On the Ramp: Corporal Jordan Anderson Memorial Scholarship

[armyvern]

Today seems to be a very appropriate day for making this announcement officially.

Before I make it, I wish to pass on these words on behalf of Jordan's widow Amanda and his parents:

To those of you responsible for seeing these efforts come to fruition, those of you who worked diligently behind the scenes of this site, to the PPCLI Regimental Association, to Jordan's Regiment, and to his military family, we thank you.

We will remember him.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
On the Ramp Corporal Jordan Anderson Memorial Scholarship

Corporal Jordan Anderson was a member of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry who was killed in Afghanistan on 04 July 2007 while voluntarily serving his Nation.

Jordan was a strong advocate for education, both for himself and others. Jordan’s keen interest in striving to improve his own life, and that of others less fortunate, was much more than a thought in passing. He strove daily to set the example, through his own self-improvement, and through his determination, contributions to, and belief in a bright future for all the citizens of an Afghanistan free from extremist rule.

He will remain a Canadian for whom to be proud. In honour of his supreme sacrifice, and of his commitment to life-long learning, the On the Ramp scholarship has been established in his memory. Two successful applicants will receive monetary awards from this scholarship each year.

The scholarship has been established, in perpetuity, at Jordan’s alumnus institution, the University of Manitoba.

To contribute to this endowment fund:

*By cheque or money order:

Payable to The University of Manitoba and mailed to:
Department of Development and Advancement Services
179 Extended Education Complex
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, MB  R3T 2N2

*By Credit Card:

U of M Endowment Donations

* Please reference fund #614673-317400-416001-7000 when making contributions to the “On the Ramp” Corporal Jordan Anderson Scholarship. 
______________________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like further information, or have any queries regarding this scholarship, please contact both of the following:

ArmyVern
3rd Herd

Due to our schedules, please ensure that you address both of us; one of us will respond as quickly as possible.

 

[davidk]

Well done! An excellent way to remember an excellent soldier.

 

[armyvern]

Well done! An excellent way to remember an excellent soldier.

And, so very fitting in this instance. 

 

[Danjanou]

More coverage here
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/life/story/4060696p-4664471c.html

Reproduced with the usual caveats et cetera:

AMANDA Anderson barely held back her tears as she prepared to receive her husband Jordan's posthumous degree Thursday.

"It'll be an honour," she said in a brief interview moments before the University of Manitoba fall convocation began.

"I wish it wasn't me doing it, I wish it was him. I'll do it for him," Anderson said.

Cpl. Jordan Anderson died in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan in early July.

He'd been completing a distance education degree in political studies through U of M's military support office, and was very close to finishing when he died.

"It was elective credits that were left," Anderson said

U of M awarded Jordan Anderson a posthumous degree, the first time the university has ever given a degree to an active soldier killed in wartime.

Several family members accompanied his widow from Alberta Thursday, and the audience at the convocation at the Church of the Rock was speckled with uniforms, from enlisted soldiers who'd served and buddied with Jordan Anderson, to senior officers.

"The regiment made sure some of his closest friends could be here," Anderson said. "The interest has been amazing from the general public.
"It was his friends -- they were the ones who contacted the university."

Prof. George MacLean, acting head of political studies, persuaded the university's senate to take the unprecedented step. Anderson had completed all his political science courses, and had hoped to go on to graduate school and become an intelligence officer.

"He loved learning," said Anderson. Her husband would read something in the newspaper, then go to other sources to learn as much about a subject as he could, she recalled.

"Everyone in the military support office has been terrific over the past five years," she said. "It's something he wanted to do -- I'll finish it for him." Jordan Anderson's friends have raised $10,000 to establish two bursaries in his memory.

"He was always doing some kind of homework," said Cpl. Jeff Black with a smile. "Once he got his mind on something, you couldn't shake him.

"He was an easygoing guy, but he was the most dedicated soldier I've ever seen," said Black, who served with Anderson in Edmonton as a member of the Third Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

"It's a great honour being asked to come here," said Black.

"He was a joy to talk to. He was (of) above-average intelligence," said Cpl. Adam Bowness, a friend from Anderson's first of two tours of duty in Afghanistan.

"We were working basically out of a trench for six months," Bowness said. "He wanted to be an intelligence officer, and he wanted to be a graduate student.

Black said that if Anderson could have been at convocation Thursday, "He'd probably have his trademark cackling laugh, and be grinning ear to ear."

The fall convocation was moved to the Church of the Rock because of an ongoing strike by support service workers at U of M.

Environmentalist Prof. Louis Fortier and educator Don Robertson received honorary degrees as 1,271 students graduated. Among them were the first six master of arts students to graduate in school psychology -- in such high demand that each student has already been recruited and hired, all in Manitoba. "We're not surprised; the school psychologist is a valuable team member contributing to a healthy, functioning community, and these are top-notch students," said Prof. Barry Mallin, co-ordinator of the U of M's school psychology program.

