Scholars Academy Magazine 2020-2021 by Scholars Coordinator

SCHOLARS ACADEMY MAGAZINE 2020-2021

Table of Contents NEWSMAKERS AND AWARD WINNERS

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

SCHOLARS SPOTLIGHT

FALL RETREAT

WINTER RETREAT

MENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHT

CAREER SPOTLIGHTS

SERVICE PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

WHO IS SCHOLARS ACADEMY? Profiles of our Scholars can be viewed at: ucalgary.ca/student-services/scholars-academy/scholars/current-students

NEWSMAKERS AND AWARD WINNERS

Chancellor’s Scholarship

CUS Business Technology Ethics Case Competition 2021 (1st place)

CAREER AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

Helena Cherniak-Kennedy

CalgaryHacks 2020 (1st place)

Carthy Foundation Scholarship in Business

Finance, JDC West 2020 (2nd place)

These awards support activities that promote student engagement and contribute to career and personal development goals. These often take on the form of national and international opportunities that inspire greater leadership potential.

Duncan Robinson

Chancellor’s Club Scholarship

Newsmakers

Inter-Collegiate Business Competition, Finance (1st place)

Cara Au

Leith Wheeler Finance Scholarship

Chancellor’s Scholarship Quyen Pham

Louise McKinney Scholarship

Inter-Collegiate Business Competition, Human Resources (3rd place)

Two students named as finalists for McCall MacBain Scholarships – UToday

Suncor Energy Emerging Leaders Business Scholarship

Rachel Hughes

Dorsa Zamanpour

Jillian Kitt

Institutionally shortlisted for the Rhodes Scholarship Cindy Zhang

Nursing student starts non-profit to tackle racism and bias - UToday Graham Bennett Two students named as finalists for McCall MacBain Scholarships – UToday Jonah Secreti

Chancellor’s Scholarship

Engineering Commerce Case Competition (1st place in preliminary round)

Lea Caplan

Haskayne School of Business Action Award

Meagan McNichol

Rafael Sanguinetti

Alberta College of Social Workers Annual Conference

Bourse André-Boudreau (André-Boudreau Scholarship) Marcus Smith

Ratik Kapoor

Ena Lee Leaders in Business Award Haskayne School of Business Alumni Scholarship Louise McKinney Scholarship

Award Winners

Meagan McNichol Alberta Innovates Summer Studentship Grant

Alexandra Laviolette

Danielle Leong

Dorsa Zamanpour

Chancellor’s Scholarship

Alberta Student Energy Bowl (Finalist)

Elected Students’ Union Faculty of Nursing Representative for 2021-2022

Amisha Gill Chancellor’s Scholarship Chelsea Wong Chancellor’s Scholarship

Inter-Collegiate Business Competition, Marketing (1st place) McGill International Portfolio Competition (2nd place)

Jonah Secreti University of Calgary Taylor Institute Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching (Mentorship in Higher Education)

Institutionally shortlisted to apply for Rhodes Scholarship

Volts under the hood: U of C team wants to make electric car conversions easier – Calgary Herald, CBC News, CTV News

Paige Babin

Michael Pullishy Chancellor’s Scholarship Mohit Parmar

Duncan Lucas

Inter-Collegiate Business Competition, Business Policy (2nd place)

Killam Fellowship for study at American University

AB2050 Innovation Case Competition 2021 (1st place)

Acclaimed Students’ Union Cumming School of Medicine Representative for 2021-2022 Sarah Chiarelli Adaptation Canada 2020 Travel Bursary Sean Ulrich Chancellor’s Scholarship Shaelene Standing Dr. Gary McPherson Leadership Scholarship O’Brien Continuing Scholarship Sigmund Holtz Chancellor’s Scholarship JDC West Debate

As an undergraduate student at the University of Calgary, Zain Jinnah always strived for excellence. He was a Chancellor’s Club Scholar, high-achieving in his academics, and regularly involved in student-led organizations on campus. It was when Jinnah set off on a new journey after graduation that he learned a pivotal life lesson.

“When embracing the world around us, it is critical approach individual growth as a whole and not bound to academics or one way of thinking”

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT BY SCHOLARS ACADEMY ALUMNI NETWORK (SAUAN)

During his time at the University of Calgary, Jinnah credits outstanding professors, resources, and academic community for nurturing his professional development. “There are many great schools in Canada, but I really felt like my professors at UCalgary were just so accessible,” he says. “If you were a dedicated student, you were able to find great mentorship, which isn’t always the case at some of the larger academic institutions.” As a member of the first cohort of Scholars Academy, Jinnah was able to connect with other like-minded students who shared his appreciation for creativity,

hard work and creating positive change within the greater community. Jinnah then went on to complete his graduate studies at the University of Oxford where he received his Master’s in Public Policy, followed by Harvard Law School where he received his Juris Doctorate. As Jinnah began to journey beyond Calgary, he learned an invaluable lesson. “I started to recognize the incredible talents, skills, and abilities of my international colleagues. It was humbling to see my personal skills within the context of my own limitations, and to see what unique talents that my colleagues brought to the table.” Through his time at Oxford, Harvard, and now as a practicing lawyer, Jinnah had learned and now emphasizes the importance of being open to one another and having confidence in his own abilities to make meaningful change through collaboration with others. “I think as an undergraduate student, I had this sense that academic achievement was what was most important, but you come to recognize that well-rounded growth and holistic skills are ultimately [more] important,” says Jinnah. “People with strong social skills or high levels of creativity. I’ve seen them succeed in their own right, even if they aren’t very academically inclined.”

Moreover, Jinnah highlights the significance of hard work in his journey towards achieving the goals he set out for himself inside and outside of the classroom. “One of the most important things is hard work but also having a sense of your direction. I knew I wanted to work in an internationally oriented career, so I recognized I would eventually leave Calgary. After meeting a graduate of Harvard Law, I felt like this was something I wanted to do, so, [when] starting my undergraduate, I set this as a goal for myself.” Jinnah credits his mother, his lifelong inspiration, for being an incredible role model of hard work. “We used to get up together at 6:30 a.m., I’d head off to school and she would head off to work. On weekends while I was studying, she was working. She worked so hard to be a good mother and a good provider. It gave me the motivation to continue working hard towards my goals.” Equipped with these lessons in mind, Jinnah now works in Washington D.C. as a lawyer for Hyundai Motor Group’s urban air mobility division, where he supports the development of electricpowered flying cars for the next generation of urban transportation. Before that, he spent five years as a lawyer at the international law firm White and Case LLP in Washington, D.C., 7

where he represented foreign governments and multinational corporations in international law disputes. Like many plans students had intended to embark on this past year, Jinnah has also gone thought a time where his expectations did not necessarily go as planned. “I had applied to law school and graduate school at the same time but ended up deferring my law degree for graduate studies. I started graduate school at 21, so I was quite young and felt like

I could handle the intellectual material. But, at that time, I realized I would have likely gotten a lot more out of my graduate studies and contributed to the classroom environment if I had a few years of working experience. So when I graduated, I applied for a number of public policy jobs to broaden my horizons before beginning law school. It was humbling because I couldn’t get a job at that time.” For Jinnah, an important realization started to set in: the skills, networking and

experiences people were able to offer was what made all the difference over academic credentials. For current and future cohorts of Scholars Academy, Jinnah encourages students to work hard towards their goals while also keeping the bigger picture in mind. “It is important to make time for the people around you, to build meaningful relationships, and to allow our interactions to build confidence in who we are.”

