UPLB graduate Mark Virgil Jamer (BSc’25) has been named a McCall MacBain Scholar, chosen from thousands of international applicants to pursue a funded master’s degree and leadership
program at McGill University in Canada. Mark is the first graduate from UPLB and the second from the Philippines to earn this scholarship.
Recently established with a historic C$200 million gift (about $8.7 billion PHP), the McCall MacBain Scholarships are Canada’s largest leadership-based scholarships for master’s and professional studies. The top 280 candidates participated in the first round of interviews in October and November, and 91 were invited to Montreal for final interviews in March, with travel expenses covered.
“It was past midnight in the Philippines when I heard from John McCall MacBain himself over a call that I had been selected as a scholar. I was overwhelmed. It took a few seconds to sink in, and I couldn’t say anything other than countless thank-yous. I rushed to call my family and friends after, and ended up not being able to sleep that night,” said Mark.