"School systems today are asked to respond to the needs of children with highly diverse and complex issues," Mallin said. "Children with learning and behavioural problems, issues of cognitive functioning, health, emotional and family concerns and the occasional crisis are all part of the job."
nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca

Widow's grateful words

JORDAN'S commitment and appreciation of lifelong learning was instilled in him at an early age. The fact that he was within a few credits of obtaining his bachelor's degree while working full-time in the Canadian Forces, with two deployments to Afghanistan, and numerous exercises away from his home base, is a testament to his perseverance and dedication.

Jordan could not have succeeded without the fantastic support from his partners in education. Appreciation needs to be extended to the University of Manitoba and the Canadian Forces for offering an educational program with so many supports for success. The flexibility of the program, coupled with the counsel from the Military Support Office, made the goal of a university degree attainable.

Jordan had lofty goals, and every expectation of meeting them. After he earned his degree, his intentions were to obtain his master's in strategic studies, climb through the officers' ranks, and ultimately become an intelligence officer.

It is with great sorrow that we'll never see him achieve his goal.

A bursary entitled On The Ramp has been established at the University of Manitoba in Jordan's name. This bursary will be awarded to two students, one a serving member of the Canadian Forces, and one a cadet. The bursary is open to full-time, part-time, or as Jordan did, distance education students. Often during downtime in the army, Jordan would share his knowledge of history and politics with his comrades. This bursary will be his legacy for years to come, sharing his passion for learning.

We are truly grateful for the honour of receiving this bachelor's degree. A sincere thank-you to the University of Manitoba, the political science department, and the Military Support Office. Thank you to his regiment, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, for their work in making this happen. We also wish to extend our heartfelt appreciation to his friends at Army.ca for making representation to the university, in order for him to receive his degree posthumously, and for the work in establishing the bursary in Jordan's name.

We would also like to extend our best wishes to all the graduates. We are honoured to be part of today's convocation.
-- Amanda Anderson

 

[Tinman]

We are all very very proud of GO!!! (Cpl Jordan Anderson- July 4 2007) and his accomplishments. He deserved this degree as he worked with dogged determination to get where he did. In our hearts, we know he would have continued and achieved his goals, that is just the kind of person he was.

This endowment is something he would be very proud of. I encourage everyone to continue with contributions to the scholarship fund. Send a few dollars each month in his memory.  together we can make a difference. Together lets make Jordan as proud of us, as we are of him.

Tim McGrath, proud father-inlaw of
Cpl Jordan Anderson

PS: Thanks to all those that have already contributed to make this happen.

 

[3rd Herd]

The Usual Disclaimer:
http://myuminfo.umanitoba.ca/index.asp?sec=40&too=100&dat=11/3/2007&sta=3&wee=1&eve=8&npa=14142
Education in the midst of conflict
Thursday, November 1, 2007 2:58 PM


On Oct. 18 I received an e-mail from Kabul, Afghanistan. It was sent by Col. Michael Latouche (Canadian Forces), director of the Air Liaison Element of the International Security Assistance Force. He identified himself as a graduate of the University of Manitoba (class of 1996), and said that he was very proud that his university was awarding Cpl. Jordan Anderson a degree posthumously. He added also that he wanted to thank his alma mater for honouring this young man who "paid the ultimate price doing what his country asked him to do and for helping the people of Afghanistan."

Cpl. Anderson was just 25 years old when a roadside bomb ended his life and the lives of six others near Kandahar City this past July 4. One of four brothers, he was born in Iqaluit, growing up in Pelly Bay, Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. His wife Amanda, who accepted her husband’s degree, said her husband worked hard on his courses, and hoped to become an intelligence officer. According to Dr. George Maclean, the acting head of political studies, Cpl. Anderson had completed all major degree requirements, with only some electives unfinished. He was a good student, showing considerable promise. His widow and his buddies from Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry described him as having a hunger for education, as indicated by having his "nose in a book" as often as he could, by a curiosity that constantly led him to search on the internet for topics that interested him, and by the papers he wrote for his courses that remain still, piled neatly on his desk at home.

It is hard to imagine the path that took Jordan Anderson from the Northwest Territories to Afghanistan where his life ended so tragically. Like so many others before him, he seized the opportunity the armed services offered him to enrol at university, and he chose the University of Manitoba, perhaps because of its long record of making degree programs available through the military support office. He was serious about his studies, and Dr. Maclean has been quoted in a number of newspaper articles that, on the day Jordan Anderson died, he had been in touch with the university to discuss the route to continue his studies to earn an advanced degree in political studies and international relations.

Many others worldwide have been awarded degrees posthumously, but in Canada, Jordan Anderson was the first soldier to die on active duty since the Korean War to have a degree conferred in such circumstances. The media focussed much attention on his story, but one had to have been present at Convocation to appreciate fully the emotion that captured everyone when Mrs. Anderson came forward to receive her husband’s degree. She is an articulate, lovely young woman, and had been fighting back tears before and during the ceremony as it unfolded. She gripped a photograph of her husband in her hand as she received her husband’s parchment from Dean Richard Sigurdson, whose usual cheerful and proudly uttered congratulatory comments to every Arts graduate turned quiet and serious. It was not possible to hear what he said because every member of the audience of 1,900 people at Convocation stood up spontaneously and broke into thunderous applause.

