A student at Balfour Collegiate in Regina has won a historic scholarship.

Tyler McClellan, a grade 12 student at Balfour, has been awarded the Schulich Leader Scholarship valued at $80,000. He is the first Balfour student to ever be awarded this scholarship.

McClellan says it came as quite a surprise.

“I couldn’t believe it honestly,” McClellan said. “I originally signed up for Schulich as a ‘why not? And see what happens,’ and I doubted this was actually going to work out.”

We are so proud to announce that Balfour student, Tyler McClellan, has been selected as a @SchulichLeaders. Tyler will be awarded an $80,000 scholarship for his academic success, exemplary character, & his powerful leadership in our school & community. Congrats, Tyler! #SLS10 pic.twitter.com/Q5yvS4yPEg

— Balfour Collegiate (@BalfourColl) April 26, 2021

McClellan says COVID-19 has certainly impacted his learning this year.

“I’ve been at home — at least — for the past month and I’ve basically lost an entire two classes worth of school because I’ve been stuck at home,” McClellan said. “Long-scale, I’ve just haven’t had that many opportunities to actually enjoy my grade 12 year.”

McClellan says while some of his grade 12 year was taking part in remote learning, it worked differently for a variety of his classes.

“My one drama class, I can do that at home very easily, but compared to say math class where you have to take pages of notes, it could get iffy.”

McClellan plans on attending Simon Fraser University to study mathematics.

Schulich Leader Scholarships Canada are offering 100 scholarships across the country this year.