Lydia Gork

University Gold Medal
Lydia Gork
B.A. Advanced (Indigenous Studies)

The University Gold Medal is an opportunity to honour the best in the undergraduate graduating class of each faculty. A gold medal is awarded to the undergraduate student in the Faculty of Arts who has achieved the highest standing. This year’s recipient is Lydia Gork, a member of the Liberty Local (Manitoba Métis Federation), Red River Métis Nation and a BMO Financial Group Indigenous Leader of Tomorrow scholarship winner. Lydia is graduating with a B.A. Advanced degree with a major in Indigenous studies and a minor in political studies.

Lydia is moving on to a master’s program in Indigenous studies at UM this fall. During her undergraduate degree, she realized her passion for research. This led to many opportunities including an Undergraduate Research Award (URA), an internship at the UM Institute for the Humanities, presentations, prizes and more. Courses on Indigenous theory and public administration showed her how theory can be used to think through real world issues and how academic research can be used by governments that can ultimately have consequences on citizens’ lives. In 2023, Lydia was named the first place winner in the Social Sciences and Humanities category of the Undergraduate Research Poster Competition for her URA work on Métis History and Relationality. “Winning first place was a proud moment for myself, my family, ancestors and community who’s knowledge and experiences I honoured through the poster, as well as for Indigenous studies,” said Lydia. Lydia hopes that her future research will lead her to work in the Métis national government, perhaps in policy work for youth programming.

“My favourite memories during my degree happened in spaces where students learned collaboratively – where students could interact, challenge one another and share their unique and diverse knowledge and life experience,” she shared.

Reflecting upon her time and success in the Faculty of Arts, Lydia emphasized the importance of following one’s passion, seeking support and exploring different subject areas early on. She encourages other students to “follow your heart. Every field is meaningful in our society and will impact someone’s life. Be confident, reach out for help when you need it and go forward doing your work with integrity.”

Zlata Odribets

Faculty of Arts Honours Medal
Zlata Odribets
B.A. Honours (Linguistics and English)

Zlata Odribets is this year’s recipient of the Faculty of Arts Honours Medal awarded to the student with the highest standing in a Bachelor of Arts four-year Honours Degree Program. Zlata is an international student from Kyiv, Ukraine who is graduating with a double major in linguistics and English.

“I will never forget the time I spent in Dr. Will Oxford’s office,” Zlata shares about her favourite undergraduate memories. “545 Fletcher Argue quickly became a safe space for me on campus. Will was happy to answer any of my questions, no matter how silly (like why he chooses to put his commas outside of the quotation marks instead of within), but I would be lying if I said that we didn’t mostly talk about syntax. I can pinpoint moments in our conversations that have defined my understanding of syntax and my career as a syntactician so far. I’ll always remember the time he taught me about the DP Hypothesis ahead of the curriculum like he was letting me in on a secret, when he told me I should apply for the Undergraduate Research Award (which I held twice), or our conversation about ergativity and how he suggested I read a paper by his colleague at McGill, who I now plan to work with for my master’s degree. As much as I enjoyed my last year of university and the return to in-person teaching, it was not the same with Will’s office being empty and him away at MIT. I would not have been able to achieve half of the things I did without Will’s constant support and unwavering belief in my abilities.” Zlata would like to thank her family, friends and professors, especially Dr. Will Oxford and Dr. David Watt (who she recently feted at the 2023 UM Students’ Teacher Recognition Awards).

Angela Gail Ciceron

Faculty of Arts Advanced Medal
Angela Gail Ciceron
B.A. Advanced (Global Political Economy)

The award for the highest standing in a Bachelor of Arts four-year Advanced Degree Program goes to Angela Gail Ciceron. During her undergraduate degree, she majored in global political economy (GPE).

