Scholarship Value $8,000
Number of Scholarships 8
All connected with the Workers Health & Safety Centre are committed to education – education in the workplace and beyond. To this end the WHSC has long offered student scholarships for post-secondary education.
Funds for these scholarships are raised from The Clifford Pilkey Memorial Golf Fundraiser in honour of our late founder and first WHSC President.
This annual scholarship contest aims to raise health and safety awareness among graduating Ontario high school students who are headed for post-secondary education—a segment of the workforce who face excessive and significant occupational hazards leading to work-related injuries and deaths.
Submission Requirements
Forward the following documents/information in one email to Sandy Warden – swarden@whsc.on.ca.
- Application form in PDF format.
- Description of your volunteer activities showing how you are helping to improve the lived experiences
- of your fellow students and/or community members in PDF or Word format (max. 400 words)
- Letter of recommendation in PDF or Word format.
- Depending on your submission:
- video or podcast submission uploaded to WeTransfer (https://wetransfer.com) to swarden@whsc.on.ca
- attach your essay or infographic to the email.
Please add WHSC Student Scholarship Competition to the subject line of the email.
No portion of government grants from employer WSIB assessments, or WHSC revenue generation support this important awareness initiative. All student scholarships are financed solely through funds raised at The Clifford Pilkey Memorial Golf Fundraiser. WHSC facilitates this fundraising event.
Awards
Regardless of the medium:
- The top applicant will be awarded the Clifford Pilkey, WHSC Founder Memorial Scholarship and receive $6,000.
- The second-place applicant will be awarded the Fred Upshaw, Champion for Social Justice Memorial Scholarship and receive $4,000.
- Up to six additional successful applicants will receive $2,000 each.
Eligibility
Any full-time high school student residing in Ontario and beginning, in fall 2026, their first year in full-time or part-time studies leading to a diploma, certificate, or degree from any publicly funded Ontario college or university. (Applications from students having graduated prior to summer 2025 will not be accepted.)
Immediate family members of a WHSC employee are not eligible. Immediate family member includes child, stepchild, niece, nephew, grandchild and sibling.
Application
Applicants may enter the contest only as an individual (no team entries). Each applicant must submit:
- a completed application form
- a description of your volunteer activities showing how you are helping to improve the lived experiences of your fellow students and/or community members
- a letter of recommendation from a teacher, school administrator, or representative of a recognized community organization
- a video, essay, podcast, or infographic addressing the topic and meeting the criteria outlined below.
Only one submission per applicant will be accepted. More specifically, you must choose to submit a video, essay, podcast, OR infographic.
Submissions must be original work of the applicant and not violate privacy, intellectual property, or copyright laws.
Topic
Workers, including young and new workers like you, can be exposed to a variety of hazards in the course of employment. Working alone, especially with money, bullying and harassment, temperature extremes, unguarded moving machine parts, manual material handling, and hazardous disease-causing substances to name just a few.
Please share your experience with a hazard you have faced at work, or one you think would put the safety or health of a worker in harm’s way. How did or would this hazard affect you? How did your supervisor or employer respond and/or how should they respond to prevent harm in the first place? Of course, some prevention measures are more effective than others. What should your supervisor or employer consider when implementing these measures?
Video Criteria
No more than three minutes in length.
Upload the video to WeTransfer (https://wetransfer.com) email to swarden@whsc.on.ca. Include a note of this in your email submission with the remaining required documents. Ensure the file is the exact name listed on the application form. If the video is not accessible and downloadable the submission will not be accepted. Do not place your name in the video credits. (Should your submission receive an award and we choose to share the video on social media, you can add your name subsequently.)
Essay Rules
Essays must be a minimum of 600 words and a maximum of 1,000 words. All pages must be numbered. Place correct word count at the end of the document. The document must be word processed in a 12-point font and double-spaced. Do not place your name on any page of the essay. (Should we publish the essay in whole or in part we will include your name then.) Essays must include a bibliography.
Podcast Criteria
No more than three minutes in length. Produce using any format you like, whether that’s an interview with an expert, an informal conversation with a friend, a journalistic investigation, a fictional story, or any other approach you think will effectively convey your message.
Upload podcast to WeTransfer (https://wetransfer.com). Email swarden@whsc.on.ca noting the podcast has been uploaded along with submission of the remaining required documents. Ensure the file is the exact name listed on the application form. If the podcast is not accessible and downloadable, the submission will not be accepted. Do not use your real name in the podcast. (Should your submission receive an award, and we choose to share the podcast on social media, you can add your name subsequently.)
Infographic Criteria
Infographic must be 1080 x 1350 px. Do not place your name on this graphic. (Should we publish your infographic in whole or in part we will include your name then.) Sources for data or info must be cited.
Judging Criteria
WHSC will select a panel of judges to judge the contest using the following criteria. The decisions of the panel with respect to the winning applicants are final and not open to dispute.
All entries that meet eligibility requirements will be judged on the following criteria:
- Understanding the WHSC vision
- Development of point of view
- Creativity/Originality of ideas
- Organization and execution
- Accuracy of information
- Impact and persuasiveness.
Overall criteria for all applicants
Final scores will be based on the weighted average of their video, essay, podcast, or infographic submission (70 per cent) and their efforts helping to improve the lived experiences of fellow students and/or community members (30 per cent).
Successful Applicants
Successful applicants will be contacted in late summer 2026. Each successful applicant must submit verification of enrolment from the post-secondary institution’s office of the registrar to be eligible for the financial prize.
Use of Submissions
WHSC has the right and permission to publicly disclose and use the name of an applicant along with their likeness, school, and/or prize information for promotional or other purposes. WHSC also has the right and permission to copy, play, share and use video, essay, podcast, or infographic submission in whole or in part. Beyond the financial awards for the successful scholarship candidates, no additional compensation will be awarded for any reason.
WHSC reserves the right to limit the number of awards should suitable submissions not exist.
WHSC is not responsible for entries which are lost, incomplete, damaged, destroyed, or inaccessible in any way.