Q&A with Science Valedictorian Dané Van Tonder

Dané Van Tonder

Dané Van Tonder has been committed to being involved in the community at Saint Mary’s and in Halifax since she moved to Nova Scotia in 2019.

 An engaged, active student, she joined Halifax Helpers, an organization that provides extra school support for students aged 6 to 18. This experience built on her experience with a similar program she participated in while in Ontario. Dané also tutored Korean students in Science and English, enjoyed playing intramural volleyball and ultimate frisbee, and worked as an Environmental Technician at the Atlantic Gold mine full time while studying part time.

 A native of South Africa, Dané has been in Canada with her family for 10 years. She transferred to Saint Mary’s after a year at the University of Windsor and is now graduating with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Biology with minor in Psychology. She will write the Dental Aptitude Test (DAT) this summer and plans to pursue dentistry school in 2023.

Preferred name: Dané 

Hometown: Born and raised in South Africa, Cape Town, and now lives in Fall River, NS

Degree: Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Psychology 

Graduation date: May 19, 2022

Favourite class: Surprisingly, a Psychology course I took; “Human and Sexual Behaviour”

Awards: Science Valedictorian, Spring 2022

Future plans (education): Going back to school for another four years of dentistry (not sure where yet)

Future plans (career): Dentistry

Favourite spot at SMU: I spend most of my time in the library so probably the library on the third floor with a view to the plant wall

Advice for new students: Do your best and if you don’t do as good as what you’d like or hoped for, don’t be discouraged because if it was easy then everyone would be doing it and there’d be no challenge. As long as you do your part, the rest will come easy. Take breaks and don’t burn yourself out. Your mental health is more important. 

Q&A with FGSR Valedictorian Charlene Boyce

Charlene Boyce

Charlene Boyce (BA'92, MA'22) is a writer and creative professional who has worked in communications, community engagement and graphic design. She actively seeks work that aligns with her values, whether that be in higher education, non-profit systems change or environmental work. Her path has been circuitous and scenic, and she wouldn't change a step.

Her journey as a mature student began in MBA courses, but she realized that her interests lay in the nexus of history, culture and identity. She began her Master of Arts in Atlantic Canada Studies in 2019, completing her oral-history-based thesis during the pandemic while working full time. Through interviews with former employees, musicians and patrons, she explored the history of the Misty Moon Showbar and the implications that history holds for Halifax’s cultural identity.

In 2021, her short story Flour and Fire won first place in a Reedsy challenge and she has recently had a poem shortlisted by the Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia.

Preferred Name: Charlene M. Boyce

Hometown: Truro (born in New Glasgow)

Graduation Date: May 19, 2022

Previous Degrees: BA'92 (SMU), DiplGD’94 (NSCC)

Thesis title: Music, Money, Memory and Cultural Identity: An Oral History of the Misty Moon Show Bar

Thesis description: The Misty Moon Show Bar was an iconic nightclub in Halifax that was open 1969-1994 and lives on in infamy, tied to a cultural identity of Halifax as a violent city of many bars. Interviews were undertaken with 13 narrators who worked at, were patrons of, or were musicians who played at the club, in order to establish an oral history and dig into the validity of this association. A thematic analysis establishes the community was linked through music, monetary benefits and shared experience. The report exposes the connections and care at the core of the collective identity, while looking at the ways that the Misty Moon is still collectively
commemorated.

Why did this type of research appeal to you? 

In 1988 when I came to SMU, I quickly discovered the downtown bar scene and I have remained intrigued by the interweaving of personal identity and cultural identity, reflected in some of the discourse around different interpretations of Halifax history and city’s identity. 

Why did you choose Saint Mary’s University for your graduate work? I was working here when the idea began to crystallize and I was familiar with some of the excellent history work undertaken here in the Atlantic Canada Studies program. I think talking with Raymond Sewell about his experience was a clinching factor for me. 

Any other successes you’d like to share, or difficulties you were able to overcome? During the drafting of this thesis, at home in the dark days of the pandemic, I honed and perfected my Productive Procrastination techniques. I’ve written more than 20 short stories during this time, one of which won a competition; I have also written poems, and undertook my first 3-Day Novel challenge, producing a 60,000 word manuscript in three days. I feel like this experience has really unlocked my long-harboured writing ambitions. 