Angela received Undergraduate Research Awards in 2021 and 2022. She had the opportunity to conduct research in the fields of economics and then sociology. Engaging in those projects solidified her interest in research and this fall, she will begin a master’s program in Economics at UM with a focus on gender and labour within the Filipino diaspora in Canada and her home country of the Philippines. As she graduates, Angela has some advice for incoming Arts students, “don’t be afraid to take up space, whether it be in your classes, in conversations, or in everyday life, especially when you have something meaningful to say. Many times, in my degree, I chose to hold back and keep my insights to myself, in part because of my identity as a queer Filipino woman. Because of my own anxiety, I was afraid that my voice was not worth listening to, and I now regret that. So, to anyone who’s anxious, or afraid of talking too much, or saying the wrong thing: take up the space you deserve.”  Angela is grateful for the support of the faculty and community of the GPE and economics and society programs and would like to especially thank her family and friends (and her cat!) who were “so wonderfully present during times of hardship. Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat.”

Faculty of Arts General Medal
Daniel Rosenthal
B.A. General (Psychology)

Daniel Rosenthal is the 2023 recipient of the Faculty of Arts General Medal, awarded for highest standing in a Bachelor of Arts three-year General Degree Program. Daniel completed a major in psychology and a minor in sociology.

Adam Buhler

Faculty of Arts Integrated Studies Medal
Adam Buhler
B.A. Integrated Studies (English)

The award for the highest standing in a Bachelor of Arts Integrated Studies Degree Program goes to Adam Buhler. Adam graduates with a concentration in English.

The B.A. Integrated Studies degree was a great fit for Adam when he decided to switch careers. He’s moving from being a project manager in the construction industry and has goals of teaching high school. He will start his education degree this fall. “What I’ll remember most is not what I was taught, but how I was taught,” said Adam. “With my goal of becoming a teacher, I really valued the ways some of my professors accommodated different learning styles and made the classroom (or zoom session) feel inviting and inclusive. Dr. Erin Keating (English) and David Peters (School of Art) were brilliant at this, and always made time for my questions about teaching.”

Congratulations to the Faculty of Arts medal winners.

At its 2023 UM Convocation, the University of Manitoba will confer degrees, diplomas and certificates to over 4,000 graduates.
Visit the UM Student Instagram  and Faculty of Arts Instagram to learn more about some of the students graduating in 2023. You’ll find congratulations messages from fellow graduates and professors, stories about fellow graduates, more information about convocation and tips for new alumni. Be sure to tag @umartsfaculty so we can share your photos. You can also join the ‘Convocation conversation’ on social media by following #umanitoba2023 and #SpringConvocation2023. 

Congratulations to the Faculty of Arts students who came away as award winners in the Social Sciences and Humanities category:

1^st – Madeline Belows
Poster – How families are coping with COVID-19: A qualitative analysis of differential family experiences based on maternal depression symptomology
Supervisor – Dr. Leslie E. Roos, Assistant Professor, Psychology

2^nd (tie) – Taryn Gaulke
Poster – The Association Between Marital Satisfaction and Coparenting Quality: A Meta-Analysis
Supervisor – Dr. Jennifer Theule, Associate Professor, Psychology

“I entered the competition with the hopes of simply highlighting our findings of the pandemic’s impact on family functioning and how depression has influenced this. Having the opportunity to present among my peers was a great chance to shed light on the struggles families have been facing over the past two years,” said first place winner Madeline Belows, a third year Psychology honours student who conducted her research as part of a UM Undergraduate Research Award. “As a student who has recently begun my research endeavours, winning this competition has inspired me to continue down this path and gives me hope for my future as a researcher.”

Belows poster 2021

Gaulke poster 2021

Faculty of Arts undergraduate students regularly participate in the annual competition and often come away as winners for their research.

Congratulations as well to the additional 12 Arts students who entered their research into the competition. The areas of research spanned Economics, Global Political Economy, History, Labour Studies, Psychology and Sociology and Criminology.

The competition, organized by the University of Manitoba’s Office of the Vice President Research and International, supports diverse forms of scholarship across disciplines and provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to share their work while advancing research prospects. During the virtual competition, rather than speaking to judges about their research in-person, students submitted a PDF poster and an accompanying 3-minute video explaining their research.

Posters are judged on scholarly, scientific and creative content, graphic representation, clear objectives and conclusions, effective communication and overall impression and significance of the research. All participants receive UM Co-Curricular Record recognition.

