When Ocean Cherneski first heard about Trent University, she knew right away it was her dream school.

“I was talking to my English teachers about university options and they told me about Trent. They said that it has the best Indigenous Studies department in all of Ontario so I did more research and just fell in love. Trent quickly became my first choice.”

Her story followed a similar arch to other high school students’ path to university; she applied, visited campus, and accepted her offer. However, just when Ms. Cherneski thought her Trent journey couldn’t get more perfect, her fairytale experience got one more exciting chapter: she found out she had won Trent’s draw for free first-year tuition.

This year, campus visitors could enter to win their first-year tuition each time they visited campus for a campus tour, one of Trent’s open house events, or on ToursPlus days. Of the large pool of entries, Ms. Cherneski’s name was selected.

“This award means so much to me,” explained Ms. Cherneski. “Winning free tuition will allow me to fully focus on and make the most of my studies. I feel like it’s a symbol of where I am meant to be.”
Ms. Cherneski has much to look forward to this September as she makes her way from Heron Bay, Ontario to Trent University for her first-year in the Indigenous Bachelor of Education program. Although the banks of the Otonabee may be almost 12 hours from home for Ms. Cherneski she looks forward to connecting with Trent’s strong Indigenous community.

“One of the things that I am most looking forward to this fall at Trent is being able to meet other Indigenous students. Not many people from my community are going to university, I am one of three, so I am excited to get to know other students with a similar background to me.”