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Denise Law has had the international work experience of a lifetime thanks in part to a scholarship made possible by a generous donation.

The fourth-year journalism student has an avid interest in business and is the inaugural recipient of the $15,000 Seymour Schulich Undergraduate Award in Financial Journalism. With the scholarship, Law was able to better fund a two-month internship at the Financial Times in London, U.K.

That experience led to another scholarship, this one from the Overseas Press Club Foundation, an organization that aims to improve the media's understanding of international issues and raise the quality of news-gathering efforts in covering the world. Law is the first student from a Canadian university to receive the scholarship.

Law's fascination with business stems partially from her friends who said they were intimidated by financial news. She wanted to take "complex data and make it more accessible and enjoyable to read." As well, the closing of her father's 20-year-old textile business made her realize how precarious the economy can become.

"There are so many stories that are left uncovered. I wanted to lend a voice to the business community, because the industry is sometimes misunderstood as complex or purely for-profit," Law said. "Many organizations add a lot of value to our economy, create jobs and enrich our lives - that's something I hoped to convey."

The Seymour Schulich Undergraduate Award in Financial Journalism was created by the Canadian financier who was inspired by his own experience as the recipient of a generous scholarship. The award is meant to give a final-year journalism student a chance to study, enrich and explore their sense of the world.

"For me this isn't just a cash award but an overt recognition of how important this field means to aspiring business reporters like me," Law said. "By donating to universities, Mr. Schulich has transformed dreams into reality, especially for students who seek to venture beyond Canadian borders."

With that philosophy in mind, Law helped launch The Commerce Times, a student-run business newspaper developed with colleagues from the Ted Rogers School of Management. In addition, Law spent the first half of 2009 studying in the Netherlands and while there, established The Commerce Times' international business news section, covering the impact of the economic crisis in Europe.

"It was fascinating to witness and report on the ways in which European countries run their economies. I was given the opportunity to cover topics I could only dream of writing about in Toronto," Law said.