Keisha Turner BA’12.
Saint Mary’s is proud to offer a new bursary to African Canadian and Indigenous women through the generosity of SMU alumna, Keisha Turner BA’12.
The Turner Bursary reflects Keisha’s identity as a community leader and her own lived experience as a Black female entrepreneur:
"I am so excited to be able to offer this bursary over the next five years. It was bursaries just like these that allowed me to succeed and finish my degree with the stability and support I needed to get where I am today. It is with great pride and gratitude that I am able to do the same for the next generation of Black and Indigenous leaders."
During her time at Saint Mary’s, Keisha studied Sociology and won an AUS Championship with the women’s volleyball team in 2010. She has since established an impactful career as an entrepreneur and consultant in Ontario and Nova Scotia. With her husband Michael Polak BComm’14, she has formed Akwekon – a consulting firm that guides Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations in the reconciliation of colonial and Indigenous practices.
It is in this spirit of cultivating positive change that Keisha invests in Saint Mary’s students, and in turn strengthens our community and the world beyond.
Read more about Keisha’s story in Maroon + White