Another Schulich Scholar Chooses Trinity College

Posted: September 22, 2017

In 2011, venture capitalist and champion of higher education Seymour Schulich established the Schulich Leader Scholarships. Every year since, U of T has welcomed talented STEM students with a commitment to academic excellence and leadership.

Several of these scholars have chosen to attend Trinity College and this year, Jack Stanley of Victoria, British Columbia joins them. Jack is among four incoming U of T students selected to receive this prestigious award. We spoke to him about what brought him to U of T and Trinity College.

2017 Schulich Scholar Jack Stanley running on a track meetJack Stanley

Faculty of Arts & Science
Program: Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
College: Trinity College

What drew you to the University of Toronto?
What U of T and the city of Toronto offers simply cannot be matched anywhere else in Canada. I can participate in cutting edge research at the University, or gain valuable work experience at a start-up or larger company in Toronto’s technology sector. U of T offers nearly limitless possibilities to become involved in STEM in one capacity or another.

Why do you want to pursue a career in the STEM field?
I have always been a naturally curious person, and I enjoy learning how the world around me actually works. I discovered that I love working in a hands on-environment when I volunteered at an anatomy laboratory at the University of Victoria over the summer a few years ago. Nearly any STEM subject fulfills my insatiable desire to ask questions and find answers, it’s where I can have the most impact on the world.

What do you do outside the lab?
I really enjoy running track and cross-country because it is such a “pure” sport. I am looking forward to continuing my running career as a Varsity Blue! I also co-founded a math club at my high school to practice for math contests and just explore cool things in the vast field mathematics. I still have a real passion for math, the quantitative side of biology interests me quite a bit.

What made you decide to be a Trinity College student?
The feel of it. It’s the smallest college. The University is very big, but you can have a closer-knit experience at the colleges. I also like the different perspectives if offers, since it has a focus on international relations. I think it’s valuable to have exposure to humanities students, and see how they approach things. It gives a more rounded university experience. I love that Trinity College is such a strong community.

And your future plans?
I plan to move on to grad school to further my study in microbiology. Microbiology is really interesting because you are affecting people. Technology is moving so fast and you can now examine things on such a small level. I’m very interested in that. Also, because of my interest in math, I’m interested in big data: the ability to aggregate large data sets to draw conclusions. I truly believe that the intersection of biology and technology will be incredibly important in the near future and I want to be a part of that.


Learn more about the Schulich Leader Scholarships: Schulich Leader Scholarships are prestigious entrance scholarship awarded to high school graduates enrolling in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) undergraduate program at participating universities in Canada and Israel. Recipients enrolled in an engineering program receive $100K over four years and recipients enrolled in a Faculty of Arts & Science program receive $80K over four years.