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Giving refugee students the gift of a new beginning

Cynthia Shewan, BA’65, has never forgotten how the door opened for her undergraduate studies at McGill.

McGill Faculty of Arts Student Lina Akbeek and grad photo of donor Cynthia Shewan
: Arts student Lina Akbeek is studying at McGill thanks to support from Arts graduate Cynthia Shewan.

Longtime student counsellor Rev. Clifford Knowles made it possible for her to attend the university by arranging for a scholarship and bursary.

“That paved the way for me and I made sure that I studied hard and did well, so I was able to have financial funding through scholarships and bursaries until I graduated,” says Shewan, who obtained her Bachelor of Arts (Honours Psychology).

Shewan went on to earn a master’s and doctorate at Northwestern University in speech-language pathology.

Now, she’s creating meaningful opportunities for others at McGill, from Syrian refugees to female students pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies.

Lina Akbeek, a student in the Faculty of Arts who is a refugee from Syria, received support from McGill’s Scholarships and Student Aid Office last year, through a donation from Shewan. Having left her home in Syria, Akbeek had been living in Jordan and feared her dream of going to university was out of reach.

Joy radiates from her face and emotion fills her voice when she talks about how thrilled she is to be at McGill — and how grateful she is to the donor who supported her.

“There are no words to explain how happy I am and the feeling inside of me. It’s just amazing,” says Akbeek, now in her second year of a Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in international development studies.

“I’ve been given this opportunity. It opened a door for education, for being happy and safe and being able to learn. I’ve been learning a new thing every single day and that just means a lot to me, to experience it all.”

Thanks to Shewan’s generosity, Akbeek’s financial support is continuing this school year, along with funding for other students from similar circumstances.

“I think their plight is just so dismal and I can’t support all of them, but maybe I can make a small contribution to a few,” Shewan says of students like Lina.

Over the years, Shewan, who grew up near Montreal, has given back generously to McGill. Her recent major gift has created an endowed bursary at McGill – the Cynthia Shewan STEM Bursary – for female students pursuing studies in STEM fields.

She supports McGill’s Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies (IGSF), and has also established a bequest for McGill in her estate plans, which will further augment all of her generous initiatives.

Now retired, Shewan (pictured at right) taught at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Queens College - City University of New York, and the University of Western Ontario, and conducted research in speech-language pathology. Also, as director of research in non-profit organizations, research has always been her passion.

 “I have a very fond spot in my heart for McGill. I got to work with some pretty famous people,” Shewan says, mentioning the late Donald O. Hebb and Professor Emeritus Ronald Melzack, both renowned psychologists.

“Education is very important for everyone, and it’s been particularly important for me,” Shewan says about her motivation for giving to McGill. “I have my mother to thank for that because she did not have the opportunity to attend university — although she was certainly smart enough to. She always advocated that I get a good education, and I did. I have been distressed by the fact that women do not always get the opportunities that they should in education, and also just believe in giving back,” Shewan says.

“I was afforded an opportunity because someone helped me. And it’s important to pay that forward.”

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