When asked about the origins of the McGill St. Sauveur Brotherhood Bursary, Steven Cawley, BCom’92, says, “How I would start it is our love for McGill.”
The so-called St. Sauveur Brotherhood is mainly a group of friends who met at McGill in the early 1990s (the group is named for weekends spent in St-Sauveur, Quebec). They remain in touch to this day – even taking annual trips together.
The idea to create a bursary to promote higher education for members of underrepresented groups came about at the start of the pandemic, in 2020, and the award is aligned with the University’s plan to address systemic racism.
“We had the realization not only that McGill has built these lifelong friendships for us, but that we’ve all been successful career-wise. And that’s in large measure because of how McGill formed us, and how we’ve helped each other as well. So [we asked] how can we give back?” explains Cawley. “Sure, I worked hard, but I was given a premium opportunity to be happy and successful.”
With time on his hands in the pandemic lockdown, Cawley began to really consider “some of the discrepancies that there are in society that aren’t really a function of the person you are.”
The other members of the group were keen on the idea to create a bursary, including Stephen Wilhelm, BCom’92. “Not everyone could contribute the same amount, but that didn’t matter. Everyone did what they could. And it’s something we can contribute to going forward,” says Wilhelm.
To launch the bursary, the group raised $60,000, which was matched with $40,000 from the Chancellor’s Third Century Challenge Fund.
Wilhelm, who’s based in London, UK, received the Robert Fung International Award of Distinction from the McGill Alumni Association in 2023 for his role in establishing the bursary, as well as for his dedication to McGill as a volunteer.
McGill medical student Thierry Fotsing Tadjo.
Community is paramount
Thierry Fotsing Tadjo is a McGill medical student slated to graduate this year. He’s also one of eight recipients of the St. Sauveur Brotherhood Bursary so far.
“I’m really grateful there are people out there who have invested in providing us with the funds to achieve our goals and move forward in life… It was a such a relief for me. It helped me pay for rent, expenses…It relieved so much stress,” explains Fotsing Tadjo, who found he had to stop working once he was in medical school.
Fotsing Tadjo grew up in Cameroon where he was taught that community and giving back are paramount. To this day, this philosophy is integral to his outlook on life and the kind of physician he wants to be.
“Since I started medical school, I always knew I would want to form a strong connection with my patients,” he says. For this reason, he’s attracted to internal medicine.
Intellectual curiosity is another motivator. “I love putting a puzzle together to understand what’s happening. A patient comes in and has all these symptoms and you need to put the physical exam, their history, labs, and imaging together and come up with a unifying diagnosis and a plan. And you work alongside so many different specialists, which I love.”
He shares a story about his parents’ strong sense of community.
Every Christmas his mother cooks a traditional meal of haricots and beignets and opens her door to anyone who wants a meal. “So our house is filled with people we don’t know – complete strangers. It’s a way for my parents to give back,” explains Fotsing Tadjo.
It’s no wonder that despite the demands of medical school, Fotsing Tadjo makes time to volunteer with McGill student-led initiatives, including tutoring three primary school–aged children for more than three years.
McGill Arts student Andrew Atwood.
Invaluable connections
Arts student Andrew Atwood is another recipient of the St-Sauveur Brotherhood Bursary. He came to McGill from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
“I’ve always wanted to be in a French-speaking area, so that’s why I looked into McGill at first, and then I learned about its academic reputation so I thought I could learn a lot here.”
He’s graduating this year with a major in Political Science and a minor in Operations Management, and he is applying to law school next.
For Atwood, the best part of his McGill experience has been the faculty. “They’re wonderful. They are helpful, insightful, wise, intelligent, and they have so much to offer to the student body.”
While the money from the bursary was crucial for Atwood, he also mentions how some of the donors reached out to him to see how else they could support him, including by introducing him to an undergraduate law internship program for Black students, and encouraging him to apply.
“I had no idea about this precious opportunity. I also told some of my Black friends about it. So it’s been helpful to more people than just myself.”
For Atwood, that’s worth even more than the money: “These are invaluable connections.”
The St. Sauveur Brotherhood Bursary was established in 2020 to promote higher education for members of underrepresented groups at McGill University by the members of the St. Sauveur Brotherhood, which is comprised of Steven Cawley, BCom’92, Stephen Gardiner, BCom'92, Paul Gentile, BCom’93, Delando Hawthorne, BCom’94, Marc Lemaire, BCom’92, Daniel Machacek, Greg McDonnell, Claude Robillard, BCom’93, Neil Weber, BCom’93, Stephen Wilhelm, BCom’92, and Jason Williamson, BCom’92.