Future plans? Keep writing, keep finding work that aligns with my values and keep learning. 

Advice to students? By all means, let fear keep you from doing things like jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, but never let fear keep you quiet when you need to speak, and don't let fear hold you back from taking exciting chances, like stepping into a new career or moving across the country. The growth you will achieve is worth the risk.*

*If you are already a skydiver, kudos to you! Someday, maybe I will... but probably not!

Saint Mary’s EIT and Sobey School of Business collaborate on new student-led internship

Kavitha Raveendaran, EIT technology intern

Through a brand-new collaboration between the university’s Enterprise Information Technology (EIT) management, the Sobey School of Business and the Faculty of Commerce, Master of Technology Entrepreneurship & Innovation (MTEI) student Kavitha Raveendaran has begun work as the first EIT technology intern here at Saint Mary’s. EIT supports the mission of Saint Mary’s University by connecting faculty, staff and students to the information technology resources they need, and Raveendaran sees her position as an extension of this mission.

“This internship is a bridge between EIT and the Sobey School,” says Raveendaran. “There is a lot of value in having more open communication between these groups.” The EIT Technology Internship program, as envisioned, creates an optimal learning environment for interns to apply their real-world and educational experience, benefiting themselves, their client departments, and the university.

Todd Williams, Chief Information Officer of Saint Mary’s University, recognized the deep and diverse skill sets possessed by students and saw an opportunity that would benefit graduate students, departments and faculties, and the university at large. The vision of the EIT paid internship, offered to graduate students within the MTEI program, was to provide the intern with the opportunity to apply their knowledge to real projects, involving people, process and technology, by assisting in the delivery of enterprise-level strategic initiatives to department stakeholders.

Raveendaran was looking for just such a position. An IT engineering graduate originally from India, she travelled to Saint Mary’s to pursue her MTEI degree. Her goal when she arrived in Halifax was to find a job in her field to do alongside her studies; with over 12 years of software development experience and having worked with large national and multi-national companies, she approached the IT department for job opportunities.

“I had never worked in a higher education domain before, and so I reached out to Todd Williams of EIT,” Raveendaran explains. “We had a meeting wherein I asked about part-time work and the potential for an internship. Todd really gave me the space to figure out what I wanted to do with this position. He collaborated with me and allowed me to customize the position based on where I could see myself succeeding.”

During this eight-month internship, which began mid-March of this year, Raveendaran will be working on institutional projects based on modernizing and streamlining communication technology used at the Sobey School of Business, as well as helping to identify technological needs for the new Sobeys Inspiration Hub. Kavitha appreciates the unique opportunity that an internship in her field within the university landscape poses for her.

“I am able to both work and study at the university,” she says. “It’s wonderful.”

An internship isn’t the only thing that Raveendaran has gotten out of her time at Saint Mary’s University—she’s also been inspired to further her education. After she finishes her MTEI degree, Raveendaran plans to pursue a Doctorate in Design Thinking, a domain she learned about from a professor she met while doing the MTEI program. She credits the faculty and staff at Saint Mary’s as the community that has given her the confidence to dream big.

“At first, I was terrified to come back to school,” she says. “I haven’t been a student for 12 years, how do you get back to that? Once I arrived I realized how warm and supportive everybody at Saint Mary’s is. It really feels like faculty sees equal potential in all of their students—it helped me see the potential in myself.”

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Winter 2022 Valedictorians honoured at Spring Convocation

At Spring Convocation 2022, Saint Mary’s recognized the valedictorians who graduated in January 2022 but whose convocation ceremonies were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here are excerpts from their valedictory speeches at those special Winter 2022 ceremonies on May 17, 2022:

Smile Phyllis Gaewu

Smile Phyllis Gaewu (MTEI)
Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research

“As we go forward on our individual journeys, I want to leave you with some impactful words that happened to be the email signature of an esteemed former faculty member of the Sobey School of Business and a mentor to me, Karn Nichols. I quote, ‘Be curious, Be open, Be kind.’ This simple tenet will go a long way to enrich your lives if you embrace it and live by it.”

