Despite the distance, Loretta Caribou knew she had to make the journey from her home southward. She saw how children living in Pukatawagan had been losing their Cree language and culture, and wanted to help revitalize her community.

She first attended UM in 2000 as a visiting student from Brandon University to complete some elective courses. Then in 2003 she began a Master in Administration cohort program with UM, but was unable to complete it because of family and community commitments. But in 2017 a Master’s cohort program in Inclusive Language and Literacy was offered by the UM Faculty of Education, and she applied for one of the 25 seats available.

Caribou explains: “Before I started my master’s program I did not know who I was or where I came from, and certainly was not proud of my Nation. But throughout my studies, three people gave me encouragement to pursue my goals and helped me to regain pride in my Cree heritage. Education faculty Drs. Jennifer Watt, Wayne Serebrin and Michelle Honeyford all influenced my life in a positive way and helped me grow both personally and professionally.”

Watt notes: “Caribou had to travel the farthest to get to our cohort courses, approximately 800 kilometres from of Winnipeg. She has a strong and personal commitment to make a real change in her community.”

“About four years ago, leaders from the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre Inc. (MFNERC) approached the UM Faculty of Education to work together to create a M.Ed. cohort,” Watt explains. “The cohort was to focus on Inclusive Language and Literacy within a First Nations education context. The resulting consultative process with First Nations educators and Elders allowed for a discussion of the needs of Indigenous students.”

In 1998, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) had established MFNERC through a resolution to provide coordinated second and third level education services to First Nations schools. MFNERC promotes and encourages First Nations involvement in all aspects of the development and implementation of educational change.

The first UM Faculty of Education’s first Master’s cohort in curriculum, teaching and learning, partnered with MFNERC to train educators for First Nations communities, will see 22 Indigenous educators graduate this fall.

Caribou says she grew up in summer fishing camps in the surrounding areas of Churchill River until she moved to Pukatawagan in the early 1970s to attend day school. Devoted to her goals, she has been a classroom teacher, a resource teacher, is currently working at the University College of the North as an adult educator, helping adult students complete their high school diploma and to pursue their goals.

She states: “My passion is to build a remote wilderness school in my area, which will focus on my Cree language and heritage. My children and grandchildren do not speak the Cree language and I want to revitalize the Cree language and culture. I hope that becomes my legacy to the next generation of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation members.”

Caribou says she has two favourite memories of her time at UM. The first was being part of a master’s cohort group that gave her an opportunity to share her knowledge, experiences, resources, and ideas.

“The other was lighting a fire with Dr. Wayne Serebrin and my classmates on the grounds of the University of Manitoba,” she recalls with fondness.

Fall Convocation will be held this year on October 22, join us via Live Stream (5pm for all degrees and diplomas, 7pm for Extended Education: Certificate Programs).  

Congratulations to the following PhD, Master of Education and PBDE students who have completed their programs in the Faculty of Education, and whose graduation was celebrated at the October 2015 University of Manitoba Convocation Ceremony.

Ph.D. in Education Program – Dr. Charlotte Enns, Associate Dean

PhD Graduates

Bathelemy Bolivar                

Bathelemy Bolivar.

Title of Thesis: Designing a Science Classroom Learning Environment Instrument for Francophone Minority Settings Which Attends to the Voiced Concerns of Immigrant/Refugee Students and Their Teachers

Advisor: Dr. Brian Lewthwaite

Master of Education Program      

Department of Curriculum, Teaching & Learning – Dr. Francine Morin, Head

Master of Education Thesis-Based Graduates:

Cheryle Tina Broszeit

Thesis: Exploring the Benefits of a Separate Course in ASL Fingerspelling and Numbering to Develop Students’ Receptive Competency

Advisor: Dr. Charlotte Enns

Tania Ramona Giannuzzi

Thesis: Exploring Teacher-Student Fit in Manitoba Classrooms

Advisor: Dr. Richard Hechter

Jacquelyn Elizabeth Neudorf

Thesis: Making It Count: A Narrative Inquiry into One Teacher’s Experiences Supporting Middle School EAL Students

Advisor: Dr. Yi Li

Lam Ngoc Nguyen

Thesis: Developing Conceptual Understanding and Probabilistic Thinking through Tree Diagrams

Advisor: Dr. Ralph Mason

Zane Nicholas Zalis

Thesis: A Retrospective/prospective Arts Based Educational Research Study of i Believe: A Modern Oratorio for Empathic Learning

Advisor: Dr. Francine Morin

Master of Education Comprehensive Route Graduates:

Darcy Henry Dewit

Advisor: Dr. Catherine Casey

Gavin Charles Faurschou

Advisor: Dr. Richard Hechter

James Robert Maclennan

Advisor: Dr. Gary Babiuk

Tracei Marie Pacheco

Advisor: Dr. Catherine Casey

Andrea Michelle Unrau

Advisor: Dr. Karen Smith

Jerrold Kelvin Wiebe

Advisor: Dr. Richard Hechter

Anastassiya Yudintseva

Advisor: Dr. Orest Cap

Department of Educational Administration, Foundations & Psychology –

Dr. Jon Young, Head

Master of Education Thesis-Based Graduates:

Trevi Bea Freeze

Thesis: A Qualitative Study of the Proactive Use of Traditional Counselling Methods: The Perceptions of Teachers in Education

Advisor: Dr. Grace Ukasoanya

Troy Ernest Fazer Scott

Thesis: The Importance of the Teacher-Student Relationship in Contributing to Adolescent EAL Newcomer Success in Secondary School

Advisor: Dr. John Wiens

Jarrod Travis Stadnyk

Thesis: Going Forth and Setting the World on Fire: Assessing how St. Paul’s High School Students are Fulfilling the Characteristics of the Profile of the Graduate at Graduation

Advisor: Dr. David Creamer

Comprehensive Route Graduates:

Karen Diane Bergen

Advisor: Dr. Grace Ukasoanya

Anna-Maria Theresa Coniglio

Advisor: Dr. Priya Mani

David Grad

Advisor: Dr. Glen McCabe

Anna Maaria Mangano

Advisor: Dr. John Wiens

Kerri Leigh Martin

Advisor: Dr. Nathalie Piquemal

Natalie Rose Strecker

Advisor: Dr. Orest Cap

Agnieszka Barbara Szymanowicz

Advisor: Dr. Priya Mani

Christine Joan Uhres-Todd

Advisor: Dr. Nathalie Piquemal

Bobby Thomas Varghese

Advisor: Dr. Grace Ukasoanya

Nadine Melanie Yetman

Advisor: Dr. Dawn Wallin

Faculty of Education Post-Baccalaureate Diploma (PBDE) Graduates

Dr. Charlotte Enns, Associate Dean (Graduate & Professional Programs, and Research)