SCHOLARS ACADEMY UCALGARY ALUMNI NETWORK The Scholars Academy UCalgary Alumni Network (SAUAN) was started by a group of graduating Scholars who didn’t want the camaraderie and support of the Scholars Academy to end. The passion project was formally recognized by the Alumni Association as an UCalgary Affinity Group in June 2019, and since then has grown to nearly 100 members scattered across the globe. Chaired by Alyssa Carruthers and coBarrett Schultz, SAUAN aims to create a lifelong network for members of the Scholars Academy program, with a focus on building intergenerational connections, offering social and professional networking opportunities, and fostering spirit and pride among SA alumni. Despite a global pandemic restricting public gatherings, SAUAN has been able to connect and engage with current Scholars and SAUAN members. The group has offered online events, including a digital mixer led by Stephanie Warner focusing on strategies to maximize alumni’s LinkedIn profiles and a Speaker Series with SA alumna Ruth Legese speaking on the timely topic of resiliency. SAUAN also aims to amplify its member’s successes, featuring alumni’s recent awards, accolades and achievements on its group Facebook page. The group is not just focused on alumni, but also collaborates with the SA, and has lent its support to crowdfunding initiatives, digital events and was recently offered as a cohort project to complete an Alumni report. Moving forward, SAUAN aims to continue growing its membership, and strengthening strengthening Scholars Academy pride and spirit. Whether it’s to connect with fellow alumni, share accomplishments or even join the executive team to help develop exciting events, all SA alumni are always welcome to find and join SAUAN through Facebook.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? MANISHA BHARANDIA students sat in on a shared interdisciplinary course per semester. Through ASHA, Bharadia found the inspiration to create OBLIQUITY during her second year as a medical student. As someone who was always interested in literature, Bharadia sought to create an environment that celebrated the interconnectedness of the arts and sciences through collaborative workshops.

In 2018, Manisha Bharadia graduated from the UCalgary with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and started medical school at the University of Alberta. Upon graduating high school, Bharadia was often told by her guidance counsellor to “follow the stereotypical path into medicine.” She soon learned, however, that her undergraduate education could include more exploration than originally planned. This set the tone for her remaining time at UCalgary as she soon became an active student leader. Bharadia got involved with the Arts and Science Honours Academy (ASHA) where she and a small cohort of

OBLIQUITY also served as a response to a gap in the formal curriculum surrounding emotionally-charged patient interactions and the difficult situations they may create. Since its inception in 2019, OBLIQUITY has been open to everyone including students, faculty, community members and patients. This past year, OBLIQUITY founded its second branch at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. While in the Scholars Academy, Bharadia continued to be actively involved in the community. In her second year within the program, Bharadia led a service project that kickstarted Pangaea, a student organization on campus that aimed to develop a comprehensive training and mentorship program for Syrian refugees. With the help of another group

of multidisciplinary students, Pangaea served as the first touch point after formal support from local non-profits ended. From teaching families to take public transportation, filling out applications, and teaching kids about Canadian culture, scholars also worked on an in-depth cultural and trauma informed training program to further educate Pangaea volunteers about Islam and Syrian traditions to promote a better understanding of the culture and its nuances.

Bharadia also enjoyed the community mentorship program and gaining knowledge from professionals outside of her own fields of interest. Bharadia has achieved several pursuits after her time at UCalgary. She has written a

poem titled Cinnamon which has since then been published on the Canadian Medical Association Journal Blogs website. Bharadia wrote and recorded an episode for the PedsCases podcast, where she discussed toxic stress and the basics of trauma informed care in pediatric cases. Moving forward, Bharadia has some advice for students:

“Embrace the idea of taking your time in university to explore and not silo where you think you may end up. A lot of us get caught up in pursuing a single goal or path and miss out on unique opportunities along the way. Although it’s important to have dedication and focus to reach your goals, make sure you are giving yourself the opportunity to

explore and broaden your experiences.” To view some of Bharadia’s work, click the links below: OBLIQUITY Cinnamon PEDS Cases Podcast Pangea (Credit to: The Gauntlet, 2018)

ÉCLAIR PHOTITAI

Éclair Photitai completed a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences in 2016 with the intention of pursuing a career in medicine. After graduating she felt that her degree in biological sciences offered a very micro lens in regards to health and medicine. In search of a more holistic view of the human condition and how factors such as culture, socioeconomic status and geography impact health, Photitai returned to UCalgary to pursue a second degree in anthropology. 10

This unique path into biological sciences and anthropology has opened many doors that she didn’t even know existed. Having a strong scientific background has allowed her to interact with and analyze data in meaningful ways while her anthropological perspective enables her to create engaging narratives from the data that is tailored to different audiences. This skillset has helped Photitai succeed in roles such as a changemanagement consultant and communications specialist within the public health sector. After spending most of her career in Alberta Health Services (AHS), Photitai took a leap of faith in 2020. In the midst of the global pandemic, she said goodbye to her home, family, friends and position at AHS to start an adventure in Helsinki, Finland. As an avid solo traveler Photitai says she thrives in all or nothing kind of adventures. “The kind where

you jump in with both feet and use all of your might and the grace of the universe to try and make sure you land on your feet.” She’s been in Helsinki since October 2020 and offers these reflections on the challenges and growth that came from this experience: “If you had asked me six months ago if I thought moving to Helsinki would be hard, I would have said yes, definitely. But what I didn’t realize was how hard it was going to be and in what way. Relocating to a Nordic country during a global pandemic in the fall was really the perfect storm. One thing I didn’t know was that between November and January Finland averages less than six hours of sunlight per day! Add in the fact that culturally Finns are very shy people and COVID-19 restrictions, and you end up with months of darkness and social isolation. I tried to keep busy by throwing myself into the job search, trying to build

my network and learning Finnish. But over time, all these external factors wear you down, both physically and mentally. By the end of 2020 I had sent out over 150 resumes, networked with dozens of people and didn’t get a single interview. During that time, I felt like a failure; my identity had always been closely entwined with my ability to achieve and excel that I felt lost. But I never stopped trying. Eventually things fell into place when I stopped trying to fit myself into the industry that I thought I should be in (pharmaceutical/ healthcare consulting) and committed to learning and leveraging my current skillset. Serendipitously, I ended up getting an internship at a venture capital firm and worked with one of their portfolio companies as a ’growth hacker.’ I was out of my element; I had no clue what I was doing but I knew I had a lot to offer and was eager to learn. About a month into my internship with the portfolio company the CEO offered me a permanent, full-time position. We sat down and scoped out my role based on what I enjoyed doing, what I was good at and what the company needed. This opportunity was beyond anything I could have imagined for myself. I got to create my own job!” Photitai continues to learn and experiment every day in her new role as the engagement and communications lead for a

growing Finnish startup that aims to enhance surgical training. She’s still working hard to learn Finnish and misses the Rockies every day but her adventures in Finland are just getting started.

and even failure. Be kind to yourself in those moments of chaos. If life happened exactly as you planned it there would be no room for beautiful surprises!”

