BCSTA Student Citizenship Awards

A strong educational system is the foundation of a strong democracy.
That’s why the BCSTA is proud to support students with awards rooted in community service and good citizenship. 

Your Educational Journey:

At the British Columbia School Trustees Association (BCSTA), we are committed to supporting students like you in achieving success as you complete your educational journey through the K-12 public education system. We hope that you look back at your time in school and take pride in your success and accomplishments. You have done so much to reach this milestone.

 

The BCSTA Student Citizenship Awards:

The BCSTA Student Citizenship Awards acknowledge students enrolled in the K-12 public education system for their outstanding contributions to their school and community. The awards are presented in three specific areas. Each of the three $750 awards will be given to students pursuing post-secondary education or skills and career training through a recognized institution. You must be enrolled at a degree-granting technical or vocational school, college, or university recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency as a registered charity or be enrolled in a prescribed university outside of Canada.

Please visit the links below to verify if your post-secondary institution (PSI) qualifies.

Canadian Schools: http://bit.ly/VF-Canadian-School

Foreign Schools: http://bit.ly/VF-Foreign-Schools

Award Information:

The BCSTA Citizenship Awards are divided into three categories. Applicants may only choose one category to apply for.

The three categories are as follows:

  • Open Category:
    • Open to any student who demonstrates an exceptional dedication to citizenship in their school or community.
  • Indigenous Ancestry:
    • Open to students of Indigenous descent who demonstrate an exceptional dedication to citizenship in their school, community and/or culture.
  • Overcoming Obstacles:
    • Open to students who have overcome significant life obstacles to complete their educational journey, and who demonstrate an exceptional dedication to citizenship in their school or community.

Applications should outline how you have demonstrated a significant contribution to your school or community and explain how your values, commitment and determination have helped in this. Your application should also describe the journey you took to reach this milestone and outline your future plans.

Criteria for all categories:

This award recognizes B.C. public school students who are completing their K-12 education in the 2025/26 school year and have displayed exemplary citizenship within their school and/or community.

  • Students must be concluding their K-12 education in the 2025/26 school year
  • Students must plan to attend a recognized post-secondary institution or a skills and career training program which meets the criteria listed above.
  • Students must submit a completed application by the application deadline.
  • The award is only available to residents of B.C. who attend one of BC’s public schools
  • Award recipients who plan to take a gap year must request a deferral. The process will be outlined upon the award decision.

Further information on award selection can be found in the rubrics below:

Deadline:

The application deadline for BCSTA’s Student Citizenship Award is 11:59pm on Sunday, February 15, 2026.

Apply early if you anticipate having technical issues, as we cannot accept applications that are submitted after the deadline.

The award recipients will be notified in late May or early June via email, and their name(s) will be posted on BCSTA’s website.

Submission Details:

Please submit your application as a single PDF document, including a signed consent form and two reference letters. The consent form is a mandatory part of the award process; applications sent without it can unfortunately not be processed.

Save your application with a file name formatted as follows:

[LASTNAME]_[FIRSTNAME]_award.pdf

For example, if your name is Jane Doe, your file will be named doe_jane_award.pdf

Application submissions must be emailed to the BCSTA at bcsta@bcsta.org by the deadline

Please ensure the subject line of the email reads as follows:

[LAST NAME]_[FIRST NAME]_Award Application

Each applicant will receive an acknowledgment email within two business days. If you do not receive an acknowledgment email, please contact the BCSTA at bcsta@bcsta.org

Technical Details and Document Downloads:

Three awards of $750 each will be distributed.

Award recipients will be announced at BCSTA AGM 2026 (April 9-11, 2026)

All forms are mandatory for the award process. Applications submitted without all documents, signed and filled out in their entirety, can unfortunately not be processed.
These documents include:

Please review BCSTA’s privacy policies before submitting your application.

We wish all students in British Columbia the best as they move forward with their education and careers.