Provost Scholar Award Past Winners

Cosette Arseneault-Deraps

Cosette Arseneault-Deraps is a fourth-year Indigenous Studies Student with a minor in Environmental Studies and an I-CUREUS intern working to co-design a research framework with Indigenous communities around Slave Lake, Alberta. Her goal is to amplify the heterogeneity of Indigenous perspectives when it comes to research. Concurrently, she is developing a typology for genomics applications in forestry to map public perceptions of them. Cosette is also a member of the Fisheries and Indigenous Relations Committee for the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and the Indigenous Relations Officer for the American Fisheries Society.

Kathryn Jajo-Yacoub

Kathryn Jajo-Yacoub is a fourth-year Cognitive Science student who is committed to making an impact. In 2022, Kathryn collaborated with Professor Deepthi Kamawar through the Students as Partners Program (SaPP), updating the Cognitive and Child Development curriculum and integrating inclusive and diverse research. She was awarded an I-CUREUS and an NSERC-USRA grant focusing on the impact of token-based reward systems on children’s saving behaviour. Kathryn’s dedication extends beyond academics; she holds leadership positions in student organizations and actively contributes to campus life.

Alia Nichol

Alia is a fourth-year Biomedical Mechanical Engineering student with an exceptional range of undergraduate research and volunteer experience. In 2019, her first year at Carleton, Alia worked in Professor John D. Hayes’ lab where she devised a new algebraic method for synthesizing and analyzing 4-bar linkages. In her second and third years, Alia worked in Professor Cynthia Cruickshank’s CU-CABER lab where she focused on quantifying the thermophysical properties and chemical stability of bio-based phase change materials (PCMs) to reduce carbon emissions through passive thermal energy storage in building materials. In her fourth year, Alia is collaborating with Professor Irina Garces on developing an algorithm based on Cellular Automata to 3D print self-growing and self-repairing structures. In her final semester, she is partnering with Professors Garces and Biglarbegian to design and develop a wearable assistive vest that leverages artificial muscles fibers and soft robotics to mitigate fatigue and prevent injury among workers.

Parker Stewart

Parker Stewart is a fourth-year Aerospace Engineering student with potential to develop innovative contributions to the field of space robotics. He has worked as a Research Assistant in Professor Steve Ulrich’s Spacecraft Robotics and Control Laboratory, first under a Directed Studies course and then under funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Undergraduate Student Research Award. In addition, as a co-op student at MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA Space), Parker was directly involved in the development of sensor systems for the Canadaarm3; Northrop Grumman’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS2 B3); and JAXA’s Martian Moons Exploration (MMX).

Karenna Chen

Karenna Chen is an exceptional Global and International Studies student who is focused on the sociocultural significance of public murals in Ottawa’s Chinatown. She has devoted her time to researching a variety of fields and has been contributing to the Ethnography Lab’s project to document and analyze Carleton’s tunnel murals. Karenna has also been the Outreach Lead for Climate Action Carleton, coordinating with allied groups at Carleton and nationally. In addition, she was the Community Chair and Vice-President of Rotaract Club of Ottawa South.

Simon Harris

Simon Harris is a fourth-year Public Affairs and Policy Management student who strives to blend research and teaching with their activism for transformative justice. As a research assistant with Professor Amanda Clarke, Simon assisted in conducting research related to the role and influence of external actors within the policy development process. Simon was instrumental in leading CUSA’s recent democratic reform investigation and report before jumpstarting its new Board of Directors. Simon was also a 2022-2023 Killam Fellow with Fulbright Canada at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Steven A. Robinson

Steven A. Robinson is a fourth-year Environmental Science student with the ability to inspire those around him. Steven has demonstrated how adept he is at working with a variety of stakeholders. In his honors thesis, Steven is collaborating with an interdisciplinary team that includes the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority and Parks Canada to help these organizations adapt their management practices to reduce shoreline erosion and habitat destruction. He has presented his research to government partners and local stakeholders as well as at the 2024 Society of Canadian Aquatic Scientists Annual Conference.

Jesukhogie Williams-Ikhenoba

Jesukhogie Williams-Ikhenoba is a fourth-year Neuroscience and Mental Health student who serves Carleton in diverse roles while maintaining a near perfect GPA and exceptional research productivity. He co-authored a work featured on the cover of the Journal of Comparative Neurology on quantifying brain cells expressing beta-klotho and mapping their spatial distribution on brain atlas templates. In this role, he was responsive, productive and dependable, thus earning prominent independent roles on subsequent projects on MCH cells. As a co-op student with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, he adapted and expanded his molecular biology skills and returned to lab with renewed excitement. Jesukhogie is also very involved in campus life and operations as a Campus Tour Guide and a Telecounselor.

Matthew Paul George Roach

Matthew Paul George Roach is a Bachelor of Commerce student concentrating in Accounting who exemplifies student engagement. Matthew is currently President of the Sprott Tax Students Association (STSA) and has led their annual Community Volunteer Tax Clinic for two years helping over 400 students. As a teaching assistant, Matthew has taught over 1,500 students in several business courses and is currently Head TA for Introduction to Financial Accounting and Accounting for Business Combinations. In addition to his role on the STSA, he is currently the VP of Strategy for the Sprott Students’ Finance Association and the Sprott Accounting Students’ Association.

Tasneem Zreg

Tasneem Zreg is a Bachelor of Commerce student with an impressive range of immersive learning and community engagement experience. As Project Manager and Team Lead with ‘Sprott Shares’, she has lead a team of MBA and Business Analytics interns in building the 5-year strategic plan. Tasneem also serves as Senior Partner with the Sprott Consulting Group and is the Founder and President of CU in the Community. Tasneem has similarly been outstanding with her role as Business Incubator Program Coordinator at the Innovation Hub.

Maryna Nekrasova

Maryna Nekrasova is a third-year humanities and philosophy student who exemplifies student engagement in her contributions to the community, immersive learning, and undergraduate research. In 2021, she participated in the Students as Partners Program where she researched experiential learning methods and, working with Prof. Kimberley Stratton (Humanities), applied them in a complete redesign of the Issues in Religious Studies course. Last year, Maryna won a Carleton University Research Opportunity (CUROP) grant. Supervised by Dr. Andrew Brook (Philosophy) and Dr. Josh Redstone (Philosophy), she worked on the motivation to create artificial super intelligent beings and how it is similar to the motivation behind the religious drive to have supremely intelligent beings in our world. Her current research, through I-CUREUS, again supervised by Dr. Andrew Brook and Dr. Josh Redstone, is an experimental study of similarities and differences in subjects’ biological markers of emotional response when viewing images of supreme religious beings and super intelligent AI systems. Maryna is founder and Editor-in-Chief of Ipso Facto: The Carleton Journal of Interdisciplinary Humanities, is assisting Prof. James Wright (Music) in creating a graduate journal in Music and is Chair and Organizer of the Humanities Annual Colloquium for 2023.

