Orphaned at 14, this Acadia student just landed a prestigious $45K scholarship

Acadia University student Alex Dulay's foray into entrepreneurship came under the most dire of circumstances.

When Dulay was 10, her mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Needing money to pay for treatments, Dulay, who is originally from the Philippines, started making crafts that a brother sold on Facebook, which helped pay for some chemotherapy treatments.

But Dulay's mother died of cancer two years later. That same year, one of Dulay's brothers died in a car accident. And, at 14, her father died because of health issues.

"Over the years, I kind of use that as my motivation to just keep on living, just making them proud," said Dulay, 21.

Now living in Nova Scotia, Dulay is one of this year's eight recipients of the Frank H. Sobey Awards for Excellence in Business Studies, a $45,000 scholarship given to a select group of students studying business at Atlantic Canadian universities.

"Looking back into everything that has happened in my life and everything that I've been through, it was just such a surreal moment," said Dulay. "Twelve-year-old me would never even realize that I'm capable of doing, accomplishing something like this."

Looking back on the Facebook rainbow loom business, Dulay said the experience gave her some optimism, teaching her that there are many good people in the world. While there was no set price for the product, she said people often were generous knowing how the money was to be spent.

After the death of Dulay's dad, she began living with an aunt in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

At 16, she and her sister immigrated to Canada to live with another aunt who had already settled in the tiny francophone community of Meteghan in southwestern Nova Scotia.

Dulay is wrapping up her third year at Acadia, where she is pursuing a bachelor of business administration, majoring in entrepreneurship and innovation.

She's also working on a startup called Touching Hearts, which aims to provide fair wages for Asian artisans. Their products will be shipped to Canada and sold through a website here. As well, 50 per cent of the profits will go back to the people who made the products, said Dulay.

The name of the business is inspired by a quote Dulay's mom was fond of.

"Some say life is too short, others say it's too long. I know nothing, but it does make sense if we touch the hearts of others while it lasts," said Dulay.

This quote fuels Dulay.