Were we applauding the young widow, to let her know that we empathize with her sorrow? Were we applauding Jordan Anderson’s self-discipline, his devotion to his studies, and his focus on establishing his future through formal learning? Were we applauding all the young men and women of the Canadian Forces symbolized by Cpl. Anderson, who put their lives on the line daily as the price of freedom in Afghanistan? Perhaps we applauded for all these reasons and more.

I remember reading in the Globe and Mail when the first deployment of Canadian troops arrived in Afghanistan, the words of one soldier. He said among other things somewhat incredulously, "Imagine – they are against learning!" I did imagine, and thought of those millions of boys and young men who were allowed to learn only what the Taliban permitted, and the millions of girls and women who were not allowed to learn anything at all. In the comfort and security of Canada it is easy to take things for granted. It is sobering to imagine that not only would my daughter have not been permitted to learn had she been raised in Afghanistan when the Taliban were in control, but I would also have been prevented from learning, as well as practicing my profession. Imagine what the University of Manitoba would be like under such a regime – no women at all on our campuses, not as professors, not as support staff, not as students. No women working outside the home anywhere in Manitoba, no girls in school – and the boys limited to learning only those texts that the Taliban judged appropriate.

There are many reasons why Canadian troops are in Afghanistan, and the provision of schools and protection of those who attend them comprise just a fraction of the actions undertaken by Canadians serving in a zone of conflict on the other side of the world. Nevertheless, I am compelled to focus on the enormous contribution our troops are doing to protect the rights of all to attain an education. To my mind, to be able to learn is a precious thing, and protecting everyone’s opportunity to learn is a worthy undertaking. Over 6 million students enrolled in Afghan schools at all levels this year, and 2 million of them were girls. I am profoundly grateful to the Canadian Armed Forces for fighting those who would limit learning to a few, and would deny it to girls and women completely. And I am grateful to Cpl. Jordan Anderson who put his life on the line and lost it, to do something that his country asked him to do.

 

[armyvern]

Just came across this article in The Western Sentinel, and thought I'd post it up for those who wish to take a read.

Damn -- I miss him.  :-[

Fallen soldier receives degree / On the Ramp Memorial Bursary

 

[*star]

ON THE RAMP - CPL JORDAN ANDERSON BURSARY
University of Manitoba -

Please find the most up-to-date information, donation form and application form here: http://www.army.gc.ca/iaol/143000440000029/143000440000720/index-Eng.html

The bursary is open to any cadet, regular force or retired member in a part time, full time or distance learning program at the University of Manitoba. Preference will be given to political science students.

(You might notice some variation in the actual terms and conditions of the bursary than when it was first announced. The University had to make some adjustments to meet their guidelines).

On this webpage there is a letter from the Minister of National Defence along with an article about fundraising. There are also some pictures of Jordan and additional news articles.

Thank you to army.ca for petitioning the University to grant Jordan's degree posthumously. And for helping start the bursary process.

Thank you to all who donated in Jordan's memory...additional donations will increase the annual bursary amount and help a deserving soldier further their education. (Donation form can be found on the above link).

I thought I posted this link last year when PPCLI first added to their webpage, but I don't see the info!

Again, thank you army.ca

Mrs.GO!!!

 

[Rheostatic]

A great gesture by the University of Manitoba and all those involved.

 

[*star]

I’m very pleased to announce that the University of Manitoba has awarded the annual 2011-2012 On the Ramp: Cpl Jordan Anderson bursary to: Sonny Brown.

The bursary is open to any cadet, regular force or retired member in a part time, full time or distance-learning program at the University of Manitoba. Preference will be given to political science students.

Thank you to all who donated in Jordan's memory…I realize that money is tight and there are many “In Memory” of soldier charities doing great work around the world.

Additional donations will increase the annual bursary amount and help a deserving soldier further their education.

“On The Ramp” is an official bursary organized and overseen by the University of Manitoba. Recipients are selected by the University. You will receive a charitable receipt for donations over $10.

If you are interested in donating please see: https://umanitoba.ca/admin/dev_adv/howtogive/donation/index.html

Under “I want to direct my gift to…” select “Scholarships and Bursaries” and leave the next drop down blank, and then in the “Other” box enter: On the Ramp: Cpl Jordan Anderson Bursary. This will ensure your donation gets directed in memory of Jordan and to next year’s intended recipient. There is a downloadable form on this page if you would rather mail in your donation.

Thank you once again to everyone that donated in Jordan’s memory.

If you’re interested in applying for the On The Ramp bursary please contact the U of M directly – either the Military Support Office, the faculty of Political Science (George Mclean) or Financial Aid & Awards department.

If you’re a soldier considering going back to school, I strongly suggest contacting the Military Support Office - there are many supports in place for you to further you education while serving.

Mrs. GO!!!

 

[Edward Campbell]

Donation made.

ERC