We’re proud of you!
A special shout-out to those whose stars shone extra bright this year
— Mount Royal University | Posted: May 25, 2022
A tip of the hat to all grads
Thank you for being MRU’s inspiration
Mount Royal University will be holding in-person Spring 2022 Convocation ceremonies on June 1, 2 and 3.
Congratulations to all those who will cross the stage at Mount Royal’s Spring 2022 Convocation ceremonies. You crushed it during a very difficult academic year, and the resilience, flexibility and tenacity you have displayed will serve you well. You should all be very proud of your accomplishments, and MRU wishes you the best in the future. Keep in touch at mru.ca/Alumni.
Centennial Gold Medal and Governor General's Academic Medal recipients
Best and brightest honoured at Convocation
Olivia Brodowski, left, and Nicole Bell.
Two of MRU’s best and brightest students will be honoured with Centennial Gold Medals and two others will receive the Governor General’s Academic Medal at their graduation ceremony next week.
The Centennial Gold Medal is an award given to eligible students at MRU based on a nomination system. The students must be graduating from diploma and degree programs, have a cumulative GPA of 3.7 or higher and demonstrate leadership through involvement in campus and community activities. Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts — English (Honours), Olivia Brodowski was selected as the 2022 Centennial Gold Medal recipient for the Faculty of Arts with a cumulative GPA of 3.88.
During her time at Mount Royal, Brodowski served as vice-president of both the Outdoor Adventure Club and the Film and English Student’s Society. She also participated as a Catamount Fellow for emerging changemakers, working on a project related to systemic racism in primary and secondary school systems, and competed in Map the System.
Nicole Bell, meanwhile, will graduate with a Bachelor of Nursing and was selected as the Centennial Gold Medal recipient for the Faculty of Health, Community and Education with a cumulative GPA of 3.97. Currently working in intensive palliative care, Bell plans on pursuing her master’s.
The Governor General’s Medal, established in 1873, is one of the most prestigious awards that can be earned by a student for exceptional academic achievement in a Canadian educational institution.
Kathryn Zemp was awarded the Governor General’s Silver Medal for achieving the highest academic standing of all graduates in a degree program at Mount Royal. Zemp will leave with a Bachelor in Education — Elementary and a cumulative GPA of 4.00.
Phoebe Koenig was awarded the Governor General’s Bronze Medal for achieving the highest academic standing of all graduates in a diploma program. Koenig will graduate with a Social Work Diploma and a cumulative GPA of 4.00.
LaunchPad pitchers
Student entrepreneurs compete for prize money at 10th-annual event
The 2022 JMH LaunchPad pitch competition celebrated its 10-year anniversary this year. Hosted by the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, this year’s donor community consisted of the RBC Foundation, LaunchPad alumni, connectFirst Credit Union, Grant Design, and, of course, JMH & Co.
The top finalists included:
Dale Swampy, a third-year computer information systems student and the founder of Osaw Kihew, which sells unique, Indigenous-made star blankets rooted in deep history.
Launa Austin, a fourth-year information design student and the founder of Husky Jocks, which makes athletic clothing for children in all shapes and sizes.
Crystal Wai, a fourth-year science student and the founder of Memoir Candles, which creates memory-triggering scents like spa day, breakfast cereal, ice wine and more.
Dina Ibrahim, a fourth-year psychology student and the founder of HYAT CO., an inclusive brand that provides beautiful, innovative and affordable hijabs.
Erin Creegan-Dougherty, a fourth-year business student and the founder of Maskwa Backcountry Foods, which makes camping meals using traditional Indigenous recipes.
Map the System participants
Discovering the root causes of systemic problems and working to solve them
Mount Royal's Map the System campus competitors from left to right: Marshal McCallum, Roshni McCartney, Curtis Wong and Kaitlyn Squires.
This year’s Map the System competition revealed how stigma against sex workers results in unequal access to health care, how Canada’s child-care system only works well for a privileged few and how the study of language can reveal much about geopolitical constructs. Map the System students undertake the immense challenge of discovering the root causes of systemic problems and develop an enactable solution.
Representing MRU for 2022 in the national finals after winning at MRU was Bachelor of Science — General Science student Kaitlyn Squires for her study titled “Sex Workers in Canada Face Unequal Access to Healthcare.” Squires performed well enough at nationals to earn a trip to the global finals at the University of Oxford.
Squires found that sex workers, of whom 75 per cent identify as female, are almost three times more likely than other Canadians to report unmet health-care needs.
“It’s a topic that very few people are aware of. It made me challenge the biases I held and I hope others will too,” Squires says.
Map the System is an initiative out of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship based at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. Other competitors at MRU included Marshal McCallum, Roshni McCartney and Curtis Wong.
Undergraduate researchers producing high-level work
Depth of inquiry recognized
Mount Royal students Esthevan Machado, left, and Eric Bennett.
Two undergraduate students, Esthevan Machado and Eric Bennett, were recognized for their research on the energy cost associated with the Achilles tendon.
Machado looked into whether triceps surae’s muscle architecture and Achilles tendon parameters are related to metabolic cost in trained long-distance runners. Now a fourth-year physical literacy student at MRU, Machado and Dr. Jared Fletcher, PhD, co-published a paper along with six other researchers titled, “Triceps Surae Muscle-Tendon Properties as Determinants of the Metabolic Cost in Trained Long-Distance Runners,” in the prestigious Frontiers in Physiology journal.
Bennett’s experiment split participants into two groups: a short Achilles tendon moment arm group and a long Achilles tendon moment arm group — directly comparing the two — something previous literature had yet to do. The completed abstract for the project is what earned Bennett his award and he is now working towards completing a full research paper.
