Meet the long-standing donors

Apollonia Steele

Apollonia Steele loved what she did at UCalgary. A librarian who started in cataloguing and ended up overseeing the rare books collection and the archival collection of Canadian writers and composers, she was on campus from 1972 to 2010.

Her husband, Dr. Charles Steele, PhD, an English professor, also worked at UCalgary. He specialized in Canadian literature, but he also taught Shakespeare and science fiction. When he died in 1987, Apollonia established the Charles R. Steele Memorial Scholarship, which supports graduate students concentrating on Canadian literature or culture in the Department of English.

“He loved teaching. He was a wonderful teacher,” Apollonia says. 

“When he passed away, it only seemed appropriate to honour his memory and the contributions he made by starting a scholarship in his name.”

Apollonia, after nearly 40 years of continuous support, is pleased to contribute to the school where she worked for so many years. “It is really important, I think, these days,” she says from her home in Stratford, Ont. “Universities are meeting such big challenges that students need to be able to access scholarships for their studies.”

Additionally, the scholarship serves as a welcome link to her days in Calgary.

“The university is really good about keeping in touch and sending me information about who’s received the scholarship, so I’m glad I have this great connection,” Apollonia says. “My experience of having been at the University of Calgary was wonderful. I worked with the most dedicated and capable people and worked for the best students.”

 

Gharandip Bawa

Enjoying a successful career, Gharandip Bawa, BSc (Eng)’04, wanted to show his appreciation to UCalgary. So, for 15 years — and counting — he’s been contributing funds and volunteering hours to his alma mater.

“It is purely a desire to give back to a school, a community that I benefited immensely from,” says Bawa, who works in the energy sector. 

“I come from a family that has always valued education, which is the great equalizer — it’s the springboard. I’m passionate about supporting education.”

On a recurring basis, Bawa gives to the UCalgary Unrestricted Fund, which distributes funds in a discretionary manner. “I don’t have pet projects per se, so I’m happy to let the university decide where the money is most useful,” he says. “I’m not stuck on the mindset, ‘Oh, I’m an engineer, so I should donate to engineering only.’ There’s value in liberal arts and science and whatever else. I also donate to STEM causes, to women in science and engineering, to Sikh Studies.”

In addition to giving guest lectures, Bawa offers time to UCalgary MentorLINC. Sharing wisdom with young people is a way of paying back — and paying forward. “I was pretty keen to help there,” he says. “I’ve been lucky in life to end up in a good place because people guided me along the way. I know what a significant impact the right mentoring can have. I feel a very strong sense of obligation to do what I can now.”

 

Eva Weckl

Eva Weckl remembers growing up in Calgary after her family immigrated from Germany. Making an unforgettable impression were her parents — Irmgard and Josef — who worked exceptionally hard. Her father shouldered three jobs, “so we could get a house, so we could get our feet on the ground,” she says. “And education was so important to them because they didn’t have the benefit of that themselves.”

As a tribute to her parents’ guidance — and as an appreciation of her own academic journey at UCalgary — she created the Irmgard & Josef Weckl Memorial Bursary shortly after her dad died in 2011. “I wanted to honour them for being so supportive,” says Eva, BA’76, MA’80. 

“I have a big warm spot in my heart because I know my mom and dad would approve. They were absolutely incredible. I love the fact that they put that seed for university in my mind.”

Based on academic merit and financial need, the bursary is offered annually to a continuing undergraduate student — in any faculty. “I didn’t want it to be super-restrictive. If you help a youth, you help a youth. No matter where they go, they’re likely to make an impact,” says Eva, who also donates to UCalgary’s Libraries and Cultural Resources Impact Fund. “My folks were so sure that a good education was a path into a good life. I want to give that path to those who might be struggling or might not otherwise have the chance.”

 

Manju Kapoor

When Dr. Manju Kapoor, PhD, started teaching in 1964, her workplace was the University of Alberta’s Calgary campus. By the time UCalgary attained its independent status two years later, she had become a mainstay. “I lectured in zoology, botany, biology — wherever they needed genetics expertise,” recalls Kapoor. 

Not surprisingly, being a part of a new endeavour was appealing for freshly appointed faculty members at UCalgary. “It was exciting and massively challenging,” Kapoor says. 

“We were instrumental in fostering the academic environment in this place. We were the pioneers, really.”

When one of her fellow visionaries — and husband — Dr. Michael H. Benn, PhD, a member of the Department of Chemistry, died in 2011, she endowed a lecture series in his name to preserve his legacy. 

“This lecture series will leave a lasting academic impact, providing the future generations of students with the opportunity to interact with some of the leading national and international scientists in the fields of natural products chemistry and biochemistry,” she says. “I think that’s a really worthy cause.”

Retiring in 1997, Kapoor can still be found analyzing data in her office four to five days a week. While much has changed over the years, she recalls her first day on campus. “There was virtually nothing here apart from four to five buildings, no greenery whatsoever,” says Kapoor, laughing. “Having driven from Winnipeg, I asked a construction worker, on what is now 24th Avenue, ‘Where is the university?’ And he said, ‘This is it.’ I was really tempted to make a U-turn.”