Shine Soki

Shine Soki is a Health psychology student described as a rising star in the field of mental health. With an unyielding passion for social justice issues and an active curiosity for science and research, Shine seeks to one day make great strides in the field of clinical psychology. During her time in the Rogers Child Mental Health labs, Shine has assisted projects examining the relational well-being of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and has been a co-author on a knowledge mobilization paper on social issues facing girls with ADHD. Shine also works as an undergraduate research assistant in Carleton’s Psychophysiological Synchrony Lab, working on several research projects. During the early COVID-19 pandemic, she collaborated on a discussion panel with medical doctors and researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario to discuss the health implications of COVID-19 measures on children, which helped lay the groundwork to ensure Ottawa students’ safe transition back to school. Shine continues making her mark in reseach, and her tireless work has not gone unnoticed, as she recently won the prestigious SSHRC Undergraduate Student Research Award at Carleton University and the Summer Research Opportunities Program award at the University of Toronto.

Anastasiia Kot

Anastasiia Kot came to Canada at the age of 16 to pursue her dream of becoming an aerospace engineer. She is described as the epitome of a student launching herself into an international learning experience in every way and is making a difference in the world around her. Anastasiia volunteered to assist Prof. Ian Beausoleil-Morrison’s (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) group research work drafting a complete operation manual for the research facility. She also supported the installation and modification of lab systems and helped analyze data to improve passive solar models in building modelling software. A testament to her academic excellence and organizational skills, since winter 2022, Anastasiia has been an undergraduate TA for six courses while being very involved in the community. She is a member of the Carleton University Rocket Engineering Design Team, the Carleton Mechanical and Aerospace Society, and is currently the President of the Carleton’s Ukrainian Students’ Club.

Anuj Mathur

Anuj Mathur is described as an exceptional electrical engineering student who has built a strong foundation for a bright and noteworthy future. Anuj has a solid understanding of fundamentals and an ability to delve deep into research problems. He has sharpened his skills through several internships with leading industries. Anuj has served as the Vice Chair of the CU Chapter of IEEE and has volunteered with CUSA and various engineering societies. He is an avid and adept follower and practitioner of machine learning and has pursued it in his undergraduate and through his Capstone project. He also plans to continue his studies through a Master’s program. Anuj’s achievements and volunteering efforts have been recognized by several high-impact medals and scholarships, including the Dr. Raymond D. Findlay Scholarship by IEEE Canadian Foundation, and the Ontario Public Works Association Ottawa Branch Scholarship provided by the Dean of Engineering.

Lu Chen

Lu Chen is a social work student who is described as a stellar student. Using her contacts within the Chinese community, Lu acted on her knowledge about Canada’s Old Age Security program and its under-utilization by immigrant seniors to do community outreach and information sharing among Mandarin-speaking older adults in Ottawa. She also conducted research on long-term home care inspection reports with community volunteers from the Ottawa Health Coalition bringing public attention to problems in the sector. As a summer research assistant with Prof. Susan Braedley (Social Work), Lu worked on a long-term care-and aging-related research project. She completed an analytic literature review for a CIHR grant application, working with staff from both the Bruyère Research Institute’s Centre for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care and Family Councils of Ontario. During this time, she also began volunteering with the Social Planning Council of Ottawa supporting their research in identifying the housing needs of ethnocultural seniors. This academic year, Lu is working as a research assistant with Prof. Dr. Dennis Kao (Social Work) on a course transformation project to revamp the Carleton’s undergraduate-level “Introduction to Statistics” course – helping to transform the course from its current traditional statistics framework to focus more on data literacy and storytelling.

Lilly Neang

Lilly Neang is a global and international studies student whose research always has a personal component. As a daughter of Cambodian refugees, Lilly aims to highlight migrant and refugee voices in her work. Lilly is currently working as a Knowledge Mobilization Officer with the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network where she has assisted with a quick impact research project that was presented to IRCC and used to help write an article featured in Refugee Survey Quarterly. As President of the World University Service of Canada Carleton Chapter she leads efforts to resettle refugees in Canada and welcome them to Carleton. She is also involved the Canadian Federation of University Women, where she works with the GEN-NEXT program connecting female post-secondary students with older alumni who act as mentors throughout their studies. Lilly is driven by a deep passion for learning and for making the world a more inclusive place for everyone.

Sebastian Navas Chaparro

Sebastian Navas Chaparro is a computer science student with a passion for improving equity, diversity and inclusion in the field. Sebastian participated in the I-CUREUS program where he proposed a study exploring the use of advertising networks by mobile app developers and an NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award to create novel security mechanisms accessible to a more diverse user population. Since 2019, Sebastian has volunteered as a peer mentor for the Science Student Success Centre where he offers mentoring to other undergraduates often supporting new students’ transition to Carleton and to life in Canada. Sebastian is passionate about the inclusion of women, international and immigrant students within computer science. He is currently working on an EDI research project where he is collaborating on preparing a manuscript for publication.

Dmitry Ivanov

Dmitry Ivanov is a chemistry student who has excelled in undergraduate research and immersive learning. Dmitry’s research has focused on designing a laser induced fluorescence detector for capillary electrophoresis to detect transition metal oxide nanoparticles in water samples. This instrumental method of analysis is applicable to environmental science, chemical toxicology, sustainable agriculture, public health and industrial quality control. His courses have exposed him to real-world laboratory settings and through his studies he has developed skills in electronics, mechanics and optics. He has also learned how to run software and procedures to use lab systems while acquiring important leadership skills.

Sakina Janmohamed

Sakina Janmohamed is a commerce student with a double concentrating in Accounting and Management. She has held a variety of roles during her time at Carleton and Sprott including EDI Director at the Sprott Students’ Business Society, Course Leader, Teaching Assistant, and delegate for Sprott ACE. As a Teaching Assistant and Course Leader, Sakina has taught over 900 students in a variety of courses. Working alongside Course Leaders and Professor Troy Anderson (Sprott School of Business) she assisted with the assessment of the of ARHT’s live hologram technology to aid in remote post-secondary instruction and engagement. In addition, Sakina is Chair of the Peer Conduct Board within Residence and has aided in a variety of Sprott and Carleton recruitment events. Throughout her various roles Sakina has always made a positive impact within the Carleton Community helping students learn and grow through meaningful events including Sprott Switch.

Eliza Zheng

Elisa Zheng is an international business student who exemplifies the Provost Scholar Award. As an RA and Coordinator of the IB Division of the Sprott Student Consulting Group (SSCG), Elisa is spearheading the development of best pedagogical practices for experiential learning opportunities in international business courses. Additionally, as SSCG’s former GM and Strategic Committee Team Lead, she led the organization in significant initiatives such as formulating a long-term strategic plan. Factoring in her experience as a TA and Student Partner, she has engaged students in learning and contributed to course designs at Sprott at all levels of education, from first-year undergraduate to master’s students.Through I-CUREUS and other projects, Elisa conducted research on guanxi and computer-mediated communications and the pedagogical benefits of discussion forums in international business higher-education. She has presented her research at various national and international conferences, such as the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, the Academy of International Business, and the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada.For the past 3 years, she has also created various social, professional, and academic opportunities for other students in the Sprott International Business Association, leading the Association in various capacities such as being the former VP Events and current President.