Julie Ann Acheson

Julie Catherine Alfred

Esther Eminomo Alumba

Desi-Rae Ruth Anderson

Courtney Jennifer Andrysiak

Brenley Erin Bacon

Monique Nicole Bailey

Raj-Kiran Kaur Brar

Jessica Anne Braun

Rory Wilson Brett

Matthew Wayne Buck

Lacey Anne Butler

Chantelle Lee-Anne Byrnes

Andrea Colleen Camaclang

Erin Laureen Charles

Christopher David Chiappetta

Joan Catherine Coppens

Meghan Rae Corbett

Saul Amado Correia

Daryl Vical Cowan

Sheri Lea Denys

Jenna Rae Derouard

Margaret Mary Derraugh

Ian Robert Dixon

Rochelle Donnette Doerksen

Celine Helga Doll

James Anthony Driedger

Debra Anne Eby

Laurenda Dawn Emilson

Liana Maria de Sousa Ferreira

Ainsley Diane Frederickson

Lorna Friesen

David Graham Gamble

Shelly Baucher-Hauta

Lydia Giesbrecht

Kristen Dawn Gingera

Andrea Joy Graham

Jennifer Marie Granke

Lindsay Joanna Gustafson

Laurel Joan Howard

Holly Joy Hunter

Sakina Huzeifa

Krista Natalya Janzen

Corey Gregory Kapilik

Candace Susan Kosack

Pamela Gwen Kuorikoski

Kerry Lee Kutcher

Kevin Peter Landreville

Shea Kelsey Lavallee

Ari Jonathon Leibl

Ellie Dyan Lessak

Brenda Alice Lytwyn

Erwin Ross Maguire

Amber Anna Marion

Patrick James Martens

Russell Grant Maskiw

Lucy Maciel Mayor

Kyle Carson Melia

Kristin Irene Morris

Desiree Heather Narvey

Maureen Ann Nash

Joel Scott Nedecky

Brittany Offers

Paul Kelvin Ong

Rhennata Lynne Opperman

Cheryl Anne Pakosh

Deanna Jayne Perche

Ashley Dawn Pilatic

Robin Lin Plourre-Hingley

Maria Tina Pochailo

Breanne Lauren Pomeroy

Kysta Pooley

Kimberley Deborah Purcell

Sarah Anne Quickfall

Ashley Jayne Rach

Colleen Elizabeth Rana

Denay Recheal Reimer

Lilibeth Remonte

Christopher John Rempel

Caeli Irene Rollins

Jane Patricia Rowland

Patricia Lynne Sayies

Yvonne Schroeder

Jeremy Daniel Siemens

Tannis May Silver

Suzanne Simard

Terence Royce Skarban

Sandra Carol Slattery

Jan Christopher Slavicek

Melissa Irene Soutte

Paula Leanne Sowany

Stacey Rae Stone

Richard Bryan Toews

Patricia Jacqueline Tomczyk

Katharine Nicole Treloar

Fritzgerald Asinas Villanueva

Monida Lauren Wakefield

Jennifer Elizabeth Walld

Julie Michelle Ward

Geraldine Helen Whitford

Alexis Michelle Wilson

***

Martha Koch, Melanie Janzen and Charlotte Enns, who are currently professors in the faculty, have been named to new roles which will be conducted along with their professorial duties.

After serving as acting director of the Student Experiences Office since January, Martha Koch became the director of the office this summer.

Martha Koch

Koch, who is also an assistant professor in the department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, received her PhD from the University of Ottawa in 2010. She specializes in mathematics education and educational assessment. In her role as director of the SEO, Koch will oversee the classroom field experiences for year 1 and 2 teacher candidates, including urban, rural and independent experiences along with unique northern and French Immersion practicums.

Melanie Janzen

Melanie Janzen, who was previously the director of the student experiences office, took on the position of associate dean, undergraduate, at the beginning of July, following the move of Jerome Cranston to the role of Executive Director, Student Academic Success, from Education. Janzen will oversee the undergraduate students in Education, including the transition this fall which will see the incoming class starting the new B.Ed. program and the Year 2 students continuing with the old B.Ed. program.

Janzen, who has a PhD from the University of British Columbia, is an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning and a research affiliate with the Centre for Human Rights Research. Her areas of interest are in teacher identity and how teachers understand who they are and what it means to be and to become a teacher, along with specializations in curriculum studies and early years education.

Charlotte Enns

As of August, Charlotte Enns has been named the new associate dean, Graduate & Professional Programs, and Research. She will oversee the faculty’s substantial Master of Education, Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Education and PhD programs. She is also a professor in the department of Educational Administration, Foundations & Psychology (EAF&P).

Enns received undergraduate and graduate degrees in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont., and her PhD at the University of Manitoba. Deaf education is her area of specialization, along with language and Literacy Learning and inclusive special education.

Zalis created a full, 90-minute oratorio entitled i believe, based on a holocaust story of “racism, hatred, destruction and hope” and will be presenting his creative thesis performance July 10 at Crescent Fort Rouge United Church. The piece is both a retrospective and prospective “arts-based educational research study” of his musical creation, which he calls “a modern oratorio for empathetic learning.”

The oratorio has been seen by audiences all over the world.

He had originally created the i believe overture piece in 2004 and it has since been shown to audiences all over the world including New York, Toronto and Germany. The three-part creative thesis included a retrospective study of i believe as an example of arts-based educational research and a prospective study of i believe via his work on a sequel to the oratorio called Nostos. (During the July 10 concert, the choir will also be singing one song from the sequel called “Home,” which will be conducted by Zalis.) The third requirement of Zalis’s creative thesis is the public performance itself, which will feature soloists, adult and children’s choruses, strings and piano.

Zalis, who is the music director at Miles Macdonell Collegiate in Winnipeg, first created a 12–minute portion of the musical for the opening of the Arthur V. Mauro Centre for Peace and Justice in 2004 and it grew from there.

“I was taken by the Holocaust in a deeply disturbing manner. I am a history major as well [during undergrad at U of M]. I decided to create a new work based on the Holocaust, human rights and genocide and all those pertinent issues that affect and impact our humanity.  I felt compelled to create a large-scale work that told a critically important story about “us” – the human condition. What I did differently was doing it in conjunction with schools and choirs and the Winnipeg symphony orchestra over three years. The premiere sold out.”

“That essentially was my thesis.”

However, Zalis says he waited several more years—performing the work with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra from 2005-07, and after that in cities including Toronto, New York and Germany—before proposing i believe as a creative thesis with Francine Morin, department head of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning in the faculty and a professor of music and arts education.

“It’s still not a common type of thesis. I wasn’t sure if I was going to come back to U of M. But Francine Morin was there. We had a meeting and I believe she understood me, she advocated for me, guided me. She is simply an outstanding professor and educator.”

The piece is sung in 12 movements that depict the arc of “a holocaust story” as seen through the eyes of two young people, says Zalis. It also includes commentary from the chorus, which represents different communities.

“In addition to that, it’s seen through the eyes of the perpetrators so you get two sides of a story – the heinous and sublime. A callous disregard for humanity versus those saying ‘Oh, why