Student awards were also presented during the annual Research and Scholarship Days. Recipients represent excellence across the full breadth of academic activity, presenting work at an exceptionally high level and exemplifying Mount Royal’s strong commitment to teaching and learning.
Understanding the root causes of problems
Catamount Fellowship students commit to improving the world
Pictured left to right top row: Leanne Lucas, Emma Berger, Amirah Azmi and Roshni McCartney. Pictured left to right bottom row: Michael Kozhukhar, Chichi Odinma, Benin Al-Manaihil, Kaylie LaPierre and Kaitlyn Squires.
The Catamount Fellowship is a cohort-based learning experience for MRU students committed to building a more just and sustainable future for all.
This year’s fellows included Benin Al-Manaihil, Amirah Azmi, Emma Berger, Michael Kozhukhar, Leanne Lucas, Kaylie LaPierre, Roshni McCartney, Chichi Odinma and Kaitlyn Squires.
“The fellowship uses a systems-thinking approach to equip students with the tools and capacity needed to navigate complex 21st-century challenges,” says Barb Davies, program lead for the last three years.
Students are matched with a community partner and a faculty mentor to guide their research. Partners identify a systemic issue that’s affecting communities and work alongside the student fellow as an informant and connector to stakeholders also working to address the issue.
This year’s community partners included the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women's Circle, Vibrant Communities Calgary, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Brookfield Residential, Elizabeth House, MRU’s Institute for Environmental Sustainability, the Livingstone Range School Division, the Brenda Strafford Foundation, the Canadian Poverty Institute, Trellis, Silvera for Seniors and United Way Calgary and Area.
MRU students represent Canada at the Olympics
Combining elite athletics with academics an inspiration
Team Canada ski jumper Matthew Soukup competes at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Games had a streak of MRU blue with a number of students competing in the Games. As they juggled their dedication and elite talents in sport with pursuing higher education, they inspired us all.
Athletic therapy student Adam Kingsmill, competed in Beijing with Team Canada’s National Para Hockey Team, bringing home a silver medal. He has been training with Hockey Canada as a goalie in Calgary since 2016 and made his debut with the Canadian National team in 2021.
Business student Matthew Soukup and his teammates became the first Canadians ever to win an Olympic ski jumping medal in Beijing. The 2022 Olympics marked the first time the mixed team event has been included in the Games.
Jared Schmidt competed in ski cross, making it all the way to the quarterfinals. Along the way to becoming an Olympian, Schmidt, originally from Ottawa, has been a student in MRU’s ecotourism and outdoor leadership (ETOL) program.
Cougars finish off standout season
Six teams made it to the playoffs, with one going to nationals
Following a missed season due to the pandemic, the Mount Royal Cougars sent six different teams to the Canada West playoffs. In the end, it was the women’s volleyball team that had the most exceptional year, winning Mount Royal’s first national medal with a silver at the U SPORTS National Championships.
After taking bronze in the Canada West finals, the Cougars prevailed against the Ontario-champion Brock Badgers, and then the University of Alberta Pandas, sweeping both matches on their way to the final against the Trinity Western University Spartans in front of a loud and proud crowd of Cougar supporters. MRU gave it their all, but Trinity Western prevailed to win the championship in four sets.
Four Black writers share their voices
Powerful words featured during Black History Month
Throughout the month of February, MRU presented a collection of the voices of Black writers in our community in recognition of how words have the power to both build and destroy identities.
Fourth-year MRU English student Pam Ndumbi contributed a list poem titled “The World Isn’t Made For the Sad.”
Sally Njoroge, a Bachelor of Arts ― Sociology alumna with a minor in innovation and entrepreneurship and program lead with Mount Royal’s Trico Changemakers Studio, provided a poem titled “Live.”
English student John Havyarimana shared his family’s history story with “The Beat of a Drum,” while Lee Hassen, a public relations major, contributed the spoken-word origin story “LOVE, Olive Oil, and Coffee.”
“The Black experience is different, unique to each individual. Being Black is definitely at the forefront of my personal experiences, but writing just makes me a global citizen,” Hassan says.
Eric Gratton encouraging sport in Botswana
Projects focus on long-term athlete development
Eric Gratton, a health and physical education student at MRU, is working as a Canadian SportWORKS Officer leading a project to promote community and social development and build national sport capacity in Botswana. The Commonwealth Sport Canada program focuses on the empowerment of women and girls, youth leadership development, community engagement, long-term athlete development (LTAD) and multi-sport games planning and implementation.
With a major in physical literacy and a minor in the business of sport and recreation, and as someone who has experienced the Canadian LTAD model in multiple sports, Gratton says he hopes to learn more about LTAD and use some of his own experiences to help build Botswana’s LTAD model.
New student leaders elected
Meet SAMRU’s new executive roster
The Students’ Association of Mount Royal University represents and serves Mount Royal University students to help them succeed. Newly elected members of the 2022/23 Representation Executive Council include:
President Joseph Nguyen
In his second term on the executive council and first as president, Nguyen is a Bachelor of Education — Elementary student. His studies in education have helped Nguyen identify and advocate for those who are often overlooked.
Vice-President Academic Yasmin Ahmed
In her second term as vice-president, academic, Yasmin Ahmed is a Bachelor of Social Work student and passionate about community involvement. She serves as a voice for those who are underrepresented and hopes to create more opportunities for those like herself.
Vice-President External Tera Leigh Cardinal
A current policy studies student and a Social Work Diploma alumna, Tera Leigh Cardinal would like to one day create policies that will protect workers like herself from avoidable harm. She has advocated for students through local and federal governments.
Vice-President Student Affairs Pamela Malec
Sociology student Pamela Malec is advocating for accessibility and inclusion for all at MRU. She is also passionate about student employment and work-integrated learning and anticipates making an impact through her enthusiasm and involvement.