The phone call Kai Chow had been waiting for came while he was still in class. He excused himself to answer.

The Grade 12 Abbotsford student had been waiting to learn if, out of the thousands across the country who applied, he was one of 35 kids selected for a $100,000 scholarship.

“When the lady called from the foundation I was scared because it was sort of ambiguous: ‘Oh, we hope you’ve enjoyed your time with us so far,’” Chow said, recounting the phone call.