Dania H. Abdulrahim

Dania H. Abdulrahim (Winter 2022 Class)
Sobey School of Business

“To all the parents who have supported their graduates, both emotionally and financially, I am proud of you. To all the teachers and mentors who have inspired and guided their graduates, I am proud of you. From the bottom of my heart, to all the graduates who have struggled yet prospered, I am proud of you. Not only are we acknowledging those accomplishments here today, but acknowledging and welcoming a new beginning with open arms.”

Teaching English with a Global Outlook

Sandra Borges

Sandra Borges has spent the last 20 years teaching English as an additional language. Hailing from São Paulo, Brazil, Borges and her husband looked for opportunities to further their careers in Canada.

The couple were on the hunt for a small city near the ocean, and Halifax was a perfect fit. When she learned about the International Master’s in Teaching English program offered at Saint Mary’s, she knew it was meant to be.

After a year and a half of online classes, immigration delays, balancing work and school full time, Borges will cross the stage at Spring 2022 Convocation as a graduate of the IMTE program and the first recipient of the Eric & Ingeborg Enns Family IMTE Convocation Award.

Passionate about language learning

As an English teacher, and more recently a teacher-trainer, Borges is passionate about sharing her love of language and culture with students. She saw the IMTE as an opportunity to advance herself as a teacher, as the immersive 16-month program combines the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching English.

Launched in 2019, the IMTE program admits international graduate students aspiring to work globally as English language teachers or educators. It is estimated that one in four people in the world now speaks or is learning English, and this global need gives graduates of the program a wealth of international opportunities.

Her classmates, a group of 22 students, represented seven different countries across four continents. She describes the experience of meeting new people, getting to learn about different cultures, languages and dialects as “enriching.”

Supportive learning environment

Borges’ program began in September 2020, while the university was operating virtually due to the pandemic. While some students were able to eventually attend classes in person, Borges completed the entire program from home in Brazil due to visa delays, balancing full-time work with her studies. She credits Dr. Esther Enns, Associate Vice-President of Teaching & Learning and IMTE instructor, and Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, President and Vice-Chancellor, for working with her throughout the immigration process.

Connecting to real-time virtual classes with students from 12 time zones was a unique challenge for this class. Although she was participating online, Borges never felt alone. She engaged in every discussion and brainstorm with her classmates.

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Students in the program had the opportunity to teach on a service-learning basis in the English language programs offered by the Halifax Public Library, the Halifax Refugee Clinic and the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS), as well as the unique opportunity to teach English in a high school in Giessen, Germany. Because of COVID, much of this teaching was done online, which enabled the students to expand the scope of their teaching skills from in-person to online environments.

“The instructors understand what it means to be a teacher of language,” says Borges. “They listened to us and helped us work toward our goals. They provided us with many opportunities and support.”

After completing the program, Sandra and her husband arrived in Halifax in January 2022. “We survived our first winter,” she laughs. Once in Halifax, she continued to receive support from the instructors who helped her find housing, took her to the grocery store, and shared their knowledge of the ELT market in Canada. “These small actions were so meaningful and confirmed to me that Saint Mary’s treats its students with care. I felt at home.”

 Convocation award

As the January 2022 convocation ceremonies were postponed due to the pandemic, Borges will join her cohort at the Spring Convocation ceremony on May 17, 2022. There, she will be presented with the Eric & Ingeborg Enns Family IMTE Convocation Award.

This award recognizes a graduate who has excelled in the IMTE program, as they “embark on their journey to become leaders in global language education and intercultural understanding.” It was created by Dr. Esther Enns in honour of her parents, Eric and Ingeborg, who immigrated to Canada. They embraced the challenges of learning a new culture and language with optimism and became “transcultural persons with a global outlook.”

“I feel honoured to receive this award,” says Borges. “Everything I’ve accomplished is inspired by my own parents, who were immigrants inside Brazil, travelling from different states to São Paulo where they met each other and built our family – while their stories are different, their efforts are the same.”

She credits Dr. Enns as an “inspiration” who impressed upon her the importance of becoming a global educator, not only through language but through cultural learning and understanding.

