Miles Mac Student Chosen for Prestigious Scholarship

Congratulations to Maxwell Nganyadi, a Grade 12 student at Collège Miles Macdonell Collegiate, on being chosen for a prestigious Schulich Leader Scholarship worth $100,000. He will be entering the University of Alberta this fall, studying computer science. 

Maxwell was selected by CMMC for his outstanding academic achievements. He balanced a full International Baccalaureate timetable with extracurricular commitments, including tutoring, teaching himself differential equations, and dedicating himself to helping others discover the power of coding to make a better world. He even started a coding club at school to share this pastime with others.

“Maxwell’s a gifted and intelligent writer and thinker. He’s dedicated, thoughtful, kind, and humble. He shows leadership and commitment in the classroom and is a productive and co-operative class member,” said English teacher Candace Kowalyk. “He’s also a skilled break dancer and coder, an analytical writer, and an engaging presenter. Maxwell has a clear vision for himself and his future and works on his goals quietly and consistently every day.”

Maxwell was born in Italy and moved to Winnipeg with his family in 2013. Deeply humble, he was both thrilled and shocked to receive this scholarship. His peers were equally excited and he was met with applause in more than one class after the news spread through the school. He is particularly grateful to his friends and his teachers.

Math teacher Michelle Zubricki shared that Maxwell is intelligent, self-motivated, and a strong leader who is willing to help his peers and likes to learn math topics beyond the curriculum to enrich his understanding. “He’s also willing to put himself out there,” she said. “At the school’s last gym riot, he volunteered for the dance competition and demonstrated his break dancing abilities in front of the whole school. Such a great kid!”

“When a video project was due recently, the student assigned to edit the video dropped the ball at the last minute,” explained IB French teacher François Legoupil. “Guess who stepped in? Maxwell managed to finish the video using a video-editing program he’d never used before. He has a bright future ahead of him.”

“Maxwell’s brilliant. His ability to problem-solve and apply his knowledge makes him the kind of student teachers dream of,” said physics teacher Janelle Propp. “He has natural talents for anything involving technology or science. He’s going to do amazing things.”