From uncertainty to achievement: How Anna Rose Boyes transformed her life with the 1000Women4STEM bursary

Instead of looking forward to her future, 1000Women4STEM bursary recipient, Anna Rose Boyes, spent her entire childhood wondering if she would even have one. After being born with Cystic Fibrosis, doctors weren’t sure how long she would live.  

“I have been in and out of hospitals my entire life,” said Anna Rose. “When I was younger, my lungs were so bad that I had a Make-A-Wish trip when I was eight because they didn’t think I was going to survive another year.” 

For her family, the diagnosis meant years of uncertainty and a commitment from her parents to do everything they could to keep their daughter alive.  

“She was so brave growing up,” said Tamara Boyes, Anna Rose’s mom. “She learned how to be a fighter.” 

But the fight to help their daughter make it to the next day or next year came with a with a cost. Years of expensive medication and trips to the doctor left her parents’ bank accounts depleted. Even with her mom picking up a second job, eventually there was nothing left to pay for their daughter’s education.  

“When I graduated high school, people would come up to me and ask what my plans were for the future or what I was doing next year, and not having an answer to that question was really difficult,” Anna Rose said.  

But thanks to the support of hundreds of donors the stress that Anna Rose faced, about how she was going to fund her future, quickly disappeared. She applied and received the 1000Women4STEM bursary which covers the cost of tuition, a laptop, and all the books required for women to complete a STEM program at NorQuest College.  

“The bursary helped me go after something I love so much, which is science,” said Anna Rose. “I had received scholarships, I had gone to science fairs, competitions, and camps my entire life and to be able to go to school for something that I loved is so incredible.”  

Currently, women make up only 25 per cent of the workforce in STEM, but thanks to the generous support of the 1000 Women Circle of Success, the 1000Women4STEM bursary is helping women like Anna Rose pursue their dreams of working in the industry.  

“The little girl that wore sparkles and glitter in mud puddles pulling up worms now gets to do it for the rest of her life as a career, and that’s pretty inspirational to me as a mom,” Tamara said of her daughter’s future.  

In 2024 Anna Rose graduated from the NorQuest College Environmental Technician program is now working in a field that she loves, while inspiring other women to pursue careers in STEM.  

Anna Rose’s future wasn’t guaranteed but she was determined to do something meaningful and we’re proud that 1000 Women was able to support her in overcoming some of the challenges she faced. Together, we can help more students like Anna Rose, give more women the chance to build a future in STEM, and can continue transforming the lives of hundreds of students with the power of education.