2020 John Pitre Scholarships for Vanier Architectural Technology students

Congratulations to two Vanier College Architectural Technology students for winning the 2020 John Pitre Scholarships: Maryam Pugganwala, a third year (graduating) student, was awarded a $1,000 scholarship for being the most-improved student from 2nd to 3rd year; Aleah Pompura, a second year student, received a $500 scholarship for having the highest cumulative average over the first four semesters of the program.

John Pitre was deeply marked by his studies in Vanier’s Architectural Technology program. After graduating in the 1970s, he obtained a university degree in economics with a minor in building engineering, before going into business in British Columbia.

To hear that it was thanks to Vanier that John Pitre discovered his passion in life, leading to a very successful and long career in the building industry, should inspire all our students. John has said that he wanted to give back to Vanier, and thus created these scholarships for students. For John, having strong grades is a great achievement, but equally important is improvement. One of his scholarships is specifically aimed at rewarding a student with the most improvement over the course of their studies.

Joe Bellantoni, teacher in the program, has always called John Pitre the department “Rock Star.” John’s idea for creating scholarships for Arch Tech students “rocks,” and shines a spotlight on our “stars.”

John has been providing our students with scholarships since 2011. His scholarships motivate our students, and may even help them towards their journey in becoming possible Starchitects!

In 2015, John unveiled a plaque in the department honouring his donation of the two scholarships to Architectural Technology students. Since the scholarships are based on achievement and students need not apply, it is hoped that the plaque will motivate all students in the program to excel.