Spady Family Scholarship expands horizons for rural students

Laurie and Darcy Spady (Photo: supplied)

As Laurie and Darcy Spady prepare for a trip to South America, with stops in the Amazon, the couple reflected on their passion for exploration and how it inspired their family’s scholarship in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta. Their diverse experiences reflect the theme of their family scholarship: help rural students gain a broader exposure to different places, people and belief systems through their education.

“One thing we’ve seen worldwide is that we are all people and we’re all so much alike,” says Laurie, ’86 BA, ’93 MBA. “It doesn't matter what faith group or culture you come from. People are people … they love, they grieve.”

The Spady Scholarship assists students from rural communities studying the arts and humanities while also pursuing a major or minor in religious studies. For so many rural students, post-secondary education can feel out of reach—financial barriers, few guidance counselors for academic advising, and limited exposure to the myriad fields of study can make it challenging to take that first step. The Spady Family Scholarship is changing that.

The Spady Family Scholarship exemplifies how donors are helping to Shape the Future for students, empowering them to reach their fullest potential. Through the Shape the Future fundraising campaign, donor support expands access to transformative experiences, especially for rural students, equipping them to become the next generation of leaders and changemakers.

Darcy, ’86 BSc(PetEng), grew up in Carstairs and Three Hills, Alta., as “a typical small-town farm boy.” During high school, his worldview was in part shaped by participating in mandatory theology courses in the local private school he attended. He notes that Alberta’s rural communities were historically built around faith-based settlements, and from his own experience, he saw this tend to limit educational choices to either practical trades or denominational studies. 

It could also be isolating. Darcy only contemplated engineering after a friend introduced him to the world of science fairs.

“Growing up in rural Alberta, our world felt small,” says Darcy. “I remember thinking university wasn't for kids like me—until a friend showed me the possibilities through science fairs. We just want to help others get an opportunity for a broader view.”

Laurie lived in many small towns throughout central and southern Alberta before landing in Three Hills for high school. With no guidance counselor to help her navigate post-secondary choices, she initially pursued the sciences before switching to arts on a friend’s suggestion. She later attained an MBA while raising a young family.

Today, Darcy and Laurie are both involved with a Calgary firm providing emissions management services to the oil and gas industry. Darcy’s career has taken him from Middle America to the Middle East. He, Laurie and their three now-grown daughters spent a decade living in Indiana, Ontario, New Brunswick and West Virginia, and a short period teaching English in Croatia. Darcy’s leadership roles with the Society of Petroleum Engineers International have seen him travel to 49 countries. All of that helped widen the views of the Spady daughters, who were instrumental in the scholarship’s focus and design.

Giving back is deeply ingrained in the Spady family. “The concept of giving has always been a part of our lives,” says Laurie, referencing their protestant background’s tradition of tithing. But the family also wants to emphasize the value of an arts education. 

“For the last thousand years, the world education system has been very much humanities-based,” Darcy says. “History and theology have led critical thinking. Now we’ve let data and other factors lead us, but we can’t just throw away thousands of years of the humanities.”