For current and future cohorts of Scholars Academy, Photitai says: “Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone; the greatest growth comes from moments of uncertainty

SCHOLAR SPOTLIGHT

LESSONS LEARNED In their final undergraduate year at the UCalgary, Jonah shares their personal and academic journey. BY JONAH SECRETI

My experiences as a student at UCalgary have been truly transformative and invaluable. While it will not be easy to encapsulate these experiences, I will attempt to summarize some of the key lessons I have learned during my time as a student. The first lesson is never to fear a challenge, because when an unexpected hurdle appears out of nowhere to trip us up (like a global pandemic perhaps), these experiences are rich for personal growth and improvement. Another lesson is the importance of our support networks. I can honestly say that for every achievement in my life, numerous individuals helped me along the way. The final lesson I will discuss is the importance of setting up others for success. Experiencing both sides of mentorship has allowed me not to not only grow as an individual, but to refine my ability to assist others reach their goals.

When starting university, I certainly took a more riskaverse view of the postsecondary experience and self-selected myself out of opportunities believing I would not be successful. However, early in [my] second year I took a chance and ran in the Students’ Union by-election to represent my fellow students on the University of Calgary Senate. I certainly challenged myself during this campaign, but in the end I came in third place out of three candidates — dead last. This was hardly the outcome I wanted, but I realized this was only a setback and the opportunity to serve my peers was something worth attempting more than once. Fast forward two years later, I

was successfully elected not once, but twice during the general elections to serve students. This change did not occur coincidentally. It was the result of seeking feedback from student leaders, applying myself to become more involved at the university, being given the chance to succeed by others, but most importantly pursuing this goal understanding that success can come with time and perseverance. Student elections were one of many of the different challenges I was able to apply myself in achieving. Another key experience I had pursuing a goal numerous times was in my application to be a member of the Scholars Academy Program. In total,

I applied three times and did not receive an interview until my third application. Each time I applied I made it a mission to begin to work towards the high calibre of the students who comprised this program. Once I was able to realize my passion for leadership as a student, I captured these formative experiences in my application to Scholars Academy. I had my application reviewed numerous times by academic advisors as well as friends, and was ecstatic to find out I was selected for an interview. After a large degree of preparation in the days leading up to my interview, I remember arriving to the Taylor Family Digital Library at 7 a.m., a little over two hours early for my interview. I found an empty

room on the second floor and began quizzing myself with mock interview questions and refining my answers to best articulate who I was as an individual. Building on my previous attempts, I was fortunate enough to be selected to join Scholars Academy. This has been an experience certainly more than worth the efforts I made to receive membership. My positive experiences in university may seem to be founded on my individual abilities. But, in reality, every achievement has been the result of support from so many outstanding individuals. Whether this support came from my family, peers, outstanding professors, academic advisors, and especially mentors from the community, I have been a truly lucky beneficiary of so many amazing people. This is why I cannot overemphasize enough why support networks were key to my university experience. This was especially the case during my time in Scholars Academy as it was amazing to have so much support from fellow students as well as community mentors. Being able to bounce ideas off an experienced professional or to have a friendly conversation with students in the Scholars Academy lounge always brightened my day and gave me a new perspective. The list of instances where others took the time to support

me in hanging up posters for student elections, giving advice on their experience applying for scholarships, or just taking the time to have a conversation are memories I will always be grateful to have. Overall, while university may seem like an individual pursuit, it really is the people around us which allow for our success in ways we never thought possible.

“OVERALL, WHILE UNIVERSITY MAY SEEM LIKE AN INDIVIDUAL PURSUIT, IT REALLY IS THE PEOPLE AROUND US WHICH ALLOW FOR OUR SUCCESS IN WAYS WE NEVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE.” Another area of growth I have experienced is understanding the importance of seeking advice from others and being open to ask for help. There are numerous instances where a short conversation or a friendly word of advice has greatly informed my perspective, and I only regret not seeking more assistance earlier on in my life. This guidance can come in many forms, but I think it is important to recognize how simply having a conversation with someone can ignite life-changing opportunities. In my own experience, after my initial setback in student politics I talked with numerous

student leaders who informed me on ways to improve going forward, dispelled misconceptions, and gained friends as well as mentors. Similarly, in Scholars Academy it continues to amaze me how current and former scholars are always willing to provide advice on things ranging from scholarship applications, experiences after university, and even some tips for life in general. However, I soon realized that while I share a common experience with students in Scholars Academy, as we are all paired with community mentors, I can really ask anyone for guidance who is willing to talk. While not everyone may say yes to a conversation, many will, and these people can provide guidance on almost anything imaginable. Being a student sometimes focuses on how we can attain success for ourselves. Another key realization I have had is the importance to pay it forward and set up others for success however I can. Whether we recognize it or not, going through the experience of university equips us with knowledge that can be of great assistance to those coming after us in pursuit of a higher education. Taking the time to volunteer as a mentor was always an outstanding experience and has allowed me to expand my own understanding of how to assist others through this

period of their life. Mentorship can also come in informal opportunities to assist others, and these opportunities can be extraordinarily beneficial. For some of the most important opportunities of university, I was able to receive mentorship in interview preparation, application review and overall enthusiastic encouragement. I benefitted so much from these experiences as a student, and I eventually was able to offer the same assistance to others wishing to pursue similar opportunities. As a student, I was able to learn how to realize my own ambitions, but more importantly to help others along this same journey. Setting up others for achievement is always exciting, and it is also integral to allow others to take full ownership for their success. By this, I mean that sometimes in eagerness to offer our help we try to impose our method on others and may complete things for them. Even though the end result may be the same, it is far more important that those we mentor are guided through an experience as opposed to being given a short cut where not much is learned. I can speak to this through my own experiences where my best mentors provided me the tools and

knowledge to achieve my objectives, but ultimately it was my responsibility to succeed or fail. This process was integral in my journey to become a member of Scholars Academy as I sought advice and feedback from the program coordinator as well as current students which put me in a position to succeed or fail in my pursuit. Learning to follow through and put everything I have towards a goal is an outstanding experience regardless of the outcome, and I would never risk taking away this experience from a mentee by completing things on their behalf. Understanding the importance of support combined with the need to allow others to followthrough on their own has been essential as a mentor.

