Private Frederick Lee Scholarship Awarded

The Private Frederick Lee Scholarship was made possible through the generosity of the Jack and Sylvia Gin Foundation.

The scholarship was created to honour Private Frederick Lee. Private Frederick Lee was a Chinese Canadian resident of Kamloops who, despite being a high school honour roll student, experienced barriers in pursuing higher education because of his race. During World War I, Private Lee volunteered to serve in the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a member of the 172nd (Rocky Mountain Rangers) Battalion. Private Lee was killed in action in 1917 during the Battle of Hill 70.

In order to honour the memory of Private Lee, the Private Frederick Lee Scholarship is awarded annually to a Thompson Rivers University student with a strong academic background. Award preference is given to students who are current or former members of the Rocky Mountain Ranger or Canadian Armed Forces.

This year, the Private Frederick Lee Scholarship was awarded to Second Lieutenant Laksh Deswal. Laksh is a full-time student at Thompson Rivers University and is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. In addition to being a student at TRU, Laksh serves part-time in the Canadian Army Primary Reserve as a logistics officer in the Rocky Mountain Rangers.

The Rocky Mountain Rangers Regimental Association would like to congratulate Second Lieutenant Deswal on being awarded the Private Frederick Lee Scholarship. The Regimental Association would additionally like to thank the Jack and Sylvia Gin Foundation for their support of both the Rocky Mountain Rangers and higher education at TRU.