To view the student posters and presentation recordings from all categories, visit the competition webpage.

University Gold Medal
Alexa Watson 
B.A. Honours (English)

The University Gold Medal is an opportunity to honour the best in the undergraduate graduating class of each faculty. A gold medal is awarded to the undergraduate student in the Faculty of Arts who has achieved the highest standing. This year’s recipient is Alexa Watson (she/they). Alexa is graduating with a B.A. Honours degree with a major in English and a minor in women’s and gender studies.

Alexa excelled in her studies while in the Faculty at the same time as participating in various research opportunities in Arts, a multi-year student internship with the University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities and practicing as a cellist. In the summer of 2020, Alexa received an Undergraduate Research Award where she was able to work on her own research project, supervised by Dr. Erin Keating, that she explains as “an act of queer feminist recovery work, exposing how female same-sex desire and radical gender performances exist well back in history and literature (late seventeenth-century), if you’re willing to look for them.” One of Alexa’s favourite moments in her degree was participating in a historical re-enactment of a Restoration coffee house as part of a class project. She wrote an article for UM Today helping to promote the event and was interviewed on CBC radio (at 6:00 am!) to talk about the unique experience. “It was a very busy day but an incredible experience overall,” she said. “I got to write a script and see it performed by my hard-working group mates. Watching something I wrote come to life was extraordinary.” Alexa’s next challenges will be to finish off some writing projects (and hopefully publishing an article!) and presenting at the Canadian Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies conference this fall. She’ll be applying to grad school soon and is open to opportunities both close to home and internationally. “I cannot express enough gratitude to Dr. Keating, without her mentorship I wouldn’t be where I am,” she says, as well as adding special thanks to “Drs. Serenity Joo, Glenn Clark and of course, my mom, who’s unwavering support got me across the finish line.”

Faculty of Arts Honours Medal
Trevyna William
B.A. Honours (Psychology) 

Trevyna William is this year’s recipient of the Faculty of Arts Honours Medal awarded to the student with the highest standing in a Bachelor of Arts four-year Honours Degree Program. Trevyna is graduating with a Psychology major and a Sociology minor. During her studies, she became passionate about the intersection between human biology and psychology leading her to pursue a career in the mental health field. Research has been a significant part of her university experience. After her second year, she received an Undergraduate Research Award exposing her to the world of psychology research. From there, she has had the opportunity to learn in various labs including Kinesiology and the Hearts and Minds Lab which investigates developmental and clinical science questions for children’s and family health and support. “Some of my favourite memories are from the pre-COVID days – the late night study sessions and deep talks I’d have with friends at the Dafoe Library,” she says fondly. Trevyna was also an active member of UM’s Power to Change student group where she says she “grew as a person, made timeless connections, had the privilege to be a student leader and even met her husband.” She’d like to thank “God, my husband, family, friends and mentors I have met along my university journey for their incredible support and encouragement.”

Faculty of Arts Advanced Medal
Bailey Thompson
B.A. Advanced (Linguistics)

The award for the highest standing in a Bachelor of Arts four-year Advanced Degree Program goes to Bailey Thompson. During her undergraduate degree, Bailey majored in Linguistics and minored in Psychology. “Taking a Bachelor of Arts allowed me to explore many interests including economics, abnormal psychology, communication and nutrition,” she says. “My favourite classes were languages – Spanish and American Sign Language. It’s so valuable to learn a new language and about other cultures and ways of life.” Bailey begins a master’s program this fall at McGill University in Communication Sciences and Disorders majoring in speech language pathology (SLP). She credits student group meetings at UM to help her learn about the opportunities for future studies in SLP and to meet like-minded students. Bailey would like to thank her parents for their support and the Department of Linguistics professors who “always put in extra to help their students thrive”.

