Saint Mary’s calling on its alumni and friends to support emergency funding for students who have been financially impacted by COVID-19

The Saint Mary’s community is coming together in support of emergency funding for students who have been financially impacted by COVID-19. 

“Our students need our support more than ever,” said Saint Mary’s University President Robert Summerby-Murray. “It is imperative that we join together and help our students during this unprecedented time.”

The goal of the Emergency Student Bursary Fund is to help students with unexpected and urgent expenses in extenuating circumstances. Related to COVID-19, the fund will provide short-term and long-term support for students and cover the basics such as rent, bills, groceries, and other necessities.

Many Saint Mary’s students were employed in the industries hardest hit by COVID-19 closures including hospitality, tourism, and retail. This has resulted in significant job loss and an urgent need for student financial assistance.

“Every day, we are receiving new applications for financial aid from students who are in challenging situations and we are responding as quickly as we can to meet their  needs,” said Erin Sargeant Greenwood, Vice President, Advancement.

The Emergency Student Bursary Fund provides resources to help students complete their studies and finish the academic term.

“The funds will help alleviate financial pressure and keep our students on track towards graduation,” said President Summerby-Murray. “The fund represents our commitment to our students and reminds them that we are always here for them. We are in this together.”

If you are interested in supporting Saint Mary’s University students, please visit our online giving page for the Student Emergency Bursary Fund to make a gift.

To learn more about Saint Mary’s response to COVID-19 please visit: https://smu.ca/virtualuniversity/covidupdates.html

MTEI alumnus innovating in 3D to help fight virus

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kevin Gallant MTEI ’16, began making face shields for health professionals and customer service outlets through 3D printing.

Kevin Gallant MTEI ’16 and two of his 3D printed face shields.

Kevin Gallant is a professional engineer, entrepreneur, and an instructor and researcher with NBCC Miramichi.

“I was requested, from a few consultants and companies, to help in this request for PPE or protective gear for hospitals. For some reason, I expected this, based on my 3D printing network requests,” says Kevin. 

He posted about the shields on LinkedIn and was surprised to receive over 13k views, along with comments and requests to help. “This surprised me, that people were empowered to see how something so simple for me made such a large impact. I wanted to share how volunteerism can help support health professionals or people on the front lines that need PPE.”

“I purchased a $25 face shield from a local retail store three weeks ago,” he adds. “Now I can make them for one-fifth the price, but we are trying to price it properly to cover costs, shipping and provide some incentives to volunteer 3D printer shops. Safety is a concern with any product supply chain movement.”  

So how do you start making face shields? For someone who revels in technology, this part was easy: “I knew a company called PRUSA had shared a prototype design that they have perfected through dozens of prints, called the RC3.1 face shield.”

The company had gone through dozens of prototypes and two verifications with the Czech Ministry of Health. The work is shared under a license under a Creative Commons 4.0 International License. 

“I downloaded the 3D print file and imported it into my own 3D printer software for Ditto-pro supported formats. This was a great design, and fit 100 clear shields perfectly.” 

“I have two brands of 3D printers in my own home basement lab. These can print a face shield support in three hours each.”

Kevin used the rope skills he developed lobster fishing to tie the elastic rear backings for a comfortable fit. The backings were supplied from Anne Bracken Formals.

Kevin is now working with a supply chain to maintain over 25 3D printers in a network creating the PPE pieces. The clear shields are currently supplied, but there are plans to stamp out their own rolled sheets once the supply chain is broken. 

Face shields isn’t the end of it though – he’s already working on the next way to help. “Another different COVID-19 project is our NO-touch door knob for senior facilities.  This custom door knob attachment that can allow people only to use their arm or elbow to open and pull.  This will help with a no touch or prevent contamination in high-touch zones.”  

“As an engineer and inventor I promote community projects such as new cedar planters for food banks which have rain gutters to support self-watering leveling tanks,” says Kevin. “I’m always open to explore new projects, including sustainable and renewable technologies. I invite people who are looking for an engineer partner for their social enterprise or sustainability project to check out my video profile.”

