Erin N.

I grew up in the aftermath of my dad’s death. My Mom had been on maternity leave when she got the call that he had overdosed. Her grief, debt, and fibromyalgia diagnosis crushed her. I never had the time to know or remember losing my dad, but his passing impacted my life more than anything I have been through since. My Mother valued education above all things, so I dedicated myself to my schooling so I could attend University. Had my dad had life insurance, I would have had numerous other opportunities in life and would not be applying for scholarships with the fervor I must today.

The debt my Dad left behind because he didn’t have life insurance impacted my whole life. We lost our house and insurance in Calgary, causing us to move provinces and schools almost every year afterwards. My Mom could not afford daycare on her teacher’s salary and had to take my sister and I with her to her second job while we tried to be quiet. We depended on the food bank for many necessities, and shortly after my dad’s passing my mom stopped contributing to my RESP because she barely had the money to keep our family out of foster care.

Had my dad paid for life insurance, I doubt I would recognize my life. Life insurance would have allowed us to keep the house in Calgary and offered stability to my life and opportunities for fulfillment that was always lacking. My family could have afforded extracurriculars I was passionate about that would have provided a sense of accomplishment, but we were never able to participate beyond a free trial. My Mother worked hard to give my sister and I a good life, but I believe we could have had a healthier family if she was given time to spend with us instead of for us.

I worked hard to make my mother proud. During the tenth grade, I left school for six months to work full time after she underwent surgery. I was able to complete grade ten online with straight A’s despite the challenges I was faced with in providing for my family. I committed to studying at home, giving up lunch time, staying late and coming to school early throughout high school. Because of this dedication I was accepted into my dream University, Trinity Western, and awarded the President’s scholarship. While not enough for to afford University, I earned this money through hard work and am proud of myself because of that.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). This scholarship has the ability to change lives and provide a future for those who have struggled in the past. Life is full of surprises, and we cannot predict how many days we have left or what happens to our loved ones after we’re gone. Life insurance can protect your family and can be a final gift after you are gone.