The Black Student Leadership Award is a donor-funded initiative for continuing undergraduate students who self-identify as Black. The award was developed by the Division of Student Affairs in collaboration with the UVic Scarborough Charter Steering Committee. Formed in 2023, the Committee works to increase visibility and support for Black communities.
Funding for the award comes from the Pathways Fund, supported by UVic donors, with priorities set by the Student Awards and Financial Aid office. In its inaugural 2025/26 year, 10 awards of $7,500 each were granted.
The initiative will expand next year to include the Black Student Leadership Entrance Award, of $5,000 each, demonstrating the meaningful impact that even small donations can have.
Black Student Leadership Award applications for next year close April 30, 2026.
Mahlet Bereket
Award recipient Mahlet Bereket says the Black Student Leadership Award is an important step toward increasing diversity at UVic. “What the donors are doing is so important for Black students, and I can’t express that enough,” she says. “It’s something other schools and institutions should look up to.”
As a second-year law student, Bereket found that receiving the award enabled her to devote more time to the UVic community—particularly the Black Law Students’ Association (BLSA).
She has taken on several roles within BLSA: member, Vice President of Administration and Vice President for the 2025/26 academic year. Through her involvement, she helped organize events such as a pre-law expo at Claremont Secondary School, the first “Afroween” Halloween celebration and a partnership with Victoria’s Black Youth Justice program.
Reflecting on her experience, Bereket notes, “BLSA has been a huge part of my journey at law school, and it’s how I’ve formed many of my connections here. It feels like we’re a little family.”
Outside BLSA, she contributes to the Business Law Association and the student-run Appeal law journal. She also serves as the Treasurer on the board of Black Women Connect Vancouver and the Global News editorial board, where she brings diverse perspectives to media discussions.
It’s important that Black students take up as much as possible. Your presence alone is reason enough to apply.”
Mahlet Bereket
“I’ve always been drawn to leadership positions in my life,” she says.
Originally from Vancouver, Bereket says support from UVic Law’s Black Admissions Stream, faculty, the racial justice community and fellow Black law students helped her feel at home in Victoria.
“Growing up, I was often the only Black person in a lot of spaces, especially in university,” she says. “So, being at UVic, where there are many other Black students, is a huge honour.”
Bereket encourages every eligible student to apply for the Black Student Leadership Award. “It’s important that Black students take up as much as possible. Your presence alone is reason enough to apply.”
Gilbert Imoesi
For Gilbert Imoesi, receiving the award was both recognition and motivation. A fourth-year international student from Edo State, Nigeria, studying political science and economics, he says, “receiving the award made me feel seen.”
He also feels a responsibility to continue to give back to the UVic community. Imoesi is the incoming undergraduate student representative on the Board of Governors and is involved with several campus groups, including the International Centre for Students (ICS), Students of Colour Collective (SOCC), the African and Caribbean Students’ Association (ACSA) and The African Nexus (UVic). As the UVic Ambassador for the Conference of Defence Associations Institute, he organized several panel discussions on global political economy.
Outside UVic, he received a challenge coin medal and was made an honorary logistician in recognition of his work with the Department of National Defence.
I create ways for other students from Africa to feel like ‘you’re one of us, and you belong.’”
Gilbert Imoesi
Imoesi’s commitment to service is rooted in his own difficult transition to university. He remembers being the only Black person in one of his first-year classes and the feeling of alienation that came with it.
“I had to make a very conscious attempt to be all that I am in as many spaces as possible,” he recalls. “I show up as I am and let others perceive me as they will.”
This mindset pushed him to become a rare first-year Community Leader (CL) in residence, supporting others facing similar challenges.
He continues in that role, helping new students transition to university. “I create ways for other students from Africa to feel like ‘you’re one of us, and you belong,’” he says.
He believes the award plays a key role in fostering a sense of belonging and creating opportunities for Black students to take up space. “The visibility matters because it’s a way of integrating us into the community and making us feel like we belong,” he says. “Just as UVic has recognized others, we are also being recognized.”
Temitope Ogunjimi
For Temitope Ogunjimi, a second-year UVic Law student, receiving the Black Student Leadership Award helped her begin to see herself differently. “The award allowed me to ease into understanding myself as a leader,” she says. “When opportunities come up now, the scholarship reminds me someone out there thinks I’m a leader, so I should believe in myself.”
Since stepping into leadership roles, she has noticed how others look to her for guidance and advocacy. She served as Vice President Student Affairs for the UVic Law Students’ Society (2025/26) and worked as a Teaching Assistant for a first-year legal research and writing course.
Admitted through the Black Admissions Stream in 2024, she has built a strong community and friendships with the other Black law students. A pivotal moment was meeting other Nigerian students at a BLSA mixer in her first year—Ogunjimi was born in Nigeria and moved to Canada when she was 10 years old. “My law school experience feels like what my high school experience should have been,” she says. “It makes going to school every day a bit better.”
When opportunities come up now, the scholarship reminds me someone out there thinks I’m a leader, so I should believe in myself.”
Temitope Ogunjimi
Outside academics, Ogunjimi is also a leader in rugby. A professional player currently rehabilitating a serious knee injury, she coaches the Castaway Wanderers Senior Women’s Premiership team and led the UVic Law rugby team to a championship victory. The win meant a lot, “because it brought two things I really loved together, law and rugby.”
Along with the Black Student Leadership Award, she has also received the Christopher Barran Memorial Fund, the Pemberton Holmes Entrance Scholarship (in honour of Davine Burton) and bursaries.
She credits financial support, including this award, with shaping her journey: “It’s not just about the monetary aid, it’s more about what it’s done for me on the inside and allowed me to do on the outside.”
