By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
The Lampe Foundation held a ceremony May 15, handing out 25 scholarships and awards totaling $35,100 to local students at Lennoxville’s Hope Community Church. The Foundation forecasts awarding over $60,000 in total in 2024. The Record attended and interviewed three women involved in the event.
Julianne Cairns
Julianne Cairns is studying to be a physician; it is her first year receiving the Lampe/Tillotson Coaticook Region Fund Physician Scholarship and second year receiving a scholarship from the Lampe Foundation. She is in her second year at McGill, in her pre-clerkship phase.
At the moment, she is finishing up her pediatrics rotation at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. She has not ultimately decided what kind of doctor she will be, but she has put a lot of thought into it already.
One of her “deep passions” is neurology and neuroscience, something she studied previously at Bishop’s University (BU). Her interests primarily lie in neurosurgery.
She is also interested in family medicine, with a focus on addiction science. The issue is “deeply personal,” she has experienced loss in her family due to addiction.
Finally, she is interested in reconstructive plastic surgery, and has completed a rotation at the Montreal Jewish Hospital which focused on surgery helping those who have suffered from breast cancer.
Cairns grew up in a small town north of Montreal, but visited the Townships many times with her father, who loves the outdoors. Thus, she decided to pursue her education at BU. “I fell in love with the place,” she said.
A highlight of her time at BU was working in its research lab under Dr. Heather Lawford, which “opened her eyes to how research could be.” The experience was “beautiful and formative,” she added.
Carmen Moliner
Carmen Moliner’s family made a donation to the Lampe Foundation when her mother, Ouida Ramon-Moliner, passed away. “It was her donation,” Moliner clarified. Education is one of the Moliner family’s values, and one of the most important things you can give to your children as an inheritance, she said.
Moliner believes in supporting first-generation recipients, those who have “greater challenges” moving up the ladder. Her family’s award (named after Ouida) supports anybody in any discipline who wants to pursue higher education.
“Ouida was a very engaged woman in her community,” Moliner said, which came after a life working as an anesthesiologist. She worked at the CHUS until her retirement, and was very involved in the North Hatley community. “She was a forerunner of women in medicine,” Moliner added.
The Ouida Roman-Moliner Scholarship has been awarded since 2021.
Carol Mooney
Carol Mooney has been involved with the Lampe Foundation almost since its inception in 1993. She was co-president in the late ‘00s and is now a member of the board. She has stayed on because she finds it rewarding to be involved.
Awards have been added over the years, with families and individual donors stepping up and giving money to the Foundation. The awards are for men and women, but over half are for health scholarships. The Foundation also supports local student leaders in all levels of education, from high school and up. The biggest awards are for those pursuing their education to become a physician, which are renewable – some for three or four years.
Reading the applications for the awards is “heartwarming and heart-wrenching,” she said. Some have compelling stories, some had to delay their education. She enjoys seeing how the awards help local students on their way to future success, which she can see with her own eyes years later.
