2014-2015 Provost Scholar Award Recipients
Due to the variety of work done in these areas across the University and within individual experience the Awards were granted to a diverse group of hard working students who excelled in one or more of the areas of undergraduate research, community engagement, internationalization and immersive learning.
Congratulations to all those awarded with the 2015 Provost Scholars Award who are presented below, by faculty:
Faculty of Public Affairs
Christine Ackerley – School of Journalism & Communications
Christine is an outstanding undergraduate student who has spent many hours as a research assistant in the area of knowledge mobilization with the Community First: Impacts of Community Engagement (CFICE) project and contributed time to the very successful C2U Expo that attracted hundreds of participants from around the globe. She was also the winner of the 2014 Faculty of Public Affairs undegraduate research showcase and received the University Medal in journalism for achieving the highest academic standing in her graduating class.
Emma Bider – School of Journalism & African Studies
Emma Bider has excelled in both her Journalism and African Studies courses and has displayed an ongoing interest in international studies. As part of her Journalism program, she participated in an exchange program to the Netherlands from February to June 2013. After completing the exchange, she did an internship in July 2013 at the CBC’s London, England office. In her courses for her African Studies degree, she has been keen to push her understandings of Africa, its diasporas and its implications for differently situated Africans and the wider international affairs. To that end, she took the African Studies Abroad course in May 2014 and emerged as one of the student leaders on that course. Emma assisted with the wider community engagement activities of the Institute of African Studies (IAS). She has been an active member of the IAS Student Association and has written articles for the biannual newsletter.
Frohan Foroutan – Department of Economics
Frohan’s engagement with the Carleton community and beyond has not gone unnoticed by her professors and students alike. As a Bounce Back Facilitator, volunteer with School of Linguistics and Language Studies (SLaLS), serving on the executive of the Carleton Undergraduate Economics and Math societies, and with the “Ask Frohan” Project, she is valued by your peers. In addition, her academic research, invitations to present at conferences and the ability to maintain a consistently high academic standing, make her an ideal candidate of the Provost Scholar Award.
Pleased by the Award Frohan stated: “I am honoured to know that I am among the few who won Provost Scholar Award. As a student, I always strive to learn my academics besides being engaged as much as possible within Carleton’s community. I hope to continue my higher level studies with successful results and contribute positively to Carleton’s Community.”
Carly Jacuk – Department of Legal Studies
Carly Jacuk’s program of study focuses on human rights, social justice and harm reduction approaches to pressing socio-legal issues. At Carleton, she works as an Enriched Support Program Facilitator for the Centre for Initiatives in Education, facilitating weekly workshops for AESP and ESP students and she has also volunteered with the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities. Her extracurricular work also has global impact. She volunteers for the United Nations Association of Canada where she helped to build informational resources for delegates. She is the Director, Editor-in-Chief of the 2015 Canadian International Model United Nations, the largest model conference hosted by the United Nations Association of Canada. Carly has put her energies as a volunteer, research assistant and proactive leader in extracurricular activities that have enriched the Carleton community and advanced its reputation as a capital university that is globally engaged.
Faculty of Science
Rhys Abdeen – Department of Neuroscience
Rhys Abdeen has been volunteering at the Science Student Success Centre (SSSC) since 2011, where he meets one-on-one with students in the Faculty of Science and gives them advice, tips and referrals to help them meet their academic, career and social goals. He has been especially active helping First Generation Students and students at-risk by mentoring them and providing them with emotional support during very stressful times in their lives. Last summer, he took on the role of the Math Matters Supervisor, planning the Math Matters program and working with incoming students who wish to brush up on their math skills before classes begin. His involvement in Math Matters has been crucial to the success of the program.
Sumiya Abdirashid – Department of Neuroscience
Sumiya Abdirashid has been volunteering at the Science Student Success Centre (SSSC) at Carleton University for the last few years. She meets one-on-one with other students in the Faculty of Science and gives them advice, tips and referrals to help them meet their academic, career and social goals. She also participates in events and activities that help to build a community within the faculty. Not only was she a part of the Carleton Relay for Life organizing committee (which took an incredible amount of time and energy), but she also helped organize a Relay for Life team for the SSSC and organized fundraising activities for the team. She managed this while also being a Third-Year Representative and Event Planner for the Carleton Neuroscience Society, working as a residence fellow and maintaining a consistently high average in school.
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Betul Alaca – Department of Psychology
Betul Alaca’s commitment to extracurricular undergraduate research and embracing projects in the wider community speak highly to her character. She is very active and her long-term commitments with her participation in the I-CUREUS program, work as a teaching assistant, attendance at a Halifax conference and through her other volunteer work. The combination of both academic and her activities outside her course work, highlight her commitment to excelling in all areas of her life.
Khadija Ali Ahmed – Department of Law
Khadija’s initiative within the Carleton community and beyond has earned her leadership roles and recognition. As part of her work as a research assistant in the Legal Studies Department, Khadija was awarded the Mitacs Globalink research award which allowed her to travel to the European Court of Human Rights within Turkey on work related to gender issues. Further internationalization in her academics has taken Khadija to an internship role at the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia where she learned about American legal procedures. She has gained further work experience in a number of Co-op placements in a Canadian policy-work context. Khadija has a long resume of community engagement participating in the review team for the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health’s project “Dare to Dream.”
Joshua Eisbrenner – Department of Psychology
Joshua’s dedication to his studies while committing so much time and energy to helping others is commendable. Joshua was responsible for creating an open learning environment, always took a genuine interest in others in the CIE ESP Peer mentor program and in his role as a workshop facilitator. He also took on further initiatives, such as developing the ‘Inside Scoop’ and speaking at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences BA Orientation, as well as providing mentorship to student and resident of Harvest House – all of which speaks to his incredible commitment to engage further with the community and his dedication to the success of other undergraduate students.
Hollis Peirce – Department of History
Hollis’ interest in his research, as well as his dedication to pursuing it speak highly of his commitment finding innovative ways in which digital humanities can contribute to multiple aspects of life. Your numerous activities, including your presentation of a poster at ‘Big Data Day,’ establishing and running ‘THATCamp’ and for being the first student named as the Graham Undergraduate Digital History Research Fellow due to your hard work all exemplify the core principles of Provost Scholars. Hollis attended the University of Victoria Digital Humanities Summer Institute twice and, as a result, was able to make important connections that benefitted the wider community.
A call for nominations for the 2016 Provost Scholars Award will come from the Office of the Provost & Vice President (Academic) in the fall of 2015.