Vic High Alumni Major Donor At School’s 2025 Awards Night

Almost three-quarters of the financial awards’ total at Victoria High School’s recent Awards Night came from the school’s alumni, two-thirds of that from the Vic High Alumni Association, the rest via direct donations to the school. A total of $78,975 was given out before the enthusiastic crowd of students and staff, family, and alumni.

“We are thrilled to be making a difference in the lives of so many Vic High students,” says Alumni Board Chair Helen Edwards, VHS 1964. “We are very grateful for the generous alumni who make these awards possible, $36,850 this year alone, and for the Victoria Foundation who manages our endowments so well.”

Alumni awards cover leadership, school spirit, academic, technical and fine arts, home economics, and student support. Molly Descantes won the Alumni’s prestigious Reg Reid Leadership Award, honouring the 1943 grad and much-loved teacher and Vice-Principal. The cup now comes with a cash award, thanks to the Reid family and many alumni donors helping create the Alumni’s endowed fund. The top academic student, announced in the fall, will win the Governor-General’s Medal and the Peter Smith Centennial award. Donations from alumni also created the endowed fund that supports this award, honouring the 1949 grad and former UVic Classics Professor who researched and wrote Come Give A Cheer,  the history of the first 100 years of Vic High.

Vic High students received a total of $703,074 in scholarships and bursaries this year, the highest amount awarded yet. It included community scholarships, Beedie Luminaries Scholarships, a UBC Beyond Tomorrow Scholarship, and a SFU Uggla Family Scholarship – one of only ten awarded in Canada.

“Vic High is a very special place,” says Edwards. “We’re thrilled its heritage has been preserved. We already see how students embrace its history and continue its tradition of inclusivity and acceptance, and excellence. Vic High alumni and the Association will always have their backs.”

Some Alumni Award Winners

Molly Descantes won the prestigious Reg Reid Leadership Cup this award. Thanks to Reid family and individual alumni donations, it now comes with a cash award. And of course, along with the top academic student for the year, (named in the fall), the winner’s name is forever showcased on our historic Leader Boards in the Grant Street stairwell. Molly shows off her cup, presented by Linda Reid, VHS 1977, and Alumni Chair Helen Edwards, VHS 1964. Read more about this extraordinary Vic High grad here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cate Jones, VHS 1976, presents Laura Gardom Bursaries to – L to R – Coral Nelson, Larraine Ocares, Keida Hyatt, Ansel Holm