 Looking to the future

Currently, Borges works as an EAL writing tutor at Saint Mary’s, where she supports international students with their academic writing. She is also TA for the IMTE program.

She dreams of one day teaching in the IMTE program, as her passion for teaching has only grown. She intends to begin working toward a Doctorate and hopes to remain connected to Saint Mary’s for years to come.

As for her fellow graduates, they have been finding success globally; one is teaching English at a school in Mexico, several are working in China, and others have stayed in Halifax with a post-graduate work permit.

Gold Medals and Silver Linings: Huskies hockey alumna Kori Cheverie reflects on ‘whirlwind’ coaching journey

Kori Cheverie

On the evening of February 17, 2022, millions of Canadians tuned into the women’s hockey gold medal game at the Beijing Olympics, cheering on Team Canada from their living rooms.

Saint Mary’s alumna Kori Cheverie BA’12 may have been one of the more personally invested viewers in the country, as she was watching as an assistant coach for Team Canada, despite being more than 10,000 kilometres away from the Olympic Games.

Cheverie describes the first few months of 2022 as a “rewarding whirlwind,” as the New Glasgow, NS native has experienced some of the highs and lows of her career while proudly representing Canada.

In January of 2021, Cheverie was named to the coaching staff of the Canadian National Women’s Team.

“That was a dream come true,” said Cheverie. “Growing up as a female hockey player in Canada, that’s the gold standard. I grew up dreaming of playing for the National team, but that’s one of the great things about hockey, there’s always the opportunity to stay involved in the sport, so to represent Team Canada was a lifelong goal.”

But a week before the team was scheduled to fly to Beijing, Cheverie tested positive for COVID-19, meaning she wouldn’t be able to travel to the Games.

“It was devastating news, but the cool thing about our group was we really focused on being a team first,” she said. “When the news came that I wasn’t able to go, I was disappointed but quickly shifted to focus on the silver linings. I went back to Nova Scotia and focused on doing everything I could still do to help us win the gold.”

Despite being stuck on the other side of the world, Cheverie was able to stay involved with the team through virtual meetings and watching all the games live from her living room in Nova Scotia.

“It was a 12-hour time difference, so the math wasn’t too hard… If the team had a 7 p.m. meeting in Beijing, I would be FaceTiming in at 7 a.m. from Nova Scotia,” laughs Cheverie. “It was a hard couple of weeks in terms of sleep schedule, but it was definitely worth it.”

Canada went on to win the gold medal, defeating their American rivals 3-2 in the final. When the final whistle blew, players FaceTimed Cheverie from the ice so she could virtually join in on the team celebrations.

“I talked to the coaches and players every single day and they kept me involved, so I still feel like I was part of the team that won gold.”

Making hockey history

Just two months later, Cheverie reached another major career accomplishment, becoming the first woman to serve as a coach for a Canadian men’s national team when she was named an assistant for Team Canada at the under-18 World Hockey Championships.

“To be honest, when they reached out with that opportunity, I wasn’t thinking too much about being the first woman to coach a men’s team,” recalls Cheverie. “It was just another opportunity to represent my country, work with some great athletes and coaches, and do whatever I could to help the team win.”

“I think it’s important for us as role models, not just for young girls, but for boys too, to be able to see that women can do what men can do in the game.” ”

— Kori Cheverie

Team Canada finished fifth at the tournament in Germany, and Cheverie says it was a great opportunity.

“It was a great experience, even though the outcome wasn’t exactly what we wanted. It was great to be a part of these young athletes lives on their trajectory to pro hockey, and their next career steps.”

Now back in Nova Scotia, Cheverie has had time to reflect on her trailblazing accomplishment of being the first woman behind a Canadian Men’s team bench.

“I don’t think I ever sought out to coach on the men’s side, it’s just kind of where the opportunities have led me,” says Cheverie, who also works full time as an assistant coach for the men’s team at Ryerson University.

“The men have been coaching on the women’s side for a really long time, and there are tonnes of qualified women coaches out there, who haven’t always gotten opportunities in the men’s game,” adds Cheverie. “I think it’s important for us as role models, not just for young girls, but for boys too, to be able to see that women can do what men can do in the game.”

