London, Ont., teen gearing up to be an engineer lands competitive $120K scholarship

A London, Ont., precocious schooler's aptitude for engineering has landed him 1 of Canada's astir prestigious scholarships to start his studies astatine Western University.

Ribal Zebian, a Grade 12 pupil astatine Regina Mundi Catholic College, is among this year's recipients of the highly-competitive Schulich Leader Scholarship.

The 18-year-old was 1 of 100 students awarded the scholarship, on with 9 different Western University prospects.

"It truly does consciousness similar an accomplishment," Ribal aged CBC Radio's Afternoon Drive on Wednesday. "Also, it's thing unsocial for the radical astir you, for example, household and friends, right? It truly does enactment a bully sanction connected the schoolhouse I travel from."

Students eligible for the Schulich Leader Scholarship indispensable show world excellence, and leadership, charisma, and creativity, the scholarship's website says.

Twenty spouse universities crossed Canada reappraisal applications and prime the recipients, who volition prosecute an undergraduate grade successful an eligible STEM program.

For Ribal, that's mechanical engineering with an oculus toward aerospace engineering.

He's already enactment his mechanical skills to use, creating autonomous machines successful school, on with a afloat electric, woody replica of a Mercedes G-Class SUV, with functional gull-wing doors, steering wheel, speedometer, headlights, and dashboard.

It's the realization of puerility ambition to physique thing with his ain hands that could move, helium said.

Ribal began gathering the car successful March, moving connected it done luncheon and during the archetypal play of his Grade 12 operation exertion class.

"I deliberation I possibly spent similar 120 hours," helium told CBC News aft the on-air interview.

The 3rd of 12 children successful his family, Ribal's begetter says he has ever been a "smart kid."

"We're an good family, person a batch of knowledge, but he's benignant of a astute lawsuit from the beginning," said Ata H. Zebian.

"For a minute, I was saying, 'God, God, God. He made it.' Because there's a batch of competition. I thought, ace tough, but I judge successful him due to the fact that of his [marks] and his quality to accomplish."

Ribal arsenic entrepreneurial aspirations, akin to his father, who emigrated from Lebanon in 1988 and opened his ain business.

He hopes to intern astatine the Canadian Space Agency upon graduating, with the semipermanent extremity of starting a non-profit aerospace institution and revolutionizing the proscription sector, said Ribal.

"If you spot that you are not susceptible of doing something, conscionable instrumentality 1 step," helium said. "The much steps you instrumentality and the much things you do, that builds momentum. The much momentum you have, the much you tin accomplish."