Faculty of Arts General Medal
Melanie Vincent
B.A. General (Global Political Economy)

Melanie Vincent is the 2021 recipient of the Faculty of Arts General Medal, awarded for highest standing in a Bachelor of Arts three-year General Degree Program. Melanie completed a major in Global Political Economy (GPE). In 2019-2020, Melanie received the Paul Phillips Memorial award for the best research paper by a student in economics, labour studies or global political economy. She recalls this as a special moment as she remembers originally struggling with the topic, but ultimately was truly proud of the final paper. This motivated Melanie to pursue research further working as a research assistant and completing the GPE thesis course having opportunities to work with advisors from GPE, economics and sociology in topic areas such as land claims and cosmopolitan consumption, culture and markets in Canadian society. During her degree, Melanie also dove in to student life participating on the UMSU judicial board, the GPE student’s association and she worked for three years as a student assistant with the UM Undergraduate Admissions office helping fellow students navigate their educational choices. She plans to attend law school at the University of Toronto this fall and has a goal to specialize in union-side labour and employment law. Melanie would like to extend thanks to her friends and family for supporting her “through every exam, rough draft and study session. I would not have made it through remote learning without you.” She has some advice for U1 students who may be unsure of their next step, “I highly recommend looking into GPE. The program is made up of some of the most passionate, intelligent and inspiring people I’ve ever met.”

Faculty of Arts Integrated Studies Program Medal
Adekunle Onakomaiya
B.A. Integrated Studies (Psychology)

The award for the highest standing in a Bachelor of Arts Integrated Studies Degree Program goes to Adekunle Onakomaiya. Adekunle graduates with a concentration in Psychology.

Congratulations to the Arts medal winners.

At its 2021 UM Virtual Convocation, the University of Manitoba will confer degrees, diplomas and certificates on 4,421 graduates.
Don’t forget to check UM Student Instagram  and Faculty of Arts Instagram to learn more about some of the students graduating in 2021. You can also join the ‘Convocation conversation’ on social media by following #umanitoba2021.

Students apply to present research they conducted to fulfill the requirements of their honours thesis or projects they completed as part of 2018’s Undergraduate Research Awards (URA), where they were funded to work over the summer months with an Arts faculty member.

The event provides an opportunity for students to gain valuable experience presenting research. The Arts symposium, along with the university-wide Undergraduate Research Poster Competition, colloquiums hosted by Arts student groups and academic and student conferences together can help to add to the overall academic experience for Arts undergraduate students.

“It is important for students to have an opportunity to celebrate the many hours of work that went into their research projects,” explained the symposium’s host Dr. Jason Leboe-McGowan, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, Faculty of Arts. “Presenting their summaries helps the students feel pride in their work and provides a chance to practice the valuable skills of public speaking and communicating research findings in front of an audience.”

The day began with a keynote from Dr. Peter Kulchyski, Native Studies, where he set the tone presenting his research findings on the activities of Manitoba Hydro in constructing hydroelectric facilities, explaining the ongoing devastating and permanent effects of those activities on the environment, as well as on indigenous communities, their culture and their traditional ways of life.

The students then took the stage presenting under themes such as:

• Crime, Punishment and Policing
• Environment; Who’s Responsible?
• Indigenous Settler Relations
• Identity and its Representations
• Consumer Behaviour

The Faculty was well represented with students presenting topical research from the areas of Psychology, Global Political Economy, Sociology & Criminology, Native Studies, Political Studies, Linguistics and Women’s & Gender Studies. Two participating students, Sarah Hoffman and Jamie Campbell, offered clips of the day to the @umstudent Instagram community through an account takeover. Their posts helped to showcase all the student’s efforts.

Omar Lucman, a fourth year honours student in Sociology and Criminology, presented on Anti-Muslim Propaganda in the Media and Its Impact on Canadian Muslims where he outlined his honours thesis research on negative stories and negative reporting done by the media on Muslims around the world and the societal impacts on Muslims in Canada. When asked about the importance of events like this, Lucman shared, “While the task of presenting at the symposium seemed daunting at first, I am ultimately quite happy that I was able to share the results of my research with such a welcoming and curious audience.  After months of grueling work, I would have regretted not presenting at the symposium as we had a ton of practice in developing our presentation skills throughout the term. It would have been like practicing piano diligently in preparation for a concert performance only to never actually perform.”

For 2019, there are more than 25 Arts students scheduled to conduct research as part of the URA program. We look forward to hearing the results of their research and others next March.