“I LEARNED TO IMPROVE AS AN INDIVIDUAL IS IMPORTANT, AND IT IS JUST AS ESSENTIAL TO OFFER THIS SUPPORT TO OTHERS TO ENSURE SUCCESS GOES

university as there were so many key lessons I was able to learn, and that I know will be essential in guiding my future endeavors. Setbacks are never the greatest experience, but I am glad to have had the opportunity to address my areas of improvement and apply feedback to succeed. This improvement was only possible through actively seeking support from peers and mentors who can make the world of a difference in our individual growth. What I learned to improve as an individual is important, and it is just as essential to offer this support to others to ensure success goes beyond ourselves. As I finish off my first undergraduate experience in university, all I can say is thank you to everyone who has made this journey so remarkable, and I look forward to where I will see you all go next.

BEYOND OURSELVES.” It certainly was difficult to narrow down the variety of experiences I have had in

CONNECTING THROUGH MUSIC By Cindy Zhang DIE WINTERREISE: AN ORIGINAL MUSICAL FILM With the Mountain View International Festival of Song Back in November, I recorded for a music film, Winterreise, a collection of classical songs by Schubert, with some professional musicians and visual artists, and it was definitely a fun and eye-opening experience. Die Winterreise is German for “the winter journey.” In 1827, the Austrian composer Franz Schubert was nearing the last year of his life. The song cycle Die Winterreise was the last of his song cycles (for which he was well known), consisting of 24 songs written for solo voice and piano, set to the poems of his friend Wilhelm Müller. These poems were, well, pretty depressing. Here’s an example from one of the songs, “Die Wegweiser” (The Signpost):

Was vermeid’ ich denn die Wege Wo die anderen Wandrer geh’n, Suche mir versteckte Stege Durch verschneite Felsenhöhn? Habe ja doch nichts begangen, Dass ich Menschen sollte scheu’n

Why do I avoid the roads that other travellers take, and seek hidden paths over the rocky, snow-clad heights? Yet I have done no wrong, that I should shun mankind.

Welch ein törichtes Verlangen Treibt mich in die Wüstenei’n? Weiser stehen auf den Strassen, Weisen auf die Städte zu, Und ich wandre sonder Massen, Ohne Ruh’, und suche Ruh’. Einen Weiser seh’ ich stehen Unverrückt vor meinem Blick; Eine Strasse muss ich gehen, Die noch Keiner ging zurück

What foolish yearning drives me into the wilderness? Signposts stand on the roads, pointing towards the towns; and I wander on, relentlessly, restless, and yet seeking rest. I see a signpost standing immovable before my eyes; I must travel a road from which no man has ever returned

The desolation seemed fitting for our circumstances as we started work on our project in November. It was the dead of winter, new COVID-19 restrictions were looming, and for the dramatic among us, there was an impending sense of doom. The goal was to create a musical film of all 24 songs in Die Winterreise. It was an interdisciplinary collaboration combining music and visual arts. On the music side, four pianists, including myself, divided the songs amongst ourselves and took turns accompanying baritone Brett Polegato. Artist Eveline Kolijn used the music as a springboard to create a visual

of the winter desolation using film, photography and sketches. This was my first-time recording art song, and the experience offered new challenges to me as a pianist. For example, I had to learn how to balance my sound with that of a singer, and to synchronize my playing with the singer’s vowels. If Brett sings the word “Schnee” [snow], I have to play my corresponding note on the “ee” sound and not the “sch” – a subtle difference which took some getting used to. Putting together a collaborative project while maintaining social distancing

required some maneuvering. Equipment involved a singer’s mask in the shape of a duck bill, plexiglass barriers, and recording with a skeleton crew. This was the first opportunity in a long time for many of us to make music with others. In the face of limitations and uncertainty brought on by COVID-19, it was truly heartwarming to be able to make something beautiful with like-minded individuals. I can’t wait to see the final video, scheduled to be released in the spring. Photos Credit: Eveline Kolijn

FALL RETREAT This year, the mountain backdrop of The Banff Centre was replaced with virtual backgrounds and muted microphones over Zoom. Despite being unable to gather in person, the Scholars Academy held the annual Fall Retreat in a virtual format. In one of our biggest cohorts to date, close to 85 students tuned into the two-hour retreat from the comfort of their own homes. of tearing down the familiar foundations she built and the lessons she continues to learn along the way to prevent Chic Geek from shutting down. Through the screen, Kylie’s sincerity and vulnerability resonated with the Scholars audience. “[Students] will be graduating in unprecedented times affecting our safety, economy, mental health. Your careers are beginning in a time of change as social issues bring forward questions about race, equity, and inclusion. Futureproofing your career, in a way, means designing your career so that it does not become obsolete… [and] adding value to your role,” says Woods.

RETREATING ONLINE

“FUTUREPROOFING YOUR CAREER, IN A WAY, MEANS DESIGNING YOUR CAREER SO THAT IT DOES NOT BECOME OBSOLETE… [AND] ADDING VALUE TO YOUR ROLE”

Kylie Woods, a social entrepreneur and the founder of Chic Geek, kicked off the new semester in a captivating keynote presentation on Futureproof Career Lessons Learned from Blowing up Chic Geek. Chic Geek is a Calgary-based non-profit that curates people, content and companies to build an inclusive community where techenabled women advance their careers. After founding the organization seven years ago, Kylie is currently implementing significant transformation and re-evaluating how Chic Geek provides value to the community and the programs it offers after the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic. In a race against the clock, Kylie shared her emotional journey

From building an experimenter’s mindset, making a habit of setting process goals, to letting go of thinking about a career path as only linearly, Woods shared incredible anecdotes that she has experienced over the years. In an energetic question and answer period, Woods brought back these personal observations and how she is currently transforming Chic Geek to come out even stronger than its previous versions. Dr. Jessica Cohen, scholars programs coordinator, then led students into the next hour with a fun virtual icebreaker and breakout rooms to allow students to meet one another. Scholars were then brought back into the main session as Stephanie Lee, scholars academy program assistant, doubled down on the year’s upcoming events and program logistics.

WINTER RETREAT Fast forward a few months later, students gathered online once again to ring in the new year and semester. As scholars trickled into the virtual waiting room, keynote speaker and UCalgary alumna, Ashley Tedham, prepared her presentation on working in the non-profit sector as a professional career or volunteer. As the executive director of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award in Canada (Alberta, Northwest Territories and Nunavut), Tedham mapped out the international paths she took to get to where she is today. From pursuing graduate studies at The Graduate Institute Geneva to working for The United Nations and eventually settling back home in Calgary, Tedham shared several stories and milestones that fueled her desire to give back to the communities she was a part of every day.

MENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHT

Since many Scholars Academy students are active participants in their local and global communities, they were able to quickly relate and absorb the challenges, lessons, and advice shared throughout the presentation. “Be reliable, consistent, professional and vulnerable. [Learn] to let down the ‘act’ and just be ‘real,’” Tedham shared on persevering through a career in development. “Do it for the right reasons. The world has too many selfpromoting do-gooders. Check in with yourself.”

