David John Stratton was born on November 5, 1973 in Surrey, B.C. In 1976 he and his family moved to Falkland, B.C. David attended Falkland Elementary School and always enjoyed camping, hunting, and fishing with his family.
As a child he was always building something- whether it was with wooden blocks and sticks, with plastic interlocking materials, or puzzles with his maternal Grandmother. David liked school and excelled in Mathematics. In high school he moved easily into computer programming and felt that calculus was something he could do “just for fun!” David entered many Euclid competitions while in Junior High School (at J.L. Jackson) and while attending Salmon Arm Senior Secondary, where he graduated in June of 1991.
At that time, he received several offers of Scholarships, but accepted one to Simon Fraser University where he joined a co-op program. David worked for Newnes (later COE) in Salmon Arm for one semester, and then for Techware in Richmond.
During his Co-op semester with Techware, David was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) on his 21″ Birthday in 1994. This form of Leukemia is usually associated with people over 50 years of age with only 20 young people world-wide having dealt with it. David was a strong young man, and he withstood chemotherapy and whole-body radiation before receiving an unrelated bone marrow transplant in February of 1995.
Throughout his illness David maintained his wicked sense of humour and love of computers, games, and music. Unfortunately, he never fully recovered, and died on April 27, 1996 of massive infections that his immune system could not fight. He was surrounded by friends and his family.
This bursary has been established in the hope that it will help a worthy student to work towards a degree in Engineering or Computer Sciences. Our family wishes the recipient every success in their studies, and a rewarding career of their choice. David always felt that the one thing essential to meeting any challenge, is to believe in yourself.
Criteria:
The recipient must:
- be a student graduating from Grade 12 at Salmon Arm Secondary or Pleasant Valley Secondary in Armstrong.
- be a resident of the Shuswap area; if a suitable candidate from the Falkland area is identified, that would be a plus.
- plan to continue her or his studies in the areas of science, technology or engineering. The candidate may defer acceptance of the award for one year should she or he decide to take a year away from study.
- the recipient should have demonstrated diligence in his or her studies. The donors wish to reward serious commitment to the pursuit of a diploma or degree.
2023 Award – one bursary of $2,000