LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - A young adult, originally from Wrigley but who now calls Fort Simpson home, has received a $2,500 scholarship from the NWT Chamber of Commerce to help her get by while she gets her Bachelor of Management at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta.

Shermayne Menicoche graduated from Thomas Simpson School in Fort Simpson in 2000, then moved to Yellowknife to work. She started on her post-secondary education while in the NWT capital.

Shermayne Menicoche, who graduated from Aurora College earlier this year, has received scholarships to continue her studies in management. - photo courtesy of the NWT Chamber of Commerce

"That's where I started taking managerial studies night courses while I was working during the day," said Menicoche.

"That eventually led me to going to school full time in Fort Smith in 2007."

Menicoche took the management studies course at Aurora College in Fort Smith and graduated in April of this year with a diploma.

Now, working on her bachelor's degree in Alberta, Menicoche is happy to receive the scholarship's financial boost. She also received the Deh Cho First Nations scholarship, which provides $1,000 a semester for one year.

"I'm going to use (the money) to pay for extra school costs, for sure, because university is way more expensive than going to college in the Northwest Territories," said Menicoche.

John Curran, executive director of the NWT Chamber of Commerce, said the scholarship was open to any citizen or permanent resident of Canada who graduated from an NWT high school with a Grade 12 diploma. They also had to be accepted by or enrolled in a post-secondary institution on a full-time basis with a full course load.

"It was a close competition," said Curran. "We had 17 entries received from all around the NWT, and in the end Shermayne was just too strong a candidate to overlook."

"The members who were doing the judging were really impressed with all of the different volunteer positions that she took on while studying. That's what really put her on top."

Curran said she had "amazing grades" and on top of that, volunteered outside of school, played soccer, was co-chair of the Grad Committee, vice president of communication for the Aurora College Student Association, and a member of the Student Appeals Board.

Menicoche said she doesn't have as much time for extra-curricular activities now that she is in university, as she studies for "more than a few hours" every day for her courses.

"At the moment I am just concentrating on school. I have five courses and they're pretty tough," said Menicoche.

Menicoche attributes some of her success to the support given by the community of Fort Simpson, and her parents in particular.

She said her parents are "always pushing me to strive, and when I get a little bit homesick I can always call them and they're always there for me to talk to, and to help me out if I'm in a bind financially."

Menicoche said she wants to come back to the NWT to work after she is done school.

"I just want to contribute back to the North, because that's where I started out," she said.