STFX University student and entrepreneur Ben Collings-MacKay was one of two STFX students to receive the prestigious Frank H. Sobey Awards for Excellence in Business Studies this year. The honor comes with a cash award of $45,000.
Ben Collings-MacKay (St. FX University photo)
Collings-MacKay last year won a Spark Nova Scotia Competition for Northern Nova Scotia for his work in building a better life jacket for fishers. He also received the Young Entrepreneur Award from the Antigonish Chamber of Commerce last year, with his company CM Marine Safety Equipment. He said it was amazing to hear he had won.
Collings-Mackay said after graduation this spring he plans to keep working on his lifejacket business, noting they just finished a proof-of-concept and are moving into a working prototype over the summer with plans for testing in the fall.
Each academic year, eight top awards are offered to full-time undergraduate students of business studies in universities in the Atlantic Provinces. The Frank H. Sobey Awards for Excellence in Business Studies has awarded more than $4 million to students since its inception.