Hassan Khan

Hassan Khan is a psychology and sociology student who is described as insightful, engaging and committed to solving social problems. Last summer, Hassan worked with Prof. Michael Follert through Carleton’s Students as Partners Program where they collaborated to contributed to curriculum development in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Hassan has also contributed to research projects at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute with Dr. David Moher and at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. He participated in Carleton’s Alternative Spring Break Program, after which he received the President’s Alternative Spring Break Award for his demonstration of leadership and commitment to community service. This past term, Hassan participated in the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project. In addition, Hassan has volunteered as a note-taker with the Paul Menton Centre and has worked as a mentor in programs like FACTS, assisting first-year students with disabilities as they transition to the post-secondary education environment.

Justin Shimizu

Justin Shimizu is a psychology student with a concentration in social/personality psychology and a minor in sexuality studies who has contributed to research and community engagement in exceptional ways. They work part-time as a paramedic, serve on the City of Cornwall’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity Advisory Committee, and lead the Stigma Ends at CU campaign as President. They are a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society, serve as the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences student ambassador, and volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ottawa. In addition to working with Prof. Cheryl Harasymchuk as an honours thesis student in the Positive Activities in Intimate Relationships lab, Justin works as a Research Assistant with Prof. Chad Danyluck in the Social-Psycho-Physiology Lab and Prof. Johanna Peetz in the Life Tools Lab. Justin presented co-authored research at the Canadian Psychological Association conference, which has since been published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

David Clarabut

David Clarabut is a civil engineering student who is described as a top student with excellent analytical capability. David worked with Prof. Abhijit Sarkar on a co-op term where they worked on an initiative related to renewable energy harvesting using wind turbines. David’s work is contributing to promoting efficient sustainable energy harvesting to address a pressing climate change issue. Throughout this research experience, he demonstrated his ability to conduct collaborative research with international colleagues in Canada and United States by effectively communicating the scope and applications of his research. He also regularly participated in research meetings with graduate students and Prof. Victorita Dolean (applied mathematics, jointly appointed at Strathclyde University, Scotland and Université Côte d’Azur, France) which gave him the opportunity to witness international and interdisciplinary collaboration in advanced research at this early stage of his career.

Natalia Fomenko

Natalia Fomenko is an electrical engineering student who is described as exceptionally inquisitive. Her faculty nominator describes her as the top ranked student among all the students they have taught, mentored, supervised and advised in more than two decades in terms of her research potential, research preparedness and research aptitude. She has a number of previous degrees, including a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, which contribute to her outstanding training and skills. She excels academically and is one of the top students in her cohort in the Faculty of Engineering and Design. Last year, she joined Prof. Halim Yanikomeroglu’s Wireless Communications and Networks research group—one of Canada’s largest research groups in this field—as a regular and active member where she has contributed in significant ways.

Pascale Malenfant

Pascale Malenfant is a journalism student who has exceptional personal presence, outstanding academic performance and a notable social conscience. She is the Chair of the Charlatan and President of the Carleton University Journalism Society, where she introduced philanthropic programming to the society’s activities, which included an equipment fund that provided over $1,000 to students in need and a Mental Wellness Week. Two of her journalism research projects won national recognition and/or were published by major outlets. Last year, she also received a Medal of Excellence from former Veterans Affairs Deputy Minister Walter Natynczyk for her research on underrepresented Canadian soldiers of the First World War. Outside of Carleton, she volunteers to tutor underprivileged primary and elementary students, taking a special interest in refugee children’s literacy and math-related studies and their adjustment to new lives in Canada.

Najla Mohamed

Najla Mohamed is a global and international studies student with a specialization in global politics who is described as an exceptionally strong undergraduate student with a deep commitment to community engagement. Last year, under the supervision of Prof. Peter Andree, she participated in a CUROP-funded research project entitled “Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability in Canada: Discourses of Post-COVID 19 Recovery.” She produced an outstanding honours research essay on Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy with Prof. Fiona Robinson. In the last two years, she has worked as a research assistant at the Canadian Arab Institute and with Prof. Aaron Ettinger. She has volunteered with the BGInS student society and the Somali Education Fund, helping with community events and fundraising campaigns aimed at financially supporting the education of youth in Somalia.

Candice Harris

Candice Harris is a neuroscience and mental health student who is described as engaged, creative, and inspirational. In 2018, she collaborated with faculty and staff to create a neuroscientific animation explaining the neurobiological correlates underlying addiction. Last year, she worked with Prof. Rowan Thomson to lead the development of the “Science is for Everyone: Integrating Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Teaching Science” toolkit. Candice also created all of the engaging visuals in the toolkit and produced a video overview of the toolkit, which gained international recognition and was presented at the 2021 Inclusion Week ACE EDI event. Since completion of the toolkit, Candice has been working with Prof. Kahente Horn-Miller and her team on the development of a Collaborative Indigenous Learning Bundle for the Sciences, as well as assisting in the creation of additional tools to further expand EDI in science.

Nikita Koziel Ly

Nikita Koziel Ly is a neuroscience and mental health student who is described as bright, innovative and adaptable. She has participated in Carleton’s I-CUREUS program and was the recipient of a Faculty of Science Research Training Award and an NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award. At the beginning of the pandemic, Nikita worked alongside three faculty members in Neuroscience on a research project that focused on assessing lifestyle changes that could influence psychological state in a community population. Based on her diverse research experiences ranging from basic science to human survey research, Nikita’s faculty nominators describe her as someone who has incredible capacity for immersive, independent learning and that her outstanding productivity has helped bridge at least two international collaborations. She has engaged with community outreach by providing lectures to primary and high school students, and she is also an award-winning ballet and contemporary dancer who has performed on the national stage.

Ellena Damini

Ellena Damini is a commerce student concentrating in finance who shows great commitment to Sprott and the local community through her passions for sustainability and social impact. In her role as Portfolio Manager for the Sprott Student Investment Fund, she led the adoption of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) and the UN Principles for Responsible Investment into the SSIF’s security selection process and internal operations. She is also developing community outreach on the SSIF, including instructing financial literacy to high school students to give back to the community. Members will participate under her guidance as part of their community responsibility and will strive to deliver critical life skills. Ellena is further conducting an empirical study with Prof. Howard Nemiroff in directly testing ESG principles and their effect on portfolio returns. She is driven to produce meaningful results that will change how people view sustainability in the global investable universe.

Gabrielle Kolotinsky

Gabrielle Kolotinsky is a commerce student with a concentration in finance who is described as passionate, generous, intelligent and multi-talented. She served as the Enriched Support Program Facilitator for calculus and marketing and as the Vice-President of the Carleton University Students’ Association’s Gender and Sexuality Resource Centre. She is currently the President of the Sprott Social Impact Club, where she led Indigenous history and cultures awareness events and launched the inaugural IMPACT conference. She is the Fund Manager at the Social Value Fund, where she coordinates investments to local community businesses with a social purpose. During one of her courses, she collaborated with organizations working in Indigenous communities to help them craft a Theory of Change, stakeholder engagement plan and strategic plan. She also worked as a Research Assistant with Prof. Katherine Ruff and represented Carleton at the ROCA International Case Competition.