Kevin has been teaching 3D and innovation for more than 26 years.

Additional notes:

• Check out Kevin Gallant’s 3D printed face shields in this video

• View an explainer video of the no-touch door knob attachment.

• View Kevin Gallant’s professional video profile.

Enactus Saint Mary's Square Roots program offers free vegetable bundles

Square Roots bundles.

Enactus Saint Mary's award-winning Square Roots food bundle program is doing its part to help people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting on April 3, 2020, Square Roots will be donating their vegetable bundles for free.

"The idea to continue the program for free came from our Sackville community manager Jason Craig," says Hannah Tibbet, the bundle program co-project manager with Square Roots. "He connected us with people who were looking to donate to the program for it to continue but for free. It's a challenging time for a lot of people, so 5500 pounds of free food makes a big difference."

The free vegetable bundles are being distributed Square Roots locations across Halifax, including Fairview/Clayton Park, Sackville, Bedford, Dartmouth and Tantallon. Square Roots has partnered with Harbour Watercraft Tours & Adventures, run by SMU alumni Ossama Nasrallah Bcomm'18 and Omar Hassan Bcomm'16, to assist with deliveries.

Halifax has supported us since day one and it's our time to give back. Today, we sorted and delivered more than 1000 lb of free vegetables for people in need. It's times like these that we support each other as one community. #SquareRoots #EnactusSMU @THWAdventures pic.twitter.com/U2RtKxx3Fc

— Ossama Nasrallah (@Osamaa95) April 3, 2020

Square Roots sends a special thanks to the supporters of free bundles in Fairview/Clayton Park.
Supporters include:

• Patricia Arab, MLA for Fairview-Clayton Park;

• Russell Walker, Councillor for District 10;

• Gary O'Hara, Watchdog Communications; and

• Jodi Tsitouras, Magic Beings Child Care Centre.

Launched in November 2016, Square Roots fights food insecurity, food deserts and food waste in Nova Scotia through a monthly, affordable and healthy food bundle service. The food bundles cost $5 and $10 each and feature 10 pounds of imperfect fruits and vegetables sourced locally from the Annapolis Valley. They may be too imperfect for sale in stores, but they are perfectly good to eat.

Square Roots is an Enactus Saint Mary's social enterprise. With over 150 students, Enactus Saint Mary's currently operates seven projects and one process, ranging from consulting entrepreneurs on the autism spectrum to forming food-based social enterprises with refugees and at-risk youth, to operating a computer literacy program for at-risk youth. Enactus Saint Mary's is proud to partner with the Saint Mary's University Entrepreneurship Centre to offer its programs.

For more information, visit @squarerootssmu on Facebook or Instagram.

SMU advisor’s work to support Wuhan helps efforts to assist Nova Scotians

Bill Bu MEd’94, Senior Advisor to China, Saint Mary’s University

What goes around, comes around, is a saying that many of us have heard throughout the years. In the case of Saint Mary’s University’s Senior Advisor to China, Bill Bu MEd’94, it’s brought a pleasant surprise to Nova Scotia in uncertain times.

In early February, Bu was a vital part of the efforts to connect hospitals and medical staff in Wuhan, China, with the medical supplies that were sorely needed. Now that COVID-19 has come to Canada, the experience and connections he gained working to help those in Wuhan, is being used to support the QEII hospital in Halifax.

For Bu, COVID-19 has been something he has followed closely after it came to the region he used to call home. 

“The outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan greatly impacted my family,” says Bu. “My wife’s parents live there, and I have many connections there from my time studying and teaching at Wuhan University. When I heard about the outbreak, I knew that I couldn’t sit idly by while my family and friends were suffering.”

Bu’s close connection to the situation in Wuhan drove him forward. He began thinking of ways he could help and the number one need that he kept hearing was a call for more medical supplies.

