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

A London, Ont., high schooler's aptitude for engineering has landed him one of Canada's most prestigious scholarships to start his studies at Western University.

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

The 18-year-old was one of 100 students awarded the scholarship, along with nine other Western University prospects.

"It really does feel like an accomplishment," Ribal old CBC Radio's Afternoon Drive on Wednesday. "Also, it's something unique for the people around you, for example, family and friends, right? It really does put a good name on the school I come from."

Students eligible for the Schulich Leader Scholarship must demonstrate academic excellence, and leadership, charisma, and creativity, the scholarship's website says.

Twenty partner universities across Canada review applications and select the recipients, who will pursue an undergraduate degree in an eligible STEM program.

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

He's already put his mechanical skills to use, creating autonomous machines in school, along with a fully electric, wooden replica of a Mercedes G-Class SUV, with functional gull-wing doors, steering wheel, speedometer, headlights, and dashboard.

It's the realization of childhood ambition to build something with his own hands that could move, he said.

Ribal began building the car in March, working on it through lunch and during the first period of his Grade 12 construction technology class.

"I think I maybe spent like 120 hours," he told CBC News after the on-air interview.

The third of 12 children in his family, Ribal's father says he has always been a "smart kid."

"We're an okay family, have a lot of knowledge, but he's kind of a smart case from the beginning," said Ata H. Zebian.

"For a minute, I was saying, 'God, God, God. He made it.' Because there's a lot of competition. I thought, super tough, but I believe in him because of his [marks] and his ability to accomplish."

Ribal as entrepreneurial aspirations, similar to his father, who emigrated from Lebanon in 1988 and opened his own business.

He hopes to intern at the Canadian Space Agency upon graduating, with the long-term goal of starting a non-profit aerospace company and revolutionizing the transportation sector, said Ribal.

"If you see that you are not capable of doing something, just take one step," he said. "The more steps you take and the more things you do, that builds momentum. The more momentum you have, the more you can accomplish."