Moose Jaw Central Collegiate Alumni

Liv Erickson Wins Top
Scholarship To U of S

Written by Ryan Vincent
Monday, Mar 20 2023
Discover Moose Jaw

Central Collegiate senior, Liv Erickson, has been awarded one of the Best and Brightest Entrance Scholarships to the University of Saskatchewan.

The George and Marsha Ivany President's First and Best Scholarship is awarded based on academics, leadership and contributions to the school and community, to a student from a Canadian high school with a 95 per cent average or higher.

Erickson is one of five students to be awarded the scholarship and will receive $40,000 towards her schooling over the course of four years at the U of S.

“I feel amazing,” she says. “I always felt really drawn to U of S for so many reasons, and it really felt like [the scholarship] solidified my decision clearly, and it’s gotten me really excited about going to university... I’m really pumped about it, it’s an awesome thing to receive.”

She currently has a 96 per cent average and has made numerous contributions to the community.

“In my written application, I talked about starting an environmental club at my high school, as well as getting involved in some other youth climate activism groups in Regina. Also, I spoke about my executive role in SLC (Student Leadership Council). I’m the Head of Fundraising so I plan a lot of fundraisers for our school.”

Erickson is the Central Collegiate representative on the Youth Advisory Committee for the Moose Jaw City Council. The Youth Advisory Committee speaks about situations and issues in Moose Jaw that youth face and tries to come up with solutions to present to the city council.

She also volunteered as a coach for the “Girls in the Game” organization.

“They focus on encouraging young girls to stay in sports and encouraging self-confidence and strength, both mentally and physically,” she adds.

Erickson plans on going into the Faculty of Arts and Science for a degree in the Environment and Society program with a certificate in sustainability.

“I’m just passionate about climate action and I think that having an education in that field is what's going to make you a better leader. If you know what you’re talking about, you can act properly and be fit for any role, whether that's in politics or in any other sort of policy-making area. Even if that’s working on projects in sustainability, or research, or education, I think you really need to know what you’re talking about to be able to make a greater impact.”

December 4, 2009

Central grad looks back to '41

27 Nov 2009
REBECCA LAWRENCE - MOOSE JAW TIMES-HERALD

Central Collegiate will mark its 100th year in July 2010 [ July 8-11, 2010 ] with a birthday party and reunion. In the first of our profiles on former graduates, the TimesHerald spoke to Moose Jaw resident Marion Tolley.

For Marion Tolley, school was an opportunity she grasped with both hands and she knew she was lucky to be learning.

Tolley, then Marion Affleck, attended Central Collegiate and graduated in June 1941, but it was only thanks to the Rotary Club’s charitable donations that she was able to pay the fees.

“I was so thankful to be able to go to school,” she said. “As far as I can remember, it cost $12 or $15 to register and my family could not afford it.
“I did not find out for about 40 years who had paid it. It was the Rotary Club of the day. It was when the drought and the Depression were still on,” she said.

Tolley, now 86, was 18 the June she graduated, but she said there was no fancy party like students have these days. “I think we just had something in the school auditorium, but we did not have fancy outfits or a dance or anything,” she said.

Tolley said she was a good student and willing to learn. “I was always happy to learn and I was an avid reader. It was so interesting to be encouraged by your family and the teachers challenged you,” she said. It was reading and writing that Tolley enjoyed the most but she also did well at math. “I was also an artist and I had a natural ability to draw and paint and I did cartooning. I used to copy Disney characters,” she said. “ We were really fortunate to have excellent teachers at Central.”

Everybody used to walk to school back then, even in winter. “ We used to share books a lot and even share clothes,” she said. “ We had a lot of elocution and spelling contests with the schools. “ We had quite a lot of music events although most of us could not afford real music lessons. “ We had a great teacher — an Irish man — and every year we had a special program called an Irish Night, and we all sang and danced,” she said.

After high school, Tolley attended the Davidson Business College, which was on the top floor of the Royal Bank on High Street.

She met her British husband, George Tolley in Moose Jaw where he was a transport driver for the Royal Air Force. They got married in 1943 and she travelled on a ship with other war brides to join him in England briefly before he was sent to Burma. Tolley worked for the Royal Canadian Air Force as a clerk in Worcester, U.K., and came back to Moose Jaw in 1946. She said many Moose Jaw girls married British servicemen and most of them returned to the city after the war.

Tolley, who has seven children, 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, said she is not in touch with many old school friends. “ The war broke us up,” she said. “Some of them never came home because they were killed and some moved someplace else.

“ I am looking forward to the reunion and hoping some of the oldtimers will come back. It will be good to see some I have not seen for a while,” she said.

Rebecca Lawrence can be reached at 691-1258.