Adolf Duesterhus STEM Scholarship Fund

Student Award Fund

Award: Adolf Duesterhus STEM Scholarship Fund

Eligibility
Residency: Residents of the Northwest Territories of at least twelve consecutive months
Field of Study: Pursuing post-secondary studies in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM)
Amount Available: $5,500

Application Process

Individuals interested in applying must create a profile on our scholarship application portal. Once your profile is created, you will need to complete our eligibility quiz and then submit an application for the student award. Applications will be made available during our scholarship intake season, every spring.

If you have any questions, please email grants@ykcf.ca or call 867-446-4527. 

2 April, 12:01 PM

Scholarship application portal opens. 

31 May, 11:59 PM

Scholarship application portal closes.

Mid-to-Late July

Funding distributed to scholarship recipients. 

History of the Fund

“Adolf came to Canada from Germany after enduring the terrible experiences of war on the Russian front and internment in a Soviet prisoner of war camp. He arrived in Canada April 25, 1953, with eight dollars and a train ticket to Edmonton. Arriving in Edmonton, he answered a Giant Mine job ad, and was in Yellowknife drawing a paycheque within two weeks of stepping off the boat. After a year at Giant, Adolf moved to Curry Construction, where he stayed many years running equipment and supplies across the territory; an original ice road catskinner long before the truckers. His experiences are chronicled in the unpublished memoire, Driving Northern Byways: Memories of Northern Ground Transport in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Adolf possessed a passion for advanced physics. Self-taught in one of the most intellectually challenging disciplines, Adolf was also a pioneer in the mindscapes of complex mathematics and theory. He was a contributor to scholarly journals and always at work on explanations of phenomena few of us are aware of, let alone understand. Though a private and perhaps even eccentric man, Adolf was a willing contributor to community projects and a reliable helper to his friends and neighbours. In the closing passage of his book, Adolf pays tribute to the people who welcomed him and worked with him to build a better community. He said, ‘All of the good people helped make Yellowknife what it is today. I salute them all.’ Adolf Duesterhus, a friend of the Yellowknife Community Foundation, passed away on Friday, September 28th, and is survived by two nephews living in Germany.” – Bob Bromley

Past Recipients

  • 2024: Cheiyenne Fontanilla
  • 2023: Niav Cudmore-Lnagh, Hillary Huynh, Giselle Penney
  • 2022: Aimee Yurris
  • 2021: Bethany Giovanetto
  • 2020: Seamus Daly