“I decided to reach out to the Halifax community to see if other people felt the same, and I was shocked by their generosity,” says Bu. “We raised thousands of dollars for medical supplies, and we were able to help provide them to those who needed them in China.”

Now those skills developed only months ago are being used to help closer to home. Bu, who is also the President of the Atlantic section of the Hong Kong Canada Business, is working with a variety of leaders in Nova Scotia’s Chinese community to fundraise for the QEII Foundation and the medical equipment they need during this pandemic.

In only three days, the campaign to raise money for the QEII launched and received over $15,000 in donations. Now the funds raised has surpassed $60,000. Bu says that at least half the donations come from Chinese Canadians and from people in China, who previously lived in Nova Scotia. Donations have even been received from people in Wuhan, paying forward the work of Bu and many others to support those in one of the areas hardest hit by the early stages of the pandemic.

The funds raised for the QEII Foundation will purchase items like electronic stethoscopes, Bluetooth O2 probes, ultrasounds and bedside diagnostics. The funds will also support home self-care and recovery, in addition to virtual care solutions.

While the generosity of the donations may come as a surprise, Bu isn’t shocked by the support. 

“We live in a global community,” adds Bu. “When one member of our community is in trouble, the rest of us work together to support them.”

Saint Mary's to host Touchdown Atlantic 2020

[Left to right] Bruce Bowser, Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, Ross Jefferson, Craig Reynolds, Randy Ambrosie, Brett Lauther and Mike “Pinball” Clemons. (Kelly Clark/CFL.ca)

The biggest Touchdown Atlantic ever is coming to Saint Mary’s University this summer, the Canadian Football League (CFL) announced on Thursday.

Rider Nation comes to Nova Scotia when the Saskatchewan Roughriders face the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday, July 25 in the first-ever regular season game played in Halifax.

“Saint Mary’s University has a proud football tradition, and we are honoured to be a part of CFL history,” said President Robert Summerby-Murray. “We’re thrilled to host Touchdown Atlantic. Great events, like great universities, make our region and our country stronger.”

The game will be played at Huskies Stadium at 5 p.m. AT on Saturday, July 25. Approximately 6,000 temporary seats will be installed to bring the capacity for the game to 10,000.

“Our league belongs to Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast – and for one fabulous weekend this July, the east coast will be its capital,” said Randy Ambrosie, Commissioner of the CFL. “We are bringing the football and the fun. We’re inviting everyone in Atlantic Canada to join the party, and everyone in the rest of the country to come for the game and stay for a vacation!”

Riders’ kicker and Saint Mary’s alumnus, Brett Lauther, called Touchdown Atlantic a dream come true.

“I’ve known the thrill of kicking the winning points on our home field in Regina, but to do that here, in my own backyard, would be just incredible,” said Lauther, a native of Truro, N.S.

Both teams are “leaning in” to make it a special week; they will arrive days before the game and take part in a series of media events and community visits. The game will be preceded by a three-day “mini Grey Cup festival” featuring music, parties and tons of family-friendly fun.

Tickets will go on-sale at the end of February and a full list of prices will be announced soon. Fans can sign up for the most up-to-date information and access to priority-purchasing at CFL.ca/TDA. Ambrosie stressed that the game will be affordable with an average ticket price of approximately $50.

The 2020 edition of Touchdown Atlantic will be the first CFL game of any type to be played in Nova Scotia since 2005, when the Argos and Hamilton Tiger-Cats played a pre-season game at Huskies Stadium.

Saint Mary's community celebrates the Dauphinee Centre

Saint Mary’s University celebrates the Dauphinee Centre.

A new chapter in Huskies hockey lore was recognized and lauded on Saturday, Jan 11. On Hockey Day at SMU, the Santamarian community came together in the Barbara Holmes Gathering Centre to celebrate the Dauphinee Centre and the donors who supported the project: Glen and Nancy Holmes, and the late Bob Dauphinee BComm’60.

