The University of Lethbridge is excited to celebrate the achievements of its newest graduates at the 2019 Spring Convocation, May 30 and 31 in the 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness.
Distinguishing themselves among the many outstanding graduates are the U of L’s medal winners for 2019. They are as follows:
Gold Medal of the Governor General – Katie Ann Wilson (Ceremony I)
Awarded to the student with the highest academic standing at the graduate level.
Silver Medal of the Governor General – Lindsay Megan Amatto (Ceremony I)
Awarded to the student with the highest academic standing at the undergraduate level.
Faculty of Arts and Science Gold Medal (Arts) – Thomas Daniel Kazakoff (Ceremony II)
Kazakoff is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He was involved in multiple research projects, had his work published in various media outlets and submitted reports to municipal officials in both Calgary and Lethbridge. Kazakoff was also a teaching assistant and tutor, and a very active volunteer with several university clubs and community organizations.
Faculty of Arts and Science Gold Medal (Science) – Lindsay Megan Amatto (Ceremony I)
Amatto is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences, and will be starting medical school at the University of Calgary in July. Amatto has been actively involved with research, receiving funding from Alberta Innovates, NSERC and the Chinook Summer Research Award. A member of the Pronghorns women’s soccer team, she has also shown a passion for community service, offering her time and talents to a number of local organizations.
Faculty of Education Gold Medal – Samuel Charles Fredrick Spangler (Ceremony III)
Spangler completed his Bachelor of Education in December 2018 with a major in English Language Arts. He excelled academically, and graduates with the highest academic standing in the Faculty of Education. He was outstanding in his field experience placements, demonstrating exceptional teaching, collegiality, and tireless offering of his time to student life in the school.
Alberta Teacher’s Association William Aberhart Gold Medal in Education – Jacqueline Elizabeth Joanne Halase (Ceremony III)
Halase is graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Education in Drama Education. She shared her talents by directing and producing a highly successful school drama production during her field experience. She is known for investing great time and energy toward developing relationships with her students and the staff at her school.
Faculty of Fine Arts Gold Medal – Arik Autumn Read (Ceremony III)
Read embraces and exemplifies cross-disciplinary study and collaboration, dedicating his time as a student to getting involved in all aspects of the fine arts and academic life. An active member of several student organizations, he also actively represented New Media students as the undergraduate representative in the Department of New Media for three years. A research and teaching assistant, Autumn also played a key role in the mounting of this year’s New Media student exhibitions.
Faculty of Health Sciences Gold Medal – Madison Mary Patricia Martens (Ceremony II)
Martens graduated in the Fall from the Bachelor of Nursing program. Remarkably, this is the second Gold Medal that she has received from the University of Lethbridge. Her first was awarded following her Bachelor of Health Sciences in Public Health, in 2016. She is currently a labour and delivery nurse at the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary.
Dhillon School of Business Gold Medal – Maria Christina Heidinger (Ceremony IV)
Heidinger graduates with a Bachelor of Management with a general management major and a minor in supply chain management. Diligent, motivated and persistent, she has a strong work ethic, excellent lateral thinking skills, and the ability to synthesize ideas while considering context. She thinks both deductively and inductively, is an engaged and reflective student, and addresses challenges using calm rationality.
School of Graduate Studies Silver Medal of Merit, Doctor of Philosophy – Katie Ann Wilson (Ceremony I)
Wilson was one of Canada’s Vanier Scholars, the most prestigious scholarship awarded in Canada. Her research led the field by providing insight into the effect of subtle chemical changes of DNA and the potential health impacts related to lung cancer arising from smoking tobacco. In addition to receiving both the Governor General’s Gold Medal and this Medal of Merit, Wilson has received a Fellowship at the prestigious Australian National University in the Research School of Chemistry.
School of Graduate Studies Silver Medal of Merit, Master of Arts – Ashley Jean Henrickson (Ceremony II)
Henrickson’s research on Alberta children and families during the First World War is a brilliant original contribution to historical knowledge. She breaks new ground in World War I studies by focusing on the emotional connections between family members separated by war, exploring how the war both strengthened and weakened family ties. Balancing academic life, she performed other critical volunteer work with the Institute for Child and Youth Studies throughout her degree.
School of Graduate Studies Silver Medal of Merit, Master of Science – Daniel Gerard Stuart (Ceremony I)
Stuart graduated in the Fall with a Master of Science, majoring in chemistry. His research is of great interest and is of such significance that it is highlighted in the prestigious academic journals, Angewandte Chemie and Nature. His work has wide-ranging applications for chemical reactions that are used in industry and pharmaceutical development. Stuart is now working as a research technologist for NOVA Chemicals in Calgary, an internationally-known polymer chemistry company.
School of Graduate Studies Silver Medal of Merit, Master of Counselling – Isoken Ogumbor (Ceremony III)
Ogumbor graduates from the Master of Counselling Program. In addition to demonstrating high academic achievement, she also applies her creativity, passion and energy for research to both her academic career and her extensive volunteer work. She is an innovative learner and a gifted leader who was president of the Graduate Students’ Association. Ogumbor is an excellent ambassador for the health profession with her work addressing complex trauma in youth.
School of Graduate Studies Silver Medal of Merit, Master of Nursing – Noelle Katherine Maria Sedgwick (Ceremony II)
Sedgwick is a passionate registered nurse and emerging clinical scholar in the areas of palliative and nursing care at the end-of-life in rural settings. Her thought-provoking research has encouraged a “reframe” on the role of rural acute care hospitals in the provision of high-quality palliative care for rural Albertans, with important implications for decision-makers, and for nurses providing care in these settings.
School of Graduate Studies Silver Medal of Merit, Master of Education – Morgan Gardiner Charles Schaufele (Ceremony III)
Schaufele’s extraordinary thesis offers new and experienced educators ways to reconstruct our understanding of what it means to interpret or teach with literature. Focussed on philosophical hermeneutics, literary cognitivism, and arts-based pedagogy, his research shows that adopting a hermeneutic stance opens literature as a formative learning and teaching space. Within this space, we can reorient attitudes towards what, how, and why we read.
School of Graduate Studies Silver Medal of Merit, Master of Science (Management) – Janelle Thea Marietta-Vasquez (Ceremony IV)
Marietta-Vasquez is an energetic powerhouse who very successfully juggled the completion of her master’s with the busy lives of her two children, acting as executive director at the United Way, and maintaining a long-distance relationship with her husband. Her work supported the hypothesis that social marketing strategies result in effective behaviour change outcomes. Her publication will pave the way to theorize social marketing and guide back pain prevention experts to provide evidence-based tips to their patients.
University of Lethbridge 2019 Spring Convocation ceremonies take place Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31 at the 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. each day.
For complete Spring 2019 Convocation information, please visit: https://www.uleth.ca/convocation/