Jaclyn Legge

Jaclyn Legge is an English language and literature student who is described as a devoted and engaged student who has contributed meaningfully to several significant community-building and recruitment initiatives at Carleton. Since September, she has served as a CU Student Ambassador where she produced a video outlining what a day in the life of an English major looks like and participated in a Spotlight Series with Prof. Pat Whiting that promotes the Department of English Language and Literature to prospective students. For the last two years, she consistently published a student blog for the department, which played a role in building a sense of community, particularly in the past year when students have been isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also shown leadership in other recruitment initiatives, such as the production of recruitment videos for the Department of English Language and Literature.

Hikmet Mawi

Hikmet Mawi is a childhood and youth studies student who is described as a strong critical thinker who has great potential to advance knowledge in her field. During her work as a research assistant, she brought up critical issues about theory from the global South and decolonizing methodologies to unsettle traditional research conventions. Last year, she participated in a SSHRC-funded research project entitled Transforming disability knowledge, research and activism under the supervision of Prof. Thuy Nguyen through Carleton’s I-CUREUS program. Last summer, Hikmet was among a small cohort of students selected to participate in the FASS Undergraduate Summer Research Internship Program where she worked under the supervision of Prof. Alexandra Arraiz-Matute on a research project about how first-generation youth of East African descent in Ottawa narrate their identities and experiences. She also participated in a working group—in partnership with Kids Brain Health Network and the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorder Alliance—to advocate for a national autism strategy.

Ashli Au

Ashli Au is a law and human rights student who connects her research skills with a commitment to community service. Under the supervision of Prof. Michael Christensen, Ashli participated in a research project to track political misinformation through Carleton’s I-CUREUS program, the preliminary findings of which she presented at the Inquiry@Queen’s Undergraduate Research Conference. Through Carleton’s Students as Partners Program (SaPP), Ashli collaborated with Prof. Eric Van Rythoven to develop pedagogy on teaching race in international relations. Ashli has also worked as a team lead for Capital Pride in 2019 and was subsequently elected as co-chair of the Capital Pride Youth Committee. Last year, she was awarded the January Marie Lapuz Emerging Youth Leader Award by SherVancouver for her leadership in the 2SLGBTQ+ community. She has also served as a member of Carleton’s Equity and Inclusive Communities Advisory Group and facilitated a workshop at this year’s SOAR Student Leadership Conference at Carleton.

Hijaab Yahya

Hijaab Yahya is a law student concentrating in transnational law and human rights, who has a deep interest in advocacy, research and community engagement. They are the co-president of Carleton University Students for Scholars at Risk and TEDxCarletonUniversity. Hijaab worked with the Women’s Foundation of Nepal on an international development project, which advanced technological access for youth and women at the organization. They have provided translation services from Hindi to English for Carleton student groups and professors researching in Nepal. Hijaab conducted research on gender-based violence through the Carleton University Research Opportunity Program and shared discussions on gender equality with internationally recognized human rights activist Mukhtar Mai. Through I-CUREUS, Hijaab has undertaken research under the supervision of Prof. Fiona Robinson in a SSHRC-funded project that explores how narratives of gender entangle within Canada’s foreign policy. They have also presented their research at the Carleton FPA CUROP Showcase and Inquiry@Queen’s Conference.

Neha Khanna

Neha Khanna is a neuroscience and mental health student with a minor in psychology who is described as relentless in her pursuit to improve the university experience for all Carleton students and beyond. She is currently leading a research study that is exploring how the transition online and access to mental health resources influences student mental health and academic success. Neha has also taken on roles as a Health Promotion Leader and Science Wellness Director where she has delivered many mental health and wellness workshops. She also volunteers as a Peer Mentor, Study Group leader, and with the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Learning Disabilities. Finally, Neha has fostered multi-disciplinary connections in her role as the Director of Advocacy and Education at UNICEF Carleton and in the Carleton International Partnership Program.

Emine Topcu Can

Emine Topcu Can is a neuroscience and biology student who is described as a rising star with a breadth of accomplishments and a profound commitment to diverse interests. Emine independently developed a software tool for visualizing and identifying protein target sites in Prof. Kyle Biggar’s lab, which led to a first author publication in a reputable science journal. She has participated in the first research study of the electrical properties of human spinal cord neurons under the supervision of Prof. Mike Hildebrand and has presented findings at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Canadian Pain Society. In collaboration with Prof. Hildebrand as a Teaching Assistant and through Carleton’s Students as Partners Program (SaPP), Emine helped to connect lecture material to real-world examples by leading the development of assignments and exam questions for a third-year course, which contributed to a smooth transition from face-to-face to online learning.

Kennedy Lichti

Kennedy Lichti is a commerce student who has shown leadership and a commitment to community engagement and international student experiences through her participation in a project focused on entrepreneurial opportunities in Northern Tanzania. Her efforts have resulted in a novel and context-appropriate beehive that will provide entrepreneurial opportunities in the form of honey production for Maasai women in the Longido district of Northern Tanzania and beyond. In 2019, Kennedy used her holiday break to travel to Longido for several weeks to engage the community in the project, which has led to a diffusion plan for a new, innovative hive design. Since then, she has connected virtually with members of the community to construct the finalized design and is now looking to expand the project to the region.

Feruz Dglel Tesfay

Feruz Dglel Tesfay is a commerce student concentrating in international business who founded the Sprott Social Impact Club, which provides Carleton students with a platform to run projects to address social issues. This newly created club is an evolution of the International Fund Initiative, which Feruz also established. What began as a fundraising campaign for one specific project has now evolved into a platform with 17 student executives that engages Carleton students in social impact projects. Feruz has participated in research about the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility initiatives in Bangladesh to create a better understanding of the issues affecting workers’ safety. She has been selected to speak to the Women’s Business Network of the National Capital Region and Carleton’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan Launch and was recently recognized externally with the J Delta Management Solutions Aspiring Business Leaders Scholarship for her leadership.

Samphe Ballamingie

Samphe is a sociology student with a minor in environmental studies. She is described as an outstanding student with incredible initiative, skill and a talent for explaining and analyzing complex concepts through storytelling. Last summer, she worked on a research study that focused on how public libraries foster community through a FASS Undergraduate Research Internship. As part of this research, she interviewed head librarians across Scandinavia and generated both scholarly and lay outputs. She is also an accomplished filmmaker. Last year, she won a prestigious jury award at the YouTube Creators for Change and United Nations Climate Change Mobile Film Festival in Paris for her short film that documented youth climate protests in October 2019. She has also volunteered at the Womxn’s Centre, facilitated the Enriched Support Program for an introductory sociology course and worked at the Digi60 Filmmakers Festival where she created a podcast series interviewing women in the film industry.

