Sometimes, the difference between dreaming about an education and pursuing it is knowing someone believes in your potential. At the BCIT Foundation’s annual Celebration of Impact, student panelist Jenna Olsen shared how donor-funded entrance awards helped ease the financial barriers of leaving home and gave her the opportunity to pursue a lifelong ambition in aviation.
Her story also brought to life a broader message shared by BCIT President Jeff Zabudsky: investing in students is an investment in British Columbia’s future. BCIT students are preparing for high-demand careers, and through applied education and hands-on training, they develop the skills and confidence to contribute to the workforce, industries and communities across the province.
For Jenna, that larger impact began with something very personal: having the financial support to say yes to BCIT.
Growing up in Prince George, Jenna looked for every opportunity to learn about aviation. She worked at the local airport, joined Air Cadets, and completed an Advanced Aviation course. By the time she graduated from high school, she knew she wanted a career in aviation and had set her sights on BCIT’s Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Category M program.
But pursuing that dream meant leaving home and taking on tuition, housing and living expenses in Metro Vancouver.
That is where donor support made a difference.
“Although I took a gap year after high school and saved up, it wasn’t enough,” Jenna explains. “I really needed a pickup because it’s a really scary thing to go to school away from home when you have no money.”
Thanks to the generosity of donors, Jenna was able to take the next step toward her dream.
Turning financial uncertainty into opportunity
Donor-funded entrance awards provided support when Jenna needed it the most, easing the financial pressure of starting school away from home and giving her the confidence to focus on the opportunity ahead. Jenna still vividly remembers learning she had received the awards. While working at the airport, she opened her student email and found several messages beginning with the word: “congratulations.”
“I didn’t even wait until I got home to tell my family”, she recalls. “I sent my mom screenshots and went to find my dad who also works at the airport so I could tell him right away.”
Those awards did far more than help pay expenses. They removed barriers that could have prevented Jenna from pursuing her education altogether.
The financial support helped cover a significant portion of her first-semester costs and reduced the burden of moving to Vancouver. Housing, one of her greatest concerns, became more affordable, when Jenna learned she was accepted into residence on the Burnaby campus easing the pressure on her limited savings.
Just as importantly, the support allowed Jenna to focus on succeeding in a demanding program rather than worrying about how she would make ends meet.
Her days often began early and included commuting between BCIT’s Burnaby campus and Richmond before returning home to study and prepare for the next day.
“I was too busy to even think about taking on additional work,” she says.
Donor support helped provide the stability Jenna needed to dedicate herself fully to her studies.
Beyond the financial relief, the awards gave Jenna confidence during one of the biggest transitions of her life. Leaving a 160-acre family farm in Prince George for life in Metro Vancouver meant adapting to a new city, new responsibilities, and the rigours of post-secondary education.
Instead of being consumed by financial stress, Jenna was able to focus on learning, building relationships with classmates, and growing as a student.
The results have been profound.
Jenna describes herself as far more motivated and focused than she was in high school. She has embraced the challenges of her program and developed the confidence and discipline needed to achieve her goals.
“Compared to now, I’m very motivated,” she says. “I really put my head down to make sure I’m actually getting stuff on time and make sure that I’m actually succeeding.”
Today, Jenna’s future is taking shape. She has joined the Canadian Armed Forces and plans to begin basic training after completing her BCIT program, where she will put the skills and knowledge gained through her education into practice.
Looking back, Jenna is clear about the role donor support played in helping her get there.
“Just that little amount of money just helped me so much going through school,” she says. “It helped me just get so much anxiety off my chest.”
Jenna’s story was one of several shared at the BCIT Foundation’s annual Celebration of Impact, but it illustrates something much larger: a student award can change what feels possible at a pivotal moment in a student’s life.
As British Columbia looks to the next generation of skilled professionals, donors have an opportunity to help talented students take that first step.
For Jenna, an entrance award helped turn ambition into opportunity. For the next student, donor support could be the reason a BCIT education, and the career that follows, becomes possible.