Students honoured at annual ’emerging leader’ event

On March 11, the university honoured 75 students at the Emerging Leaders Award event. Speaker and artist Kal Barteski captivated the audience of students, faculty, staff and community members with her keynote on the correlation between leadership and pursuing dreams. Barteski shared her own life story of how her passion for drawing polar bears turned into both a rewarding and fulfilling life-mission.

The Emerging Leader Award, sponsored by the student life office, has been presented to trailblazing students since 2006. Recipients are selected based on their commitment to social, cultural and economic well-being of community both on and off-campus, while encouraging cross-cultural understating, demonstrating sustained leadership and innovations worthy of recognition.

Whether undergraduate or graduate, this year’s awardees run the gamut from varsity athletes and researchers to students who volunteer to improve campus life or the community at large.

The 2015 Emerging Leader Award: President David Barnard with speakers at the event, Valery Agbor, keynote speaker Kal Barteski , Ella Thomson, Deborah Chan.

“It is important to recognize student leaders so that they know the university appreciates what they do but also, this celebration inspires them to keep going,” says Cora Dupuis, Manager of Student Life. “With this event, we’re developing a culture of leadership and teamwork for our students, staff and faculty; exactly a goal we set out for ourselves in the new strategic plan.”

Recipient Darby Cumming sees leadership as an opportunity to inspire others. Cumming, who founded a volunteer group that teaches Canadian culture to international students, explains, “I would define successful leadership as the ability to inspire others to make some type of positive change, whether big or small.”

This year’s recipients were chosen by a selection committee comprising of faculty, staff and students.

See a full list of the 75 students who received the award here.