Calla Tait

Calla is a child studies student with a minor in psychology. Calla is described as a hardworking, dedicated student who has great potential to continue contributing to knowledge building and research. Calla has worked as an undergraduate research assistant for a SSHRC funded project about how children understand and aesthetically represent LGBTQ+ family. Calla is a leader in the Childhood and Youth Studies program, a FASS Student Ambassador and has been involved with the Carleton group Voices Against Violence for the last four years to raise funds for the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre. Calla also volunteers at the Sophia House and works with young refugees who are new to Canada. To build on their knowledge of refugees, Calla helped create a course outline for an independent study course on the rights and lived experiences of child refugees in Canada.

Jonique Gardien

Jonique is an architectural conservation and sustainability engineering student who is passionate about sustainable housing in First Nations Communities. She took on a leadership role in engaging with Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek – Gull Bay First Nation to provide sustainable and affordable housing solutions as part of a fourth-year engineering capstone project. Her undergraduate research work relates to fire safety in affordable housing solutions  and has been supported by I-CUREUS. She has taken on various leadership roles in Engineers without Borders and internship work in building skills and business acumen of individuals in Uganda. She has spoken at various invited speaker events, including a keynote presentation at the Carleton International Development Symposium. Jonique has been featured by the CBC’s All in a Day show as a role model for women in engineering.

Mary-Johanna Weir Weiss

Mary-Johanna is a biomedical and mechanical engineering student and is described as a dependable, diligent and independent researcher. She worked in Prof. Oren Patel’s lab as an NSERC USRA student where she improved the calibration of the lab’s CT scanner to an impressive degree. She worked at CCM Hockey on a Mitacs internship where her research focused on the relationship between helmet fit and impact mitigation. She developed new evaluation techniques and initiated advances that will lead to safer helmets and hopefully reduce concussion incidence among athletes. Mary-Johanna is the vice president of global engineering for the Carleton chapter of Engineers without Borders, where she led efforts to promote sustainable development and global citizenship to students through meetings with faculty and local politicians. She is also the treasurer for the Rotaract Club at Carleton and has volunteered at the Cancer Centre in the Ottawa Hospital.

Jordan Gray

Jordan is a global and international studies student with a minor in Indigenous studies. Last year, Jordan presented the results of an original research project at the University of Oldenburg in Germany and was the first Carleton student to attend the World Congress on Undergraduate Research. He was awarded the Lincoln M. Alexander award for the elimination of racial discrimination, at which time Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell described Jordan as someone who “demonstrated commitment, creativity, and dedication to social justice.” Jordan has participated in Alternative Spring Break in Ecuador, traveled to the Netherlands as part of a course where he engaged with the principles of international humanitarian law, and engaged in transnational research with students from the Free University of Berlin. He has participated in the Carleton University Research Opportunity Program on a project that contributed a high-impact solution to ongoing misconceptualizations on traditional governance systems between the Mi’kmaq Nation and the Government of Canada. He has also worked with Carleton’s Centre for Indigenous Research, Culture, Language and Education on an Indigenous language revitalization project, which gave him the opportunity to deliver remarks before the President of the United Nations General Assembly at the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues based on his research.

Shaked Karabelnicoff

Shaked is a journalism student with a minor in religion who is described as an exemplary junior scholar with a tremendous work ethic and commitment to community building. She is an executive of Carleton’s Journalism Society, where she helps foster and grow the journalism student community, and she is the President of Israel on Campus, where she coordinates and plans events relating to Jewish and Israeli life, culture and religion. Last summer, she interned at the Jerusalem Post, a role that required a deep cultural and religious understanding of Israel, and exemplary journalistic skills. This term, Shaked took a directed study course where she was responsible for researching, collecting and analyzing data through structured interviews and a media literature report. She has participated in the Defining Future Leader’s program, interned at the Embassy of Israel in the Public Diplomacy department and participated in I-CUREUS.

Khadija Baig

Khadija is a computer science student with a minor in psychology who has extensive research experience and was selected to represent Carleton at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research in Montana in March. She completed a research project that explored the effect of media on technical users’ understanding of security. She has experience with qualitative and quantitative data analysis, conducting user study sessions, designing studies and applying for Research Ethics Board clearance, and writing research results for publication. Khadija has taken opportunities to act as a role model to younger students and was a mentor in the Go Code Girl Initiative by Virtual Ventures to teach young girls about programming. She has also helped organize SHAD workshops, helped with fundraising for the Canadian Cancer Society and worked for Leave the Pack Behind’s smoking cessation wellness program.

Duncan Spencer

Duncan is a neuroscience and mental health student with a minor in psychology who is described as a patient, innovative problem solver with a genuine curiosity for science research. He is a two-time NSERC USRA and I-CUREUS recipient who has an impressive research background and has successfully presented his research at national and international conferences. He implemented a new technique that laid the groundwork for a new research strategy and presented this data at the Young Researcher’s Conference, where his abstract was peer-reviewed and selected for publication. Duncan was recruited as a Teaching Assistant for the inaugural neuroscience laboratory class this term. He has also volunteered for the Let’s Talk Science and Virtual Ventures events and was a founding organizer of the Brain Freeze fundraiser that raised over $3,000 for the Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region.

Alaa Azan

Alaa is a fourth-year Child Studies student with a Minor in Psychology. She was the only undergraduate student to present her thesis work at the Migration and Diaspora Student Research conference, which was recently hosted at Carleton. Later this month, Alaa will travel to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research at Kennesaw State University, where she will present her paper, which is already gaining recognition both locally and internationally even before it has been published. Alaa’s thesis research involved communication with the local Carleton District Board of Education. This led to an invitation from Maria Teresa Garcia, Director of the Multicultural Liaison Officer Program at the Ottawa Community Immigration Services Organization, to participate in a regional Education Sector Table Meeting where all local school boards were represented. Alaa’s groundbreaking research involved events with the Catholic Centre for Immigrants and Services for Syrian Refugees program and the Ottawa Chinese Community Services Centre. Alaa’s work is already making a contribution to local discussions about the lived school experiences of Syrian refugee students.

Julianne Dumont

Julianne is a fourth-year Psychology student with a Minor in Indigenous Studies. Julianne is carrying out a senior thesis project examining the wellbeing of Indigenous students in post-secondary institutions, which is necessary and timely work. Its applications have far-reaching implications and impacts for Carleton’s growing Indigenous student body and Indigenous students across Canada. She is a substitute teacher at Maniwaki Woodland School, a youth worker with the Maniwaki Native Friendship Centre, and a Life Skills Teacher with Kitigan Zibi Kikinamadinan. Julianne is an impressive student whose presence at Carleton is crucial to building relationships and approaches that ensure that Carleton is better equipped to meet its responsibilities to Algonquin people in this territory. Julianne is described as a leader whose work is rigorous, creative, reciprocal, and thoughtful. She is direct, insightful, and deeply respectful of her peers.

