BIPOC Excellence Scholarships

This year, there are 5 scholarships. Each is worth $500.00.

Three of the BIPOC Excellence Scholarships are named after former King’s instructors: Hilary Ilkay, Parisa Zahiremami, and Nicole Go, as a way to recognize their impressive work and meaningful contributions to the King’s community. The other scholarships are rotating, and are set by the KSU Standing Committee on BIPOC Excellence each year. This year, these two scholarships are the Palestinian Student Scholarship and Indigenous – African Nova Scotian Student Scholarship. Applicants may apply for more than one scholarship.

Information about and requirements for each are listed below:

The Hilary Ilkay Scholarship

Hilary Ilkay earned her BA in Classics from the University of King’s College and an MA in Liberal Studies and Gender and Sexuality Studies from The New School. She was a Senior Fellow in the Foundation Year Program (FYP) and an instructor in the Early Modern Studies Program (EMSP). From her enriching FYP lectures on Sappho, Tullia d’Aragona and Simone de Beauvoir, to providing insightful reflections in her EMSP class on the republic of women, Hilary has shown true dedication to recovering the lives of historical women and advocating for the inclusion of female-authored texts in the University curricula. 

Eligibility Criteria:

• must be enrolled as a King’s student for the 2025 Fall semester
• must self-identify as racialized and/or BIPOC
• optional: Applicants are encouraged to reflect on how their work may connect to Hilary’s work at King’s and/or her research interests. 

The Parisa Zahiremami Scholarship

Dr. Parisa Zahiremami holds a BA in Persian Literature from Shiraz University and received both her MA in Persian literature and history and Ph.D. in Persian literature and Islamic mysticism from the University of Toronto. She served as FYP Faculty Fellow and was an instructor in EMSP. Parisa’s extensive research background in the Persianate and Islamic world was reflected in her FYP lectures on Zoroastrianism and the Quran, bringing a new, yet profoundly valuable cross-cultural understanding of the existing FYP curriculum.

Eligibility Criteria:

• must be enrolled as a King’s student for the 2025 Fall semester
• must self-identify as racialized and/or BIPOC
• optional: Applicants are encouraged to reflect on how their work may connect to Parisa’s work at King’s. and/or her research interests.

The Nicole Go Scholarship

Nicole Go received her BA (Hons.) and MA in East Asian Studies from the University of Toronto and is currently a Ph.D candidate at McMaster University. She also held a Nippon Foundation Fellowship at Stanford’s Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies. As both a FYP Faculty Fellow and EMSP instructor, Nicole approached both programs with great character of the mind and heart. She had genuine compassion for her students, encouraged student-led tutorials, and provided students with the tools to become thoughtful and powerful communicators.

Eligibility Criteria:

• must be enrolled as a King’s student for the 2025 Fall semester
• must self-identify as racialized and/or BIPOC
• optional: Applicants are encouraged to reflect on how their work may connect to Nicole’s work at King’s. and/or her research interests.

The Palestinian Student Scholarship

In the summer of 2024, the King’s Students’ Union responded to calls from students about increased support for Palestinian students and committed to offering a one-time bursary for a Palestinian King’s student, offered through the BIPOC Excellence Scholarship program. The Committee has decided to make the bursary into a scholarship this year.

Eligibility Criteria:

• must be enrolled as a King’s student for the 2025 fall semester
• must self-identify as Palestinian
• optional: Applicants are encouraged to reflect on how their identity relates to or influences their studies, future, goals, and academic journey so far.

Indigenous – African Nova Scotian Student Scholarship

As students, we live and learn in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), on the unceded and unsurrendered territory of Mi’kma’ki. Since time immemorial and for over 400 years, respectively, Mi’kmaw and African Nova Scotian communities have lived in Mi’kma’ki and Nova Scotia. The Committee has chosen this scholarship in recognition and appreciation of the communities who have welcomed us and the enriching relationships we continue to foster.

Eligibility Criteria:

• must be enrolled as a King’s student for the 2025 fall semester
• must self-identify as Indigenous and/or African Nova Scotian
• optional: Applicants are encouraged to reflect on how their identity relates to or influences their studies, future, goals, and academic journey so far.