Bursary named after Mexican student killed in crash
Sara Cecena Garcia, 13, was killed in a car accident on Highway 104 in December
The Nova Scotia International Student Program (NSISP) has created a new bursary in memory of Sara Cecena Garcia, a 13-year-old Richmond Education Centre/Academy student who was killed in a car crash late last year.
"She was kind of a perfect student," said Paul Millman, NSISP's executive director. "We met as an operations committee and said we need to do something to honour Sara."
Millman said Garcia, who was from Mexico, was the third person in her family to travel to attend school in the Strait Regional School Board.
'Extremely involved' in school and community
"She was an amazing student when she was here and so to have this bursary named in her honour was absolutely appropriate," he said. "She was extremely involved, both in her school and in the community."
Garcia was captain of the volleyball team.
The Sara Cecena Garcia Memorial Bursary is worth $16,000 per year and it will be awarded to a student returning to the Nova Scotia International Student Program for a second year. While the program offers bursaries for new students, this is the only bursary for returning students.
2016-2017 recipients chosen
Recipients are students who embody the qualities Garcia showed during her time in Nova Scotia. Her host parents helped in the selection process.
"We had three absolutely phenomenal candidates and what we've chosen to do, instead of just doing one, is to give one full bursary and two half bursaries [worth $8,000] to three returning students from this year."
The students being awarded the bursary will get the good news later this week.
Meanwhile, an 86-year-old woman has been charged with a motor vehicle offence in relation to the crash that killed Garcia, a teacher, and another student.