crediting most of her success to the instructors she worked alongside and the hands-on learning for which ACC is famous.

“As my leadership and professionalism grew as the program progressed, my communications skills developed with them,” she said. “This was an asset to me as I completed my practicums in early childhood settings and was able to communicate confidently with fellow staff at the centres, children of all ages and their parents.”

Having recently completed her final practicum in Brandon, Schwalm plans to continue working at the same practicum site after officially graduating from ACC this upcoming fall.

The MCCA student scholarship was originally established back in 2019.

Although the 2021 MCCA awards banquet was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization is still hoping to put together some kind of in-person celebration later this year.