“DO IT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS. THE WORLD HAS TOO MANY SELFPROMOTING DO-GOODERS. CHECK IN WITH YOURSELF.” As the presentation came to a close, Tedham emphasized the importance of connecting with people. “Know when to put down the books, pick up a glass of wine and have an interesting conversation with the people around you.” Students had the opportunity to ask Tedham for advice on keeping perspective, pursuing international careers, dealing with instances of imposter syndrome.

For the following hour, the program gave students an overview of the events that were scheduled for the upcoming semester. Scholars were then scattered into breakout rooms to check in with their service project teams and reset goals for the new semester. Dr. Jared Secord, interim scholars programs coordinator, dropped into each breakout room to meet the teams behind the incredible initiatives.

Featuring Simrin Dhah and Heather Herring The Community Mentorship Program remains one of the most sought-after experiences within Scholars Academy year after year. Since the program’s inception in 2011, members of the local Calgary community offer their time to mentor some of the university’s brightest and highestachieving students. Although scholars are paired with experienced professionals in fields that are often different from their academic disciplines and career trajectory, the value of the connection lies in reflecting on one another’s lived experiences and the lessons learned along the way.

Fourth-year Bachelor of Arts in law and society student Simrin Dhah has been paired with mentor Heather Herring since she joined the Scholars Academy program in 2019. With no prior formal mentorship experience, Dhah expected a mentorship relationship to take on a passive role in her university career. However, upon meeting Herring, who currently works closely with pre-revenue companies on the path to commercialization, Dhah soon considered Heather’s guidance a huge influence on her journey as a scholar. Dhah has found Herring’s mentorship to be an important source of support as she continues to navigate the complexities of being a young professional. “Heather always has amazing personal anecdotes that make me feel empowered and confident in the decisions I make, both personal and professional.” Dhah has taken strides in her relationship with Herring, sharing that, “[when] I was nervous about taking time off from school, she so openly shared her own experiences with me that calmed my nerves. She shared stories about how she was the only female in her entire undergraduate engineering class and stories of how she was a mature student in graduate school…she reminded me that taking time away from school was not only important and beneficial, but a means for me to stand out when returning to university.” As Dhah reflected on the possibility of pursuing a career in politics as a woman, Heather did not hesitate to step in for support. “Heather immediately offered to set me up a call with a powerful female politician in our city. She goes above and beyond to use her connections to help me build my own. I never expected my mentor to play such an active role in helping me be successful.”

As a long-time mentor with the Scholars Academy program, Heather Herring has enjoyed seeing the world through the eyes of the students she meets and learning about different areas of study that she was not familiar with, from discussing how innovation

differs across geographical locations and corporations, the economics of health, varying medical fields, to the challenges immigrants face when navigating transition — these conversations have introduced ideas she had never considered before. “What is unique about this program is how worldly these students are and how many things each student is involved with,” shares Herring. As the program welcomes new community mentors each year, Heather encourages mentors to genuinely listen and learn from each student. “Mentorship is a two-way street. Sometimes the mentor reaches out and sometimes the mentee reaches out. The frequency changes to match the needs. It is an exchange of ideas.”

“…mentors are more than just cheerleaders - they are critical friends, troubleshooters, and truth tellers when you need one.” Moving forward, Druh’s participation in the Scholars Academy mentorship program has set the bar high for future mentors and the impression they can leave on their mentee’s lives: “…mentors are more than just cheerleaders - they are critical friends, troubleshooters, and truth tellers when you need one.” If there is one piece of advice Dhah would suggest to her peers about benefiting from the mentorship program, it would be to embrace the experience with an open mind.

VIRTUAL MENTORSHIP EVENTS featuring Susanne Craig

The real value of mentorship lies in the fruitful interactions between mentor and mentee. Although our traditional ways of gathering at the UCalgary downtown campus were put on pause this past year, Scholars Academy was still able to organize virtual events for students and mentors to connect with one another and with the program. The first virtual event took place in October, when students were able to meet their community mentors for the first time. Over the hour, pairs were assigned to breakout rooms to mimic the table conversations that would normally take place over hot breakfast in past mentorship breakfasts. With more than 50 people in attendance, the first event set the momentum for future virtual events. Over the next few months, Scholars Academy collaborated closely with the Future Alumni Network to feature UCalgary alumna Susanne Craig as the keynote speaker for the second virtual community mentorship event. In a discussion moderated by current Scholars Academy student and president of the 78th Students’ Legislative Council, Frank Finley, Craig shared her experiences writing for the student paper, The Gauntlet, to her current work as an investigative reporter with The New York Times. Craig’s perspectives on the rapid change in the field of journalism and how she was able to fully embrace opportunities that took her across North America offered several pieces of advice for both mentors and mentees alike. The Scholars Academy is grateful to the Future Alumni Network for their support in making this event happen.

“I believe the key to a successful mentorship relationship is curiosity. Ask your mentor questions. As long as you remain curious and wanting to continually better yourself, your mentor will find a way to support you in your endeavors.”

CAREER SPOTLIGHT

This year, multiple Scholars Academy students represented the University of Calgary at several international and local case competitions. Here are a few highlights from their experiences this past year: DANIELLE LEONG Five case competitions during my undergraduate degree. Five consecutive wins. Four years of late nights and long weekends, and some five hundred hours of case analysis later. My case competition experience began in March 2018, and in March 2021, it ended on a personal high note. This bittersweet moment gave occasion for me to reflect on my journey. To some, winning a case competition may seem immaterial, but in my experience, the impact has been profound. My journey began in freshman year. I was a food-anddrink volunteer, pushing the refreshments cart to presentation rooms for a case competition. In between handing out snacks and water, I glimpsed the competitors in action. I watched, in awe of their eloquence, as they presented their solutions. I aspired to be one of them — one of the elite. That year, I applied, and was repeatedly rejected, to several minor case competition teams. At one point, I distinctly remember

being ready to throw in the towel when one interviewer yawned conspicuously and started swiping on his phone halfway through my try-out. I’m nothing if not persistent, though. As a final attempt to join the world of competitive case analysis, I applied for the Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (ICBC) team, the most legendary competitive case team at the UCalgary.

case completed. Doing cases requires patience, grit and resilience. I spent most of my weekends going to ICBC practice, attended classes during the week, and worked a parttime job in the evenings. You may wonder if I missed the much-lauded social aspect of university life. The short

I didn’t expect to make it, but in the spring of 2018, Dr. Robert Schultz (Dr. Bob) took a chance on me. He was one of the first to believe that I had potential, which made all the difference in my early university career. Little did I know that joining the ICBC team would form the foundation for the rest of my degree and more. ICBC is intellectually rigorous; it is certainly not for the weak. Case analysis challenges you to continually push your creativity to develop the best practical solution to complex problems while under a time constraint. At first, I found that despite my best efforts, I was almost always wrong. To use a business school term, I was “failing forward” with each

me select classes and apply for jobs. Graduated ICBC friends, working in amazingly cool jobs around the world, made time to share their wisdom with me. The students I’ve met from the ICBC team have become my closest friends and we make life, both in and out of university, memorable. The ICBC experience offers other worthwhile benefits. As a freshman, I was somewhat insecure and uncertain. In a recent conversation, Dr. Bob remarked that the Danielle talking to him today is a stark contrast to the hesitant student whom he took a chance on years ago. My experiences in ICBC have helped me push past my selfdoubt and not be afraid to expand my boundaries. I’m ready to experience the new and the unfamiliar because I know that I can quickly learn and adapt. As I prepare to graduate, I am most decidedly confident and self-assured.

