Katherine Showell, a third-year Criminal Justice student at Mount Royal University, is the recipient of the 2011 John Petropoulos Memorial Scholarship.
“I’m extremely excited and honoured to receive the award,” says Katherine, adding the $1,000 scholarship will help to lighten the load and stress of university expenses.
“I have truly loved every year of the Criminal Justice program more than the last. The program is exciting and challenging.”
Next up for Katherine is a trip down under. She’s been accepted to study for one semester at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia.
“They have a very similar justice studies program to Mount Royal and I am really looking forward to the experience,” says Katherine, who is also currently competing for a practicum placement for September 2012 which would help finish off her fourth year in the program.
Upon graduation in 2013, Katherine hopes to get a job in youth corrections and eventually enter a Master’s program at the University of British Columbia.
“We congratulate Katherine on her achievements so far and wish her further success as she continues her justice studies and pursues a career in youth corrections,” says Ian Wilson, Managing Director of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund.
“We are very proud of the strong relationship we have with Mount Royal University’s Criminal Justice program and are pleased to play a small role in the success of these outstanding students.”
John Petropoulos obtained his Diploma in Criminology from Mount Royal before becoming a Calgary Police Service constable in 1996.
He passed away in the line of duty on Sept. 29, 2000 while investigating a break and enter complaint at a warehouse.
John stepped through a false ceiling, fell nine feet into the lunchroom below and succumbed to brain injuries.
There was no safety railing to warn him of the danger and there was no intruder in the building. He was 32.
The John Petropoulos Memorial Scholarship awards $1,000 annually to a Criminal Justice/Justice Studies student at Mount Royal University.
It is awarded based on academic merit and community involvement.