"Saint Mary's University has a proud and successful hockey tradition that will continue for generations to come in the Dauphinee Centre," said Saint Mary's President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. "This new arena will contribute to the continued success of our varsity men's and women's hockey teams, and provides our athletes and coaches with a new home to continue their tradition of excellence."

The Dauphinee Centre is named in honour of the late Bob Dauphinee, a Saint Mary's alumnus and community champion, who donated $2 million for an arena through his estate.

The Dauphinee Centre is the home of both the women's and men's hockey teams. The centre features an NHL-sized ice surface with seating for 850 fans and ample standing room that brings the capacity to more than 1200 people. The building is fully accessible with an elevator between floors and six accessible changing rooms for visiting teams, community-based recreational sports groups and summer camps.

On the upper level is a heated gathering centre with an attached room for spectators overlooking the ice surface. This community-oriented space is named the Barbara Holmes Gathering Centre.

The Pseudio Link, a pedway connecting the Homburg Centre for Health & Wellness to the new arena, is another new addition. The Huskies also have a great new area to prepare for games in the Holmes Family Varsity Suite.

These enhancements and the varsity suite were made possible by a generous gift of $2 million from local entrepreneurs Glen and Nancy Holmes, parents of Saint Mary's students. Glen and Nancy Holmes are the owners of Pseudio, Samuel & Co and Envy.

“The main reason I did this was that I love Halifax – I love everything about Halifax. There was a need for a rink, and we were in a position that we were able to pull it together,” said Glen Holmes. “I got a lot more out of this than I put into it. Everything I do in life, normally at this size, there’s a return that’s expected. This was more than any financial return I could have asked for. ”

Three Saint Mary's Huskies inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame

The 2019 Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame inductees. Front row (left to right) Henry Boutilier; Justine Colley-Leger and Roger Caulfield. Back row (left to right): Suzanne Muir: Jackie Barrett; Jody Shelley; and Morgan Williams of Cole Harbour. Photo courtesy of the NSSHF, credit: Nick Pearce.

On the evening of Friday, November 15, the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame inducted three exceptional former student-athletes from Saint Mary’s University.

Taking place at the Halifax Convention Centre, five athletes and two builders were celebrated for their outstanding contributions to Nova Scotia sport. 

The inductees include arguably Nova Scotia’s greatest female basketball and soccer players in Justine Colley-Leger BComm’14 and Suzanne Muir BComm’93, and the first-ever Special Olympics athlete to be inducted, powerlifter and Special Olympian Jackie Barrett BComm’98. 

Also inducted were Mooseheads legend and former NHL player Jody Shelley and the record-holder for the most caps as a Canadian rugby scrum-half, Morgan Williams. In the builder category, long-time Little League coach, baseball manager and community hero Henry Boutilier, along with international basketball official and mentor Roger Caulfield. 

Justine Colley-Leger BComm’14

Justine Colley-Leger is the all-time leading scorer in the history of CIS women’s basketball. Her impressive play earned her two CIS National Player of the Year awards, and she led the Saint Mary’s Huskies to four consecutive AUS championships and CIS silver and bronze medals. She was also a two-time AUS MVP, four-time All-Canadian and five-time AUS first-team All-Star while playing more than 40 games with the Canadian national team.

Jackie Barrett BComm’98

 A force to be reckoned with in the sport of powerlifting, Jackie Barrett dominated Canadian Special Olympics powerlifting competitions throughout his career. Barrett won 20 gold medals, and he has represented Canada well at the World Special Olympics competition with an incredible 13 first-place finishes. In his final year of competition (2015), he set three Special Olympics world records, lifting 277.5 kg, 297.5 kg and 697.5 kg in the squat, deadlift and triple combination events, respectively. In the same year, he also became the first Special Olympics athlete to be nominated for the Lou Marsh Award as Canada’s top athlete.