HELENA CHERNIAKKENNEDY

answer is no. The ICBC community helped me find my place in Haskayne and form friendships that have deeply enhanced the quality of my time here at university. Student ICBC friends helped

In January 2021, I competed in the finance stream of the Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (ICBC). ICBC is Canada’s oldest, largest, and most prestigious case competition hosted annually by Queen’s University in Kingston. I have competed on the UCalgary ICBC team for three

years, placing first in finance in 2021, third in business policy/ strategy in 2020, and second in human resources in 2019. The skills and confidence I have achieved through case competitions have had a direct positive impact on my academic, personal, and professional endeavours. As a dual finance and math degree student, my professional aspirations lie in the area of finance. The knowledge and experience I gained as a finance delegate for ICBC this past year allowed me to leverage my existing knowledge in finance and dive deeper to learn about applications in different industries and situations. This summer, I will be working as a summer analyst at Credit Suisse in its investment banking group. While I know there is still a massive learning curve ahead of me, being part of ICBC has allowed me

to make significant progress in developing a comfort with financial analysis and understanding the strategic role of finance for corporations. Although finance has traditionally been focused on value maximization for shareholders, there has been a recent shift towards value maximization for stakeholders, which includes the community. Recognizing this distinction was one of the elements that allowed my partner and me to place first in the ICBC finance stream, as our recommendation considered the needs of both internal and external stakeholders. Beyond technical knowledge, ICBC has taught me how to think creatively, logically, and under pressure. In university classes, the problems I encounter are usually confined within the scope of the course content, but in ICBC, every case presents a new unknown situation. Learning how to creatively problem solve, logically analyze new business situations and accept feedback are all extremely transferable career skills. Lastly, ICBC connected me to a community of students, coaches, and competitors that have become lifelong friends and mentors. This community of people that uplift me, challenge me, and motivate me to continually improve will impact me positively for years to come.

MOHIT PARMAR When I joined the 2020/2021 ICBC team as a business policy delegate last March, I was excited to meet my team, learn about business strategy, and travel to Ontario to compete in Canada’s largest, historic, and prestigious case competition. Although I never got to meet my team in person or travel to Ontario, I still had an unforgettable, rewarding and valuable learning experience.

Dr. Bob and Phil Davidson dedicated countless hours to the entire team, challenging us after every practice and

providing us with valuable training and insight. They expressed their confidence and belief in our skills which empowered us as we completed over 120 hours of virtual practice amidst the pandemic. This year, UCalgary was the only school to have all of its participating teams qualify for the final competition weekend after competing in the preliminary rounds. My team’s final challenge was to present a growth strategy for Prada, an Italian luxury fashion

powerhouse. After working diligently for five hours to prepare our solution where we even learned some Italian

to give a creative introduction, we were immensely proud of our final efforts in our virtual ICBC journey. I am happy to share that we placed second out of the six finalists that were selected from over 35 preliminary round submissions. I believe case competitions are a great way to get exposure to a variety of problems faced by many organizations across different industries. Throughout my time at the Haskayne School of Business, I had the honour of participating in several case competitions including ICBC, JDC West, The Global Case Competition at Harvard, and CaseIT. These experiences have allowed me to learn about real-world challenges relating to finance, technology, and business strategy. In addition, case competitions have allowed me to develop my analytical, problem-solving, teamwork, time management and presentation skills which will be invaluable to my career. With the experiences that I have gained, I hope to work towards my career goal of becoming a product manager where I can leverage the skills from both my business and computer science degrees as I strive towards empowering millions of people through the usage of technology. I am excited to take all the lessons I have learned from case competitions to Toronto this summer where I will be working as a business intelligence engineer intern at Amazon.

QUYEN PHAM

The Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (ICBC) is Canada’s oldest and largest undergraduate case competition. For the international teams competing from more than 40 institutions worldwide, ICBC is a benchmark of excellence on the case competition circuit. For the seventeen delegates on UCalgary’s ICBC team, the competition is personified by two individuals—Dr. Bob Schulz and Professor Phil Davidson. Under their guidance, the Haskayne School of Business holds the world’s most consistent record for highlevel academic competitions by finishing top-two overall in ICBC for more than 42 years.

having previously received a bronze medal in the business policy/strategy stream in 2020. My partner and I had weekly practice with Dr. Bob and Professor Davidson from May to January. Through these sessions, I gained experience delivering written and verbal solutions to address business problems in a timesensitive environment. I was also exposed to various business facets, ranging from organizational health and safety to change management. This year’s preliminary round for the HROD stream centered on a long-term care home in Ontario struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our solution to address understaffing and declining resident health due to COVID-19 qualified us for the January final competition round. The case in the final round revolved around Queen’s University’s transition back to in-person operations and development

of work-from-home policies to optimize employee morale. We had five hours to analyze the case and create a presentation showcasing our recommendations. Our solution focused on introducing bi-weekly surveys to gauge employee sentiments during COVID-19 and rolling out a mixed work-from-home option for employees post-pandemic. After presenting virtually to a panel of esteemed industry professionals and university professors, our team received the bronze medal. I joined the UCalgary’s ICBC team at the beginning of 2019 as a second-year student with zero case competition experience. After two years, I was happy to close the ICBC chapter of my life with a second podium finish. Being a part of ICBC helped spark my personal and professional development. I created lifelong friendships, learned vital industry knowledge, presented

Over the past year, I was an ICBC delegate in the Human Resources and Organizational Development (HROD) stream,

on an international stage, and competed in various other competitions outside of ICBC. I recently participated in the TECHNATION Hackathon, a national challenge seeking solutions for how businesses could leverage technology to survive the pandemic. My team’s solution, an AI-powered engine that streamlines the digital transformation process for small businesses, received third place. Because case competitions have had such a positive influence on my life, I was inspired to host my own case competition through WISE in collaboration with Accenture. We had 10 teams compete over the three-day event. Seeing the teams step outside of their comfort zones and deliver insightful solutions was highly fulfilling. I am a big proponent of case competitions because they allow students to go beyond what they previously thought was possible. Being able to facilitate that opportunity for others has been one of the highlights of my undergraduate career.