MacKenzie Brannen

MacKenzie is a third-year Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering student. She has been working as an I-CUREUS student and she plans to rejoin Prof. Petel’s lab in Summer 2019 as an NSERC USRA. MacKenzie is now working on her own research project, which has been integral to many aspects of the lab’s operation. She is currently involved in writing a manuscript for submission to the Nature Communications journal covering our cutting-edge research into helmet performance and concussion evaluation. This level of contribution to lab research is highly unusual for an undergraduate student and speaks to MacKenzie’s qualities as a developing researcher. MacKenzie raised money to subsidize youth outdoor education programs in 2017 and has volunteered on campus to offer peer support. MacKenzie has proven herself to be a dependable and diligent researcher.

Mohamed Hozayen

Mohamed is a fourth-year Computer Systems Engineering student who has been on the Dean’s Honour List since 2015 and has engaged in undergraduate research through an NSERC USRA and through the I-CUREUS program since 2016. His research experience has led to four publications, including one journal paper in the prestigious IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, and two conference papers in the IEEE International Symposium on Medical Measurements and Applications. It is extremely rare for an undergraduate student to have this many published papers, especially including an IEEE transactions paper. He also contributed as an instructor for an Enrichment Mini-Courses Program offering on biomedical engineering in 2017. Last year, Mohamed was selected to represent Carleton at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Oklahoma City and received the Manimaran Kanagasabapathy Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded annually to an outstanding Computer Systems Engineering student. Mohamed is also a student athlete for the Raven’s competitive rugby team and a notetaker volunteer for the Paul Menton Centre. He worked as a lifeguard and swimming instructor for the City of Ottawa for two years. Mohamed is an all-star student who is described as enthusiastic, honest, dependable, detail oriented, the perfect employee and a team player.

Zaynab Al-Hemed

Zaynab is a third-year Social Work student with Minors in Disability Studies and Philosophy who works as a Research Assistant with the Geography and Cartography Research Centre and with Prof. Redmond on Colour Commentary. She serves as Lead Researcher on two of her own projects and heads a research partnership with Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization. She works as a Disabilities Counselor at Andrew Fleck Children’s Services and as a Metacognitive Educational Student Support Facilitator with Carleton’s Paul Menton Centre. She is also the Membership and Communications Officer for Youth in Care Canada and the President of Carleton’s Social Workers of Colour Association. She is also a Student Navigator at Elisabeth Gruyere Hospital, an Achievement Center Youth Mentor, and a Youth Coordinator with the Findlay Creek Community Centre. She devotes a lot of time and energy to supporting community organizations committed to social justice. Zaynab is described as a true scholar who devotes her time and effort to making Carleton and Ottawa a better place to work and live. She has a deep intellect and a natural curiosity, which she applies to societal justice and social work practice debates in the classroom.

Allysa Czerwinsky

Allysa is a fourth-year student in Criminology and Criminal Justice with a stellar track record, having received many academic accolades during her undergraduate career. Allysa’s diligence and commitment to the Prof. Brown’s research lab is described as unparalleled in comparison to a typical volunteer. As a result, Allysa is third author on a manuscript that is currently under review. She is extremely passionate and focused in her chosen area of future research, which is understanding why women paradoxically join the alt right movement. Allysa has completed a student placement at Correctional Service Canada and has worked at Youth in Care Canada. She has devoted considerable time in the community working as a Victim Support Worker with Ottawa Victim Services. Allysa is an intelligent student who is a quick learner and is exceedingly capable of grasping complex scientific literature. She is described as pleasant, professional and well-grounded. She excels at her academics and has considerable experience as a teaching assistant.

Rebecca Butler

Rebecca is a fourth-year Neuroscience and Mental Health student with a Minor in Psychology who excels as an undergraduate researcher and who has made significant contributions towards the research and service community at Carleton. After volunteering in the Chee lab for six months, Rebecca became part of a team that generated sufficient data for presentation at the Society for Neuroscience conference, the most renowned international neuroscience conference. The organizing committee for the Young Researchers Conference featured Rebecca’s work as an oral presentation, which was given a Viewer’s Choice award. She has volunteered for the Carleton University Student Emergency Response Team for the past three years. She placed first in two separate national Campus First Response competitions and received the Responder of the Year award last year. Rebecca also volunteers at the Civic Hospital where she serves as a simulated patient for the Trauma Evaluation and Management program. Rebecca is an outstanding student who is intelligent, focused, and committed to serving those in need. She is described as a humble leader who leads by action and who is unreserved in sharing her knowledge and time.

Kayla Schumacker

Kayla is a fourth-year Neuroscience and Mental Health student with a Minor in Chemistry. She is a staunch supporter of mental health advocacy. Her efforts and dedication toward her academics, research direction, and community are proactive mechanisms for her to make a significant difference. Kayla presented her work at the Society for Neuroscience conference, the most renowned international neuroscience conference. She was awarded the Viewer’s Choice award for her oral research presentation at the Young Researchers Conference in Ottawa, and she will represent Carleton at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research this spring. She is on the organizing committee for the annual Brain and Mental Health Art Show, and is a volunteer for the Brain Awareness Week and Carleton’s Student Alliance for Mental Health. Kayla is a high-achieving student who is described as innovative, generous, and resilient, and as someone who approaches her work with purpose and conducts herself with utmost professionalism.

Gemma Rod

Gemma is a fourth-year Commerce student who has worked alongside an experienced Sprott researcher where she improved her critical thinking and analytical skills, as well as her ability to thematically summarize various literatures. Her research involved examining the utility and relevance of applying theory developed in the entrepreneurship domain to a particular management context, which was later presented at a conference in the Cayman Islands. Gemma was then accepted into the I-CUREUS program where she had the opportunity to continue her research. Based on her outstanding academic performance, Gemma has been selected as a Golden Key International Honour Society member to travel to Australia or China as a member of the International Scholar Laureate Program Delegation on Business & Entrepreneurship.

Eliana Remus, Psychology

Eliana is described as an outstanding student, committed to community engagement that is linked to her undergraduate research. Her studies are linked to a wide variety of community activities. She was selected to a volunteer position on a youth-led advisory committee with the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa. She and her colleagues create and facilitate educational workshops on topics such as consent and healthy relationships delivered to local elementary schools or community centers.

Baraa Arar, Humanities

Baraa has achieved success in the areas of undergraduate research, community engagement and immersive learning. In 2016, Baraa received the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Undergraduate Research Award for her research on representations of Algerian women in art. This research produced three conference papers and a Ted-style talk that she gave on at the 20^th Anniversary of the Bachelor of humanities program in October 2016. She is committed to community engagement through her podcast, “The Watering Hole.”

Brigitte Martins, Architecture

For Professor Bucking’s Architectural Technology 1 class, Brigitte designed an original net-zero energy tiny home research project. As a result of this, she then worked with Professor Bucking on a Net Zero Energy tiny home called the Northern Nomad project during the summer of 2017. This project was student led and pushed the boundaries of sustainable building design. Brigitte was the lead designer and with her skills, she not only successfully completed the project, but engaged the local and national media.