Once a Husky, always a Husky

While her hockey journey has seen her travel around the world, Cheverie credits a large part of her career development to her time at Saint Mary’s University.

Kori Cheverie

“I played at Saint Mary’s for five years and it was a great experience. Looking back at my time there, I got a great education, got to play the sport that I loved, and made lifelong friends.”

Cheverie played at Saint Mary’s from 2005–2010, graduating as one of the most accomplished players in program history. She was selected as an AUS First Team All-Star three times, winning the AUS Student-Athlete Community Service Award twice, was named Saint Mary’s Female Athlete of the Year twice, and represented Team Canada at the 2009 FISU World University Games.

But as one might expect from a future coach, Cheverie points to team success as her greatest accomplishment with the Huskies.

“Winning the AUS Championship in 2010 to finish off my career was amazing, and beating St.FX in the semi-finals was one of my most memorable experiences. Some of my best friends played at St.FX and they were the league favourites for my whole five years, and we didn’t beat them once in the regular season. I’ll never forget beating them in the semi-final, and then going on to win the finals against Moncton.”

Cheverie also credits the roots of her coaching career to her time at Saint Mary’s.

“(Former Huskies coach) Lisa Haley had a huge impact on myself, and many other players that she coached. At the beginning of my time at SMU, I had no ambitions to coach, but in 2009 I got the opportunity to help with some girls’ teams here,” she said. “From that moment on, I stayed in the hockey development world.”

Just 34-years-old, Cheverie still has a lot of goals left to accomplish in her coaching career.

“There’s a lot I still want to do in hockey,” says Cheverie. “I really enjoy the scouting side of the game, and obviously coaching, whether it’s on the bench, from the press box or from another continent. I just want to continue to learn and grow, whether it’s on the men’s side or the women’s side, I want to continue to get the opportunity to stay in the game and learn from the people around me.”

And she offers some advice for anyone chasing a dream, in athletics or not.

“Just stick with it,” says Cheverie. “The most important decision I made was continue to play. After my time at SMU, I moved to Toronto to play in the CWHL. That pushed me into an uncomfortable zone that I had to navigate, but it’s how I ended up with my first full-time coaching jobs, and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. It’s easy to stop playing the sport you love and move on to your career, but you can find so many amazing experiences in the world of sports outside of playing.”

Inspiring words from a proud Huskies alumna who continues to break barriers on and off the ice.

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To learn more about our Ice Hockey teams here at SMU, visit our varsity athletics website.

Sowing the Seeds of Peace: Northern Ireland Peace Education Program

President Summerby-Murray wished the students and program coordinators well before leaving for Northern Ireland.

President Summerby-Murray and Dr. Malcolm Butler, VPAR, wished the students and program coordinators well before leaving for Northern Ireland.

Liam Mason, Bachelor of Commerce student, connects with students at Bunscoil An tSleibhe Dhuibh primary school. "As an Irish Studies student at Saint Mary’s, I was privileged to experience first-hand an Irish language primary school and utilize my Irish language skills with the students during our peace education workshops."

A group of 16 Saint Mary's students are building on a longstanding legacy of peace education in Northern Ireland this week.

The students—representing diverse areas of studies in Arts, Science and Commerce—are taking part in the Northern Ireland / North of Ireland Peace Education Program, facilitated by Peaceful Schools International and the Faculty of Education at Saint Mary's.

Now in its 18th year, the unique experiential program prepares the participants to conduct peace education workshops for elementary school children in Belfast. The students have a full itinerary including workshops, outreach and meetings with community partners involved in peacebuilding, as well understanding the history and cultural perspectives of Northern Ireland.

The group returns to Halifax on May 9. Check @smuhalifax for updates on their experiences, and stay tuned for a future story upon their return!

A Month of Madness: Saint Mary's Wraps Up Another Successful National Student Entrepreneurship Competition

After 31 days of competition featuring top student entrepreneurship talent from across Canada, one person has climbed to the top of the bracket as the winner of this year's 2022 Saint Mary's University March Madness Competition.  

