Brodie Ross is in the right place at the right time.
Ross, 24, will be among the first students to enter a new masters of international public policy program in September at Wilfrid Laurier University.
He will receive a one-year Balsillie Fellowship, which gives him $15,000 to help fund his education, and he will work at the Centre for International Governance Innovation 10 hours a week.
He will attend the new Balsillie School of International Affairs when it opens in September 2008.
It’s a long road ahead, but Ross is on track to achieve his dream of becoming a Canadian diplomat.
“There’s just so much opportunity in Waterloo right now,” he said.
Billionaire Jim Balsillie recently announced a local spending initiative of a whopping $100 million that will help students like Ross develop an expertise in international relations.
The money — $50 million from Balsillie and $25 million each from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University over the next decade — will help create the new school of international affairs and boost the number of fellowships and research chairs Balsillie already funds.
A new $7.8-million building will be constructed on city-owned land beside the centre, a think-tank started by Balsillie at the corner of Caroline Street and Erb Street West.
Balsillie gave $17 million to the think-tank, an amount matched by the province, to aid its research.
The new school is generating excitement among researchers who will teach there.