RACHEL HUGHES This year, I participated in two international business case competitions. In October, I competed in the Eller Collegiate Ethics Competition hosted by the University of Arizona. In this competition, my partner and I assessed the ethical and legal implications of deploying Huawei 5G

across the European Union. This competition hosted 29 universities from across North America, South America, and Europe. This was my first virtual case competition and it was a valuable learning opportunity. In January, I competed in the preliminary round of the Engineering Commerce Case Competition hosted by Concordia University. I worked with a team comprised of two engineering students and two commerce students. We were tasked with designing and pitching a military tactical headset for L3Harris. We competed against universities from across the United States, the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany and Australia and were awarded first place. As a result, we were invited to compete in the finals week in February. During this week-long competition, our team solved three cases for Workden, the Montreal

Transit Authority and Genetec that incorporated both engineering and business challenges. Ultimately, we placed second in our pool. Through this competition I was able to expand my technical knowledge and competencies by working in a multidisciplinary team.

equity. Despite this, investment banking and private equity is not the end goal for me. Instead, I hope that they will also act as a stepping stone to my life-long goal to develop a not-for-profit organization to change the world.

SIGMUND HOLTZ This past year I was hired as a research advisor by Nia Technologies Inc. (Nia), a company that developed an integrated solution enabling 3D-printing of prosthetic orthotics for thousands of underprivileged children in developing nations. Nia’s mission is to aid disabled children in developing nations to be able to walk and provide a digital solution to the shortage of trained prosthetic practitioners via permitting more prosthetic and orthotic devices to be produced in a shorter time and at a lower cost than traditional fabrication methods. My work at Nia extended to conducting intensive research on prospect companies to acquire Nia’s intellectual property. Over the course of 2020, I assessed and reported on the probability of a prospect buyer acquiring Nia in part or fully, while communicating leads and presenting research data to the company. Throughout my time at Nia, my team and I made ground-breaking progress

to sell Nia’s intellectual property. As a result, I had the opportunity to be featured as the youngest person in the Top 100 Canadian Professionals Magazine of 2020. In addition to my work with Nia, I continued to dedicate a significant amount of time to personally investing through my company Tuscan Capital Management LTD. I was first

introduced to investing in ETFs, options, and equities at age 15 and I attribute any success to my God-given gift for mathematics and trading. As a result of the work I have been doing, I aspire to break onto Wall Street or Bay Street as an investment banker. Following time as an analyst or associate for a major firm, I ideally see myself working on the buyside of finance in private

Finally, within the UCalgary I been involved in a variety of extracurriculars including, the Ambassadors Club, Chancellor’s Club, Scholars Academy, and JDC West Team Haskayne. Despite being the only first-year student on JDC West this year, JDC was a community that I was honoured to be part of. Over the course of five months, I had the privilege of captaining the debate team to the consolation finals at JDC West 2021. JDC has been an unparalleled experience that fostered collaboration, enabled me to pursue my passion, and provided leadership experience within a business context. It was an honour to be a part of JDC West Team Haskayne and for our debate team to receive the Johnnie Allan JDC Team Award for our success and progress over the year.

CALGARY HUMANE SOCIETY By: Natasha Cholowsky ON BEHALF OF OTHER MEMBERS:

similar goals. We completed this year’s goals by:

2020-2021 Project

Anna Benko, Grace Donner, Jillian Kitt, Paige Babin, Ryleigh Bakker, Sean Ulrich 2019-2020 Project Aaron Chau, Arijit Lodha, Jonathan Liu, Rachel Hughes, Raina Schnider, Shadee Merhi

SERVICE PROJECTS HIGHLIGHTS

Over the past eight months, we helped Calgary Humane Society (CHS) prepare for their centennial in 2022. We spearheaded the historical angle of this celebration, where CHS wished to create a walkthrough exhibit that highlighted their past accomplishments to be placed in the newly-renovated building in 2022. This service project is a continuation of a 20192020 Scholars Academy service project with

Continuing with the collection of digital archives related to CHS’s history.

2 Launching a platform to gather community stories for the purpose of gathering insight about the impact CHS has had on the Calgary community and vice versa. 3 Creating a timeline using the physical and digital archives collected and catalogued during this year’s and last year’s service projects. 4 Writing and designing a historical walkthrough. Some members of this group have also committed to aiding in the completion of a coffee table book with similar information during the summer.

BEAT THE ODDS PROGRAM (BOP) By: Gurjot Dhanda and Mohit Parmar Team: Thristan Taberna, Simrin Dhah, Michelle Chung, Huzaifah Abbas, Taku Potsekayi, Preet Sahota

In another year of service, these semester or year-long projects give scholars an opportunity to learn how to collaborate with an existing not-for-profit organization or campus initiative while also interacting and working with their peers in the program. These projects are focused on team-building and community engagement to further strengthen their skills. This year, Scholars Academy students had the choice of ten service projects to be a part of.

Beat the Odds Program (BOP) was created to help high school students from underrepresented communities plan and create a vision of their post-secondary career by pairing them up with mentors who are either in university or are recent graduates. We felt this was necessary as Mohit and I come from these communities and know that socioeconomic, cultural, and racial issues have become prohibitive to educational opportunities. Seeing fewer people from our neighborhoods get the chance to act on their potential weighed heavily on our minds, causing us to launch this initiative. We started by recruiting mentors and got an

amazing response of 50+ applications within a month. In September we reached out to schools to see if they would help us spread the word about this program. That is when we faced a lot of challenges that made us rethink our approach. Teachers and students were struggling with the stresses of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, making engagement and connecting very difficult. This resulted in an underwhelming response from high school students signing up for BOP during the fall semester. After realizing this, we decided to use our resources within the BOP team in a different way — to create content that contains the advice and wisdom of university students for consumption by high school students in the future. Even though we struggled to get students to reach BOP, our goal is to reach out to them again in the future with our expanded resources.

CALGARY IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION (CIWA) By Simran Sandhu Team: Goundo Diarra, Annabelle MacRae, Veronica Rawnsley, Meagan McNichol, Sophia Lu, Rachel Hughes, Alexander Laviolette The Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association (CIWA) is a non-profit organisation that recognizes, responds to, and focuses on the unique challenges faced by immigrant and refugee women, girls, and their families. Offering a multitude of services to support such individuals in the settlement process, CIWA relies heavily upon marketing and engagement materials to bolster and promote their services. This year, a group of eight Scholars Academy students revitalized CIWA’s digital materials and engagement packages in order to reach new clients, and garner community and donor support. Scholars also supported CIWA’s communications and marketing team by creating engagement strategies and compiling a list of website enhancements. Through this process, Scholars developed skills in critical thinking, outreach, public engagement and graphic design. Furthermore, students gained insight into the unique needs of immigrant women and their families. As CIWA’s digital content supports the capacity of immigrant women to navigate the settlement process, Scholars’ work on this project will ultimately enable more immigrant women to learn about opportunities for community engagement, as well as access CIWA’s services. The digital content that was created will help foster diversity and inclusion as more businesses and community partners learn about opportunities to support immigrant women and their families. Finally, Scholars helped facilitate CIWA’s goals of making their resources internationally accessible. Scholars not only developed professional skills essential for future endeavours, but also worked to effect change

in their communities by supporting the capacity of immigrant women to enrich Canadian society.

