Graduate Students' Association announces recipients of 2020-21 GSA Awards

The Graduate Students’ Association is honoured to present the GSA Awards recipients for the 2020-21 academic year. Academic year 2020-21 has been extraordinary for graduate students as COVID-19 has drastically impacted the traditional ways graduate students do research and study. The operations and activities of the GSA have also been moved virtual since March 2020. Despite the myriad of COVID-19 challenges, community members from across the University of Calgary continue to dedicate their time and talent to improve the graduate student experience.

This year, the GSA  honours 44 individuals who have gone above and beyond to support UCalgary graduate students. From setting up valuable virtual online workshops and symposiums to reforming the admission system for Black and racialized applicants, these individuals have shown their strong leadership and dedication to the success of graduate students.

• Photo above: From left, top row: Andrew Kemle, Anthonia Anowai, Breni Sharma. From left, bottom row:Robyn Paul, Feyisetan Adebayo, Bita Malekian.

“There are no words good enough to thank you for all you have done for graduate students. Every day, you let your actions speak louder than words. Thank you for inspiring us and for the sacrifices you make. This university would not be where it is without you and we can’t wait to see what you do next,” says Alex Paquette, GSA VP academic, extending his appreciation to the awards winners.

The GSA would like to thank the awards committee and the GSA VP Academic, Alex Paquette, for their work on the awards’ terms of reference, application, and adjudication process.

View here for the video announcement by the GSA’s Board of Directors.

Please join us in celebrating the recipients of the 2020-21 GSA Awards:

Excellence in Administrative Support (support staff) 

Monica Freeman, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Excellence in Administrative Support (senior administration) 

Dr. Mary Grantham O’Brien
Professor, Department of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Culture
Associate dean (policy), Faculty of Graduate Studies

Excellence in Research (graduate students)

Sina Rezvani, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

Excellence in Supervision

Dr. Nancy Moules, Faculty of Nursing

Excellence in Research (senior research affiliates) 

Dr. Elodie Labit, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

Excellence in Teaching (graduate students) 

Dinu Attalage, Department of Civil Engineering

Excellence in Teaching (senior instructors) 

Dr. Jeff Pieper, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

Leadership Award

Robyn Paul, Schulich School of Engineering

Honourable mentions: Julia Duan, Faculty of Kinesiology; Anthonia Anowai, Cumming School of Medicine

Emerging Leader Award

Chelsea Klinke, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology

Honourable mentions: Kayla Dias, Department of Biological Sciences; Keshia Holloman-Dawson, Faculty of Law

GSA Champion Award

Dr. Leslie Reid, Vice-Provost of Teaching and Learning

Lifetime Achievement Award

Harrison Campbell, Werklund School of Education

Graduate Representative Council Distinguished Service Award

Kayla Dias, Department of Biological Sciences

Volunteer Excellence Awards

Andrew Kemle, Department of Political Science

Anthonia Anowai, Cumming School of Medicine

Breni Sharma, Cumming School of Medicine

Robyn Paul, Schulich School of Engineering

Feyisetan Adebayo, Schulich School of Engineering

Graduate Student Sustainability Award

Bita Malekian, Schulich School of Engineering

Graduate Representative Council Initiative Awards

• 1st Annual Food Studies Symposium (Chelsea Klinke, Gertrude Korkor Samar, and Simon Koots)
• The PHAS Graduate Assistant Workshop (Pamela Freeman, Becky Booth, Kyle Reiter, Omid Khajehdehi, Davor Curic, Carlton-James Osakwe, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Hadi Zadeh Haghighi, Mahsa Faryadras, Kaitlyn Stenhouse, Pooja Woosaree, Omid Aligholamioskooee, and Anustup Das)
• The Foothills Financial Literacy Workshop Series (Megha Murali, Rachita Panda, and Lucia Otero Varela)
• Encouraging Black and Racialized Applicants Through Admission Reforms (Keshia Holloman-Dawson)
• Software Training (Hector Bonilla and Antonio Garcia Vila)