Senior chemical engineering student, Quinn Cavanagh of Dalhousie University, won for his pitch RFINE Biomass Municipal Biomass Solutions. RFINE produces materials from spent coffee grounds that can be used for products such as high-strength building materials to flexible plastic alternatives—a wide array of customizable applications. 

According to Cavanagh, 82 million kilograms of waste coffee grounds are disposed of daily, waste that produces vast amounts of greenhouse gases. Consumers are demanding that coffee companies take more responsibility. His pitch illustrated how RFINE collects coffee waste to create high-value compounds that would allow companies like Starbucks to have every table and countertop in their stores to be made from their coffee waste. The abundance of applications for RFINE's coffee ground materials idea showed abundant potential to the judges, who awarded Cavanagh the win. With the win comes a $10,000 top prize sponsored by Metronome United and one-year membership of legal guidance and support for his start-up provided by Goodlawyer. 

Goodlawyer is offering a year of their pro membership to the top four finalists. At the same time, the second-place finisher received $5000, and the two third place finishers left with $1000 to support their ideas courtesy of Shannon Byrne Susko BComm'89 BSc'92 and Metronome United. 

"I want to congratulate Quinn on his win and Danielle, our second-place finisher, for an amazing finale to our best March Madness competition to date," says Michael Sanderson, Director, Saint Mary's University Entrepreneurship Centre (SMUEC). "Thank you to everyone who participated and brought their great ideas to the forefront. And a special thanks to our sponsors and judges who play a critical role in making this pitch tournament a success." 

This national competition, a destination for Canada's top student entrepreneurs, featured twenty-four universities from coast to coast. From as far west as the University of Victoria and the University of Alberta to participants from central Canada such as the University of Waterloo, Carleton University, and Western University. Eastern Canada was also well represented with many participants, including HEC Montreal, Mount Allison University, Saint Mary's University and the Memorial University of Newfoundland. 

Saint Mary's University's own Marlee Armour, a graduate student in the Master of Technology Entrepreneurship & Innovation program at the Sobey School of Business, finished in a tie for third place. Her pitch was for a product called the SwimTrainer, a flotation device that supports both a better position for children to learn to swim and a safer position for them to float in the water.  

For more information about the tournament, visit https://smuec.ca/march_madness/ or visit www.facebook.com/smuec.ca to watch the videos from each round.

Frank H. Sobey Award for Excellence in Business Studies Win for Sobey School Student

Laura Eamon
Photo: Steve Smith - VisionFire Studios

Laura Eamon, a fifth-year student at the Sobey School of Business who is completing a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Economics, was awarded the Frank H. Sobey Awards for Excellence in Business Studies.

"We continue to be inspired by the talent, leadership and entrepreneurialism shining through students at Atlantic Canadian business schools," says Paul D. Sobey, Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Laura is one of only nine recipients of the $35,000 award given to undergraduate students of Business Studies in universities across the Atlantic Provinces.

“We are thrilled that Laura has earned this award,” says Dean Harjeet Bhabra of the Sobey School of Business, who selected Laura for consideration by the awards committee. “Our school is committed to providing the highest quality of business education and preparing our graduates to lead entrepreneurial and sustainable businesses and communities. Laura’s win shows that our students’ achievements in their academic studies are matched by their engagement with and contributions to the broader communities.”

All full-time business students attending Atlantic universities are eligible for consideration. Deans of Business at each university nominate candidates based on entrepreneurship, supporting the communities in which they live and work, and their employment experience.

Laura, a part-time project coordinator with the Sackville Business Association and a member of the Saint Mary’s University Environmental Society, credits her sobriety – she has been in recovery for eight years – as the reason for her success. In addition to wanting to bridge the gap between the environmental and business sectors in Nova Scotia, Laura views her win as confirmation that people in recovery can have a positive impact.

“It’s an immense honour to receive the Frank H. Sobey Excellence in Business Studies and to celebrate the Sobey legacy,” says Laura. “All of my hard work has been validated, and my sobriety is the reason I’m here. The support from the university and Sobey family is immeasurable, and I look forward to continuing those relationships for a long time.”