Maximilian Polzin, Aerospace 

Maximilian embodies community engagement, internationalization, immersive learning, and a strong commitment to academic excellence. He is committed to his studies and is a dedicated member of the Carleton Engineering team and the Carleton University Blackbird Unmanned Aerial Vehicle team. Taking his undergraduate research into the community is one of the ways Maximilian engages with those around him. He has organized and participated in activities to promote interest in space research and science, including visiting local high schools to present his team’s research and answer questions about Carleton.

Anna-Marie Robertson, Law

Anna-Marie has excelled in the areas of undergraduate research and community engagement. Now in her fourth year at Carleton, she has demonstrated, and continues to model excellence in undergraduate research, and community engagement with an internationalization theme that cuts across both. Reflecting her passions for humanitarianism and global citizenship, Anna-Marie seizes every opportunity to advance her own knowledge as well as engaging in the community through her involvement with the Canadian Red Cross, Humanitarian Organization for Latin American Students at Carleton, Red Cross Club Carleton and the Carleton Law and Legal Studies Society.

Summer Lewis, Criminology and Criminal Justice

In the Criminology and Criminal Justice program, Summer has shown to be an exceptional student, while also contributing extensively to the Carleton community. Summer has been on the Dean’s List and was awarded the Celia Ruygrok Scholarship for the top student accepted into the field placement course in 2016-2017. In her third year she completed a placement with the Law Office of Jonathan Boss, from September 2016 to April 2017 (384 hours). Summer is currently completing a Mindtrust fellowship and is a volunteer with the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services.

Elyn Rowe, Neuroscience

Elyn is described as an excellent researcher with well-rounded, active, contribution to Carleton’s vibrant academic community. She is committed to her studies and her contribution to interdisciplinary collaborative research shows her strong leadership and hard-working devotion. At Carleton, she was involved in founding a new Science Blog with The Charlatan to encourage science communication and as a kick-start team leader and mentor with Carleton’s Student Science Success Centre.

Olivia Perryman, Computer Science

Olivia has achieved success in the areas of undergraduate research, community engagement and immersive learning. She received the Dean’s Summer Research Internship where she worked on understanding mental rotation. She was accepted into the Nengo summer school at Waterloo, and learned about computational neuroscience with senior scientists from many disciplines. Her neural model of rotation is the first to ever be created, and with her faculty supervisor, is now preparing her work for publication. She participated in a three-person team representing Carleton in the Association for Computing Machinery (AMC) programming challenge, placing 17th out of 127 teams–a Carleton record.

Malek Singer, BSc Geomatics

Nominated by Murray Richardson, Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies

• Commended for highest final grades in his class
• Winning a number of academic awards, including, most recently, a competitive NSERC USRA award
• Honours thesis includes work on applied research problem in Yellowknife, NWT where in summer 2016 Malek made important contributions to a larger multi-disciplinary project.
• He’s played an important role in recruitment and retention activities, including showcase fairs and high-school classroom visits
• He also works as a volunteer translator (English-Arabaic) for the Ottawa South Committee for Refugee Sponsorship.

Jonathan Capaldi, Department of Psychology

Nominated by Marina Milyavskaya, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology

• Has volunteered for two years with three separate labs in the psychology department
• He came up with a novel research idea that he was able to test using existing data (in the Goal lab). He has presented this research at an international conference of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) in San Antonio
• He has also been involved in the community, volunteering with the Student Alliance for Mental Health and the Canadian Cancer Society

Karim Yousef, Aerospace Engineering

Nominated to Rob Langlois, Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

• Karim is a full-time international undergraduate student
• He has a passion for flight simulation and his involvement with a large international on-line community focused on flight simulation training, with a view towards contributing to the Carleton University Simulator Project (CUSP) – one of the capstone design projects offered by the Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering has been immense;
• Working collaboratively with Carleton faculty, fellow students and with the Ottawa Aviation Service and Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre he has helped to develop the flight simulation training that is now to be certified for use by Transport Canada.
• He is actively engaged in immersive learning for himself and is promoting immersive learning for his peers through hands-on involvement with this real-world project working closely with our industrial partners.

Arlin Otto, Architectural Conservation and Sustainable Structural Engineering

Nominated by: John Gales Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

• Arlin has excelled with her active involvement and ongoing research.
• She presented, as first author, her fully accepted peer reviewed research paper, Laminated Veneer Lumber Plated Connections in Fire, at the prestigious 15th International Conference of Fire and Materials in San Francisco in February.
• She has submitted a second first author paper to the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers 2017 annual conference titled: Mass Heritage Timber Performance in Fire.
• She is working on ground breaking technology which removes the emissivity of light from imagery allowing quantification of the underlying thermos-mechanical theory of engineered timber in fire.
• Her community involvement through fostering leadership in Engineering takes place in a number of areas and organizations:
  • In recruitment in FED with Go-Eng-Girl, the Women in Engineering Mixer in 2016 and EWB High school Summit in 2015
  • She also held the position as student president of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering this year.

Patricia Wallinger, Global and International Studies (BGInS)

Nominated by Kamari Maxine Clarke, Associate Professor of Global and International Studies

• Has been engaged in two main projects in the community:
  • In Canada, she started an employment-based organization under a social enterprise design to address a number of interrelated issues. The project is a local landscape and garden maintenance project she calls Amano Gardens. It is a simple response to poverty, unemployment and environmental degradation. In its first year, the Gardens provided 1,250 hours of paid labour.
  • In her native Argentina, she has been instrumental in building an aboriginal school’s kitchen garden and working towards developing food security strategies in Argentina
• In addition to her engaged projects, Patricia has served as a research assistant and the collection of various data collection activities

Patrick Butler, School of Journalism and Political Science

Nominated by Susan Harada, Associate Director of the School of Journalism and Communications

• Patrick has been describes as “unfailingly linking his studies with activities in the community”
• Since 2013 he has regularly produced quality journalism (from national politics to local arts) and published his work with CBC Radio, the Telegram, iPolitics, the Overcast, Curling Canada and The Charlatan among other news outlets.
• He is actively engaged in international issues as exemplified by his four-month internship at the Canadian embassy in Washington D.C. in 2016
• Patrick researches and engages with community members in addressing real-world problems and establishing a vital role for journalists within their communities.

Chaya Kandegedara, Neuroscience and Mental Health

Nominated by Dr. Michael Hildebrand, Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience

• Chaya was nominated with a wide breadth of accomplishments, academic performance, pioneering work in translation pain research and community volunteering;
• Chaya has made exceptional contributions to the pain research program.
• As a research assistant, Chaya has established a rodent model of inflammatory pain for the lab and independently wrote protocols and procedures for this model.
• As part of her honours thesis, she has helped facilitate a collaborative effort with a neurosurgeon at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Dr Eve Tsai. Her tremendous commitment has included trips to the hospital in the middle of the night to collect samples, working over the holidays;
• She has prepared this research for three poster presentations and a high impact publication.
• Stemming from her Religion courses and in serving her local community Chaya volunteer for the Hilda Jayawardenaramaya Buddhist Sunday School and the Glebe Centre for mental health and dementia patients.