Suzanne Muir BComm’93

Suzanne Muir was named AUS Rookie of the Year during her time playing with the Saint Mary’s Huskies women’s soccer team. Her standout skills also earned her two AUS MVP awards, five-time AUS All-Star status and two-time All-Canadian honours. Twice named Athlete of the Year at Saint Mary’s University, Muir went on to play with Canada’s national women’s team from 1992 to 1999. She played with the national team at the 1995 and 1999 World Cups. She was inducted into the Saint Mary’s Sport Hall of Fame in 2014.

Celebrating the inaugural recipients of the Viola Desmond Bursary

Saint Mary’s University students Leah Matheson and Kendra Smith, the inaugural recipients of the Viola Desmond Bursary

Saint Mary's University and the Delmore Buddy Daye Learning Institute joined together on Friday, November 8, to celebrate the legacy of Viola Desmond and support the next generation of female African-Nova Scotian business leaders.

Leah Matheson, a second-year commerce student, and Kendra Smith, who is in her final year in accounting, are the inaugural recipients of the Viola Desmond Bursary.

"I feel blessed with how many people came to this event to support us and honour the legacy of Viola Desmond," said Smith. "I am very grateful to be one of the first recipients."

The Viola Desmond Bursary was announced on November 8, the date of Viola's heroic anti-discrimination action in 1946. The bursary is fully-endowed and is awarded each year to full-time African-Nova Scotian students at Saint Mary's.

"I have had a lot of support from my family, and from Saint Mary's, that has helped me during my degree," said Matheson. "I am looking forward to more people having the opportunity that Kendra and I did through the Viola Desmond bursary, an opportunity for them to pursue what they love."

The award amount marks the year of Viola Desmond's anti-segregation action, 1946, with students receiving $1,946. While this award is not renewable, it may be awarded to the same student more than once.

While preference for the bursary is given to students in the Sobey School of Business, the bursary may also be awarded to students in programs featuring entrepreneurship. Preference will also be given to female students from Halifax County. Students must also have a financial need.

This award was established with the permission of the Desmond Family and through the generosity of The Honourable Wilfred P. Moore, Q.C., LL.D., and Ms. Jane Adams Ritcey.

"Viola Desmond has been very good to our city, our province and our country," said Senator Wilfred Moore. "My family is very pleased to assist Saint Mary's University in this most noble virtue—the transfer of knowledge. We do so in keeping with the bedrock tradition of Saint Mary's, offering a hand up."

MTEI grads win $75k in US business challenge

The Ashored founders: Aaron Stevenson, left, Ross Arsenault and Maxwell Poole. (Photo courtesy Peter Moreira, Entrevestor.com)

Saint Mary’s alumni Ross Arsenault BComm'17, MTEI'18 and Aaron Stevenson MTEI'19 along with partner Max Poole BComm'17 on their company, Ashored, have won $75k USD Platinum win at the MassChallenge in Boston.

The company was selected back in May as the sole Canadian company to enter the well-recognized accelerator program, one of 100 start-ups competing for funding.

"Headquartered in the United States with locations in Boston, Israel, Mexico, Rhode Island, Switzerland, and Texas, MassChallenge strengthens the global innovation ecosystem by accelerating high-potential startups across all industries, from anywhere in the world for zero-equity taken." - MassChallenge.org

The MassChallenge Boston program provides training, collaboration space, connections to experts and mentors and is zero cost. Cash prizes are for zero equity. This isn't Dragon's Den, this is money to drive business growth, free of obligations.

Ashored Innovations were one of 12 companies awarded on October 24. Over $1 million USD in zero-equity prizes were awarded, provided via partnerships MassChallenge has with Boeing and the International Space Station National Lab.

This competition plants another flag in the Boston startup ecosystem, which Sobey School's Venture Grade and MTEI have been making inroads into for the last several years.

Ashored adds the winnings to their growing funding pool, including a recent $30,000 investment from Sobey School's Venture Grade group.