The award recipients are selected by the Frank H. Sobey Awards Board of Trustees comprised of Atlantic Canadian business and academic leaders. Established in 1989, the Frank H. Sobey Awards for Excellence in Business Studies have awarded more than $2.5 Million to business students in the four Atlantic Provinces.

What leadership means to student behind this year’s Student Leadership Conference

Third-year science student Muiz Demilade Adebayo

As we look ahead to this year’s Student Leadership Conference, we checked in with computer science and psychology student Muiz Demilade Adebayo, one of the student leaders behind this year’s conference. We asked Demilade, who has spent his last three years at Saint Mary’s getting deeply involved in our community, what leadership means to him.

“It can mean having the ability to inspire others around you to be their best selves and achieve their full potential,” he says.

And the Student Leadership Conference, now taking place on Saturday, March 19, hopes to do just that—inspire students with a full day of discussions, panels, and workshops. At the conference, students will explore what leadership means to them, and gain tangible takeaways to strengthen their own leadership skills.

“Everyone will use leadership skills at some point,” says Demilade. “It’s best to learn about leadership skills and explore the leadership styles that fit you best now. That way, you’re ready for when you can put your leadership skills into practice.”

At the conference, students will kickoff the leadership conversation with speakers including Tom Brophy, Associate Vice-President (Student Affairs and Services). Then students will join keynote speaker Dr. Rohini Bannerjee, Associate Vice-President (Diversity Excellence), to explore what leadership looks like in practice. Next, students will take part in one of three concurrent sessions to sharpen their own leadership skills.

Leadership starts, says Demilade with listening to and learning from others. From being a Pack Leader and a Student Life Coordinator in Student Affairs and Services, to volunteering across campus, Demilade has always sought new opportunities to learn.

“I want to build my experience,” says Demilade of his volunteer work on and off campus. “I also want to socialize with people from different backgrounds, while learning from them.”

And what is the most important skill a leader can have?

“Empathy,” Demilade shares. “Leadership is broad and different, and there are lots of things a person can do to exhibit the signs of a leader. But leadership works best when we pay attention to the needs of people around us and support what works for them.”

Saint Mary’s students can sign up now for the Student Leadership Conference. To find out what happens at the conference, stay up-to-date with Saint Mary’s Student Life on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

The Power of Poetry in Women and Gender Studies Research

Angela Bowden and Claire Yurkovich (standing)

 The process of writing poetry may have healing benefits for trauma, especially when the writing happens in a communal setting. That’s what student Claire Yurkovich is hoping to find out through her graduate research at Saint Mary’s University.

“There is something so special about creating in a shared space, and this became very central to my research in poetic healing,” says Yurkovich, who is in the final stretch of her Master of Arts degree program in Women and Gender Studies (WGST).

In February, she facilitated a series of four 90-minute community workshops to explore poetry’s therapeutic benefits as a tool for processing trauma related to sexual violence. Some participants had no prior experience writing poetry, so the first session introduced poetic vocabulary, forms and other writing devices. The next two sessions focused on writing, with a variety of prompts. In the final session, the budding poets shared their creations with the group.

“Writing poetry allows for a processing of your own emotions around difficult topics, but it also creates the potential for other individuals to read and resonate with your words, and space for shared experiences to emerge,” she says.

Poetry is also a central element of Angela Bowden’s graduate work in Women and Gender Studies here at Saint Mary’s. Born and raised in New Glasgow, she is an accomplished author, speaker and activist whose writing draws upon her lived experiences as an African Nova Scotian woman and mother of three sons. She aims to ignite conversations around social justice, systemic racism’s perseverance, and the connections between historical trauma and current inequalities, while also honouring ancestors and inspiring young people.  

Bowden’s first poetry collection, Unspoken Truth – Unmuted and Unfiltered, was published in 2021 by Pottersfield Press, and she’s now working on a children’s book for Black girls. She was recently celebrated in a feature story on the website Amplify East, which aims to “change the voice of Atlantic Canada one woman at a time.”  

“Poetry, much like music, provides a platform for difficult topics to be expressed and received without direct argument or confrontation,” says Bowden. “Poetry is able to take us beyond the cerebral understanding and into a place I like to refer to as ‘innerstanding’; a place where you are touched so profoundly that you are motivated to change. It can result when poetry moves through difficult topics unapologetically in a truth telling that forces a reconciliation and calls for change on behalf of the recipient.”