HUNTER HUB FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL THINKING By Quyen Pham Team: Brent Matterson, Rohit Arora, Danielle Leong, Marcus Smith, Ratik Kapoor, Sigmund Holtz Over the past year, Scholars Quyen Pham, Danielle Leong, Ratik Kapoor, Marcus Smith, Brent Matterson, Rohit Arora, and Sigmund Holtz have collaborated with the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking to optimize the organization’s program offerings and drive student engagement. The Hunter Hub is a UCalgary organization committed to empowering students to grow their entrepreneurial thinking skills and drive societal transformation. The Scholars service project group is developing a student engagement approach to support the Hunter Hub’s next evolution.

After the responses were collected, the Scholars conducted an in-depth analysis of the data. Currently, they are preparing a written report to capture the survey findings, their key recommendations for the Hunter Hub, and an implementation plan for future initiatives. They presented their report to the Hunter Hub executive team in early April.

they were waiting to leave the parking lot. This accident shed light on Alberta’s lack of driving regulations and accountability. It is the only province where it is up to the driver to update their information to the registry and to decide whether they are fit to drive or not. This accident could have been prevented if the driver had followed his recommendations and was getting regular checkups.

SAFE DRIVING PETITION

In an effort to make the roads safer, both for drivers with medical conditions, (which can make them unfit to drive) and for others on the road, the Safe Driving Petition group took on the challenge of changing this regulation. The team started a public petition and created seminars to educate people on how unsafe driving can massively impact the lives of others. The team presented their work to a variety of university clubs to spread awareness and offered ways the general public could support making roads safer for all.

By Arijit Lodha Team: Kayleigh Yang, Christian Cao, Cameron Wong, Cindy Zhang, Amanda Cha, Ye-Jean Park, Frank Finley In 2017, two siblings were tragically killed in a car accident when a driver with a history of epileptic seizures had a seizure and lost control of his vehicle, crushing their car while

Following consultation with the Hunter Hub to identify current challenges and objectives, the Scholars created a survey to gain student insights. Survey questions captured primary data covering three main areas: demographic, student interests, and opinion on the Hunter Hub and entrepreneurial thinking. To distribute the survey, the Scholars created a communications package complete with a survey description, poster and media assets, and written blurbs to accompany the poster (personalized for each social media platform). The Scholars leveraged key campus organizations and communication channels in the distribution process, which resulted in the survey receiving 1,116 student responses across twelve faculties.

FIRST YEAR SCHOLARS

HIV COMMUNITY LINK

By Graham Bennett

By Emma Stirling Team: Jonah Secreti, Amanda Leong, Alia Arafat, Chelsea Wong, Amisha Gill, Michael Pullishy The First Year Scholars Program offers academic and professional support to high-achieving high school students entering their first year at UCalgary. This service project sought to re-evaluate aspects of the programming and help bolster it this academic year. Re-evaluation of the program’s social media usage, digital presence and general programming is being undertaken with an eye towards improving engagement. Recommendations will be delivered to improve access to research involvement, develop a more structured mentorship framework, and expand the socialmedia presence of the program. Evaluation is still ongoing but will be completed by the end of the winter term.

Team: Brandon Chiew, Lea Caplan, Dropen Sheka, Jonathan Liu, Duncan Lucas, Katarina Daignault HIV Community Link has a mission that consists of wellness for individuals and communities affected by HIV and hepatitis C through education, prevention and support. HIV Community Link provides increased access to testing, delivers harm reduction programs and offers non-judgmental to support to their clients. Through this project, Scholars learned that students are interested in engaging with harm-reduction information and some have a robust understanding of harm reduction already. In Alberta specifically, harm reduction has sadly become a political issue rather than a human rights issue. The most meaningful part of this project was the ability to connect students to harm reduction during a time where harm reduction is so critical. Because of the pandemic, opioid-related deaths have spiked and continue to increase every month. These presentations have allowed Scholars to connect students with the information they would need to become harm reduction advocates. It may seem clichéd, but knowledge is power, and education is the first step towards de-stigmatizing practices such as drug use and sex work. Stigma is a leading cause of people not accessing health care or social support services. Team lead, Emma Stirling, hopes that there are now more university students who will approach the world with more empathy and understanding of others. For the rest of the team, knowing that they may play a part in such remains incredibly meaningful. Undertaking this project during the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge and the team did not reach as many students they had hoped. However, through presentation survey data, it is clear that those who have attended the presentation have gained a better understanding of harm reduction and their attitudes towards harm reduction improved. The HIV Community Link team hopes more students can become more engaged with the organization through volunteer work in the future.

A successful career night was run on Jan. 16 with a panel of three Scholars Academy alumni and approximately 50 student attendees in collaboration with the Scholars Academy Alumni Network. Through this we hope to deepen the connection between Scholars Alumni and the First Year Scholars, and continue to connect programming.

THE SCHOLARS ACADEMY WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE FOR THEIR SUPPORT: Akhil Garg Ali Arnell Alice Chan Andrea Robertson Angela Mak Angie Garg Bob Schulz Brenda Kenny Bruce Bowman Buffy St-Amand Christopher Fong Colin Jackson Colleen Pound Courtenay Smart David Macaulay David Wright David Holub Deborah Yedlin Dele Ajele Dennis McConaghy Diane Field Douglas Allen Dru Marshall Ed McCauley Ellen Wright Feisal Keshavjee Filomena May Frank Finley

Gijs van Rooijen Gord Aker Gord Stewart Graham Drake Hailee Turpin Hanan Chebib Heather Herring Howard Shikaze Jennifer Quin Jennifer McCue Jennifer Parsons Jeromy Farkas Jo’Anne Strekaf Joanne Flack Joanne Weninger Joanne Cuthbertson John Howard John Anderson Juilet Guichon Ken Hughes Ken Young Kimberlea Kozachenko Laura Flinkfelt Mark Pitcher Mark Terrill Max Chan May Lynn Quan Michael Chiu

Michael Giuffre Miranda Botto Nekolina Lau Nina Rehill Paul Crawford Paul Ziade Richard Dunn Richard Labbe Richard Sigurdson Rick Coutts Roxanne Ross Ryan Burns Shalina Ousman Sharon Huckell Siobhan Goguen Stephanie Borgland Steve Fagan Susan Ditchburn Susan Wessels Tara Adams Terry Allen Thalia Kingsford TJ Zhang Tom Feasby Tom Keenan Tricia Dolan Wafa Kadri Wendy Beauchesne

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to all scholars, mentors, Advisory Council members, and alumni for making 2020-2021 a fantastic academic year. Your involvement and support is pivotal in driving the Scholars Academy towards its mission. Thank you for celebrating our successes with us. OUR MISSION: The University of Calgary Scholars Academy fosters excellence and compassion in high-achieving undergraduates. Its main purpose is to extend the potential of today’s outstanding students by connecting them with community leaders, providing academic and leadership guidance, and assisting their development of strong and effective scholarship, award, and graduate and professional school applications. By supporting, challenging and connecting outstanding students, the Scholars Academy develops the next generation of leaders.

SCHOLARS ACADEMY Student Success Centre TFDL 3rd Floor 2500 University Drive NW Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4 sap@ucalgary.ca