Shannon Clarke, Environmental Science

Nominated by Dr. Steven J. Cooke, Director of the Institute of Environmental Science, Canada Research Chair and Professor

• Shannon has been engaged in both research and community engagement, all the while maintaining top grades.
• She spent 4 months each summer studying the behaviour, physiology, and ecology of fish and has become a valued member of her research teams.
  • In 2015 she spent time at Queen’s Biology Station where she assisted graduate students and post docs with their research.
  • In 2016 she traveled to New Brunswick with a post-doctoral fellow to study Atlantic salmon responses to climate change and;
  • She joined a M.Sc. student in Alberta to study the effects of dam removal on bull trout in Banff National Park.
• She is a leader in the science community as Co-President of the Environmental Science Student Society and supports students at Science Student Success Centre

Olivia Perryman, School of Computer Science

Nominated by Jim Davies, School of Computer Science, Institute of Cognitive Science

• She received the Dean’s Summer Research Internship and got to work on understanding mental rotation (e.g., picturing a chair and rotating it in your imagination).
• The Nengo summer school at Waterloo accepted her, and she learned about computational neuroscience with senior scientists from many disciplines;
• Olivia’s neural model of rotation is the first to ever be created, despite rotation being a focus of psychology for 40 years.
• She is preparing for a first publication of her undergraduate research;
• Olivia also demonstrated contributions to immersive learning through her participation in the GLAM (Girls Learning About Math) GameJam. Olivia led her team to create a competitive two-player computer game, directed at girls (grades 6-8) to practice math concepts and promote women in STEM fields. Olivia’s team won first place, as judged by IBM employees and professional game developers.
• She has shown community engagement by teaching kids how to code in a workshop: “Adventures in Engineering and Science.”

Co-winners: Olivia Harris and Kevin Horak

Nominated by Howard Nimeroff

• During their tenure this year as Co-Presidents of the Carleton Chapter of DECA, Olivia and Kevin were instrumental in generating explosive returns to membership. Their team has also done extremely well in competitions under their leadership, and they have been exemplary leaders.
• They were successful in two key recruiting initiatives:
  • Helping to lead a DECA-like case competition among incoming students during Summer Orientation
  • In the Fall of 2016, we ran a pilot with Longfield Davidson High School in Barrhaven, engaging students in a series of workshops culminating in a day-long business case competition set to take place here on campus. The pair organized every aspect of the event and are both commended for having such a high interest and enrollment rate.

Heather McGale, Psychology

Heather has achieved success in the areas of undergraduate research, community engagement and immersive learning. As a research assistant with the RCMP for 2 years, Heather has related her thesis work to the real-world police interaction with the public as it relates to recent incidents such as the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. She is committed to extracurricular volunteer work as a Bounce Back facilitator, and as an assistant to other students to improve their grades by working with them to identify important resources and help them cope with academic stressors.

Selam Abebe, Child Studies

For her Honours degree, Selam designed an original research project titled, “What are you?”: It is an in-depth look at Mixed Race Childhood Experiences in Canada” based on semi-structured interviews with a dozen Ottawa-based youth. Taking her undergraduate research into the community is only one way Selam engages with those around her. She is a volunteer note taker at the Paul Menton Centre, President of the Child Studies Society, is a primary and secondary school tutor and recently presented her research at the National Council on Undergraduate Research Conference in Asheville, North Carolina.

Victor Aziz, Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering

In the Mechanical and Biomedical engineering program Victor has a commitment for problem solving. He has strong organizational skills while projecting self-confidence onto colleagues, building their trust and commitment as a team. Las summer he joined a team of biomedical engineers exploring spray characterization of pharmaceutical aerosols with a partnered company, Coraltec Inc. (Toronto, ON). He has worked diligently on an I-CUREUS research grant in the biomedical engineering field. Victor looks beyond his studies with volunteer positions with the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society and as vice-president of Carleton University’s Biomedical Engineering Society (CUBES).

Health Care Product Design Group, Faculty of Engineering, School of Industrial Design

The following five students: Evelyn Choi, Eric Cross, Bryce Booth Dawson, Rhys Jones and Benjamin Miller were nominated together as part of the Health Care Product Design Group. Their commitment to undergraduate research and community engagement relating to the Canadian health care context is impressive. Extensive research, site visits, consultations, design and prototyping went into the health care products that were created. The students worked with both industry experts, and consulted with fellow communication students to create product prototypes. Their products are impressive.

Anais Voski, Journalism and Communications

Anais is described as committed, curious and deeply engaged in making an impact at home and abroad. She is committed to her studies and is a dedicated organiser of major events for the Jean Monnet Chair “Democracy in the European Union.” Her involvement in a recent field trip to attend the presidential primaries in New Hampshire brought forward her strong work ethic and diligence in investigating all avenues of information.

Abdulraham al-Masri, Political Science

Abdulraham embodies community engagement, internationalization, immersive learning, and a strong commitment to academic excellence.   His professionalism, commitment and unique perspective enabled him to be instrumental in founding and sustaining #Refugees Welcome Ottawa – an organization creating concrete public events around the ongoing refugee crisis in Syria. In addition to his probing journalism and numerous published articles, Abdulraham is a critical thinker with a willingness to learn and support those around him.

Shira Schwartz, Biology

Shira has excelled in the areas of undergraduate research and community engagement. Her demanding Honours thesis has her investigation of the therapeutic effects of sub-symptom exercise regimen on progression of post-concussive syndrome – this involves direct patient contact and testing, and working with both physicians and physiotherapists at the Carleton Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy clinics. In addition to her dedicated research, Shira maintains various volunteer positions with Let’s Talk Science, she has a long-term commitment with extracurricular crowd-sourcing for the Biology Department helping them improve the anatomy lab teaching materials.

Meagan Harper, Biology

Meagan excels in undergraduate research, community engagement and immersive learning. She has led a team of undergraduate students to produce a prioritization system for invasive species management in the National Capital Commission (NCC) lands. Her research has contributed to the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, NCC and Parks Canada work. In addition to relevant research projects in other course work, her ongoing volunteer positions with the Paul Mention Centre, Parks Canada and the Institute of Environmental Science make Meagan worthy of this award.

Kyle Stoles, Commerce

Kyle is a fourth year honours student in BCom, Finance concentration and is portfolio Manager for the Sprott Student Investment Fund. The fund is wholly responsible for the investment of roughly $800,000 worth of Sprott endowment money, and Kyle is responsible for managing the team of 20-odd students. Kyle completes industry calibre analysis, presents quarterly presentations to the Investment Committee of the University and introduces the world of equity investing to the students at large. Kyle was a participant on the Sprott team that participated in The Economist magazine investment competition last year, finishing 3rd in the world and has participated in other prestigious competitions with contributions nothing short of outstanding.

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.

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.

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.