While writing UnSpoken Truth, she realized that many of her poems were grounded in women and gender issues. Her son was attending Saint Mary’s, and Bowden ended up meeting with Dr. Michele Byers to learn more about the WGST graduate program.

“I learned that it is critical to the understanding, ‘innerstanding’ and healing of Black women and our society to be a part of the larger conversations that are taking place in academia about us and around us; intersectionality and various feminist theories not only apply to us but are us. I am learning, teaching and sharing knowledge,” she says.

Mavis Mainu

Mavis Mainu of Ghana was living in Germany when her best friend recommended Saint Mary’s for graduate studies. With her interdisciplinary interests in climate change, migration and gender issues, she felt the WGST program was the perfect fit for her research, and would build on her first master’s degree in Development Studies and Governance from the University of Duisburg-Essen. She lives in Berlin, so the main challenge was juggling a busy work schedule with Halifax classes that sometimes went past midnight with the time zone differences.

Mainu works at Climate Analytics, a non-profit climate science and policy institute where her current role is administrative and operational in nature. Her goal is to shift into a content role that focuses gender and adaptation, climate research and analysis, so she can contribute to the much-needed academic literature in the intersection of these issues.

“Before I undertook this degree, I was working on a lot of projects for women and girls but did not have the academic background to complement the practical skills or experience,” says Mainu. “This program is empowering and preparing me to work in areas that I am passionate about.”

Mainu is a co-founder of the Oak Foundation, an NGO that nurtures young women in education and entrepreneurship in Ghana, and is also a Climate Reality Leader, a Queens Young Leader, Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, and a One Young World Ambassador.

Learn more about the Graduate Program in Women and Gender Studies at Saint Mary’s, and the undergraduate Minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. 

Showcasing Student Business Excellence with Style: The Saint Mary’s University March Madness Pitch Competition

Do you hear that sound? It is the sound of thousands of people clicking the link to watch the 2022 Saint Mary’s University March Madness Pitch Competition.

The competition showcases post-secondary student pitchers throughout March. Modelled after the NCAA March Madness basketball competition, 64 student entrepreneurs from across Canada will be selected to compete head-to-head in brackets as they strive to have their pitch idea declared the best in the country.

This national competition is a destination for Canada's top student entrepreneurs. It features twenty-four universities from coast to coast, from as far west as the University of Victoria and the University of Alberta, to participants from central Canada such as the University of Waterloo, Carleton University, and Western University. Eastern Canada is also well represented with many participants, including HEC Montreal, Mount Allison University, Saint Mary's University and the Memorial University of Newfoundland, to name but a few.

“The best of the best face each other in this tournament, where the student team with the best business pitch can win $10,000 to support their start-up,” says Michael Sanderson, Director, Saint Mary’s University Entrepreneurship Centre (SMUEC). “That said, there isn’t only one team that wins as the finalists receive support for business leaders and experts to hone their pitches while the third and fourth place teams walk away with $1000 and second place leaves with $5000—all to support their business ideas.” 

It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. For SMUEC, a pandemic wouldn’t stop them from providing an avenue for a diverse group of student entrepreneurs to apply the skills they learned in the classroom to a competitive business environment. Enter the first Saint Mary’s University March Madness Pitch competition in 2021, all online.

“We are always looking for new ways to engage students, and last year we recognized the challenges for in-person gatherings, so we began to look beyond solutions and seek opportunities,” says Michael Sanderson, Director, SMUEC. “We took inspiration from the March Madness NCAA basketball tournament and realized the opportunity to do a similar tournament but for business pitches. The online environment allowed us to bypass traditional logistical challenges like location, venue, travel availability for judges to name a few. It brought a whole new dimension to what was possible for a large-scale pitch competition.”

As last year’s tournament progressed, thousands of viewers from around the world tuned in to support their favourites and follow the action. To keep up to date on all the latest teams, pitches and results, visit https://smuec.ca/march_madness/ or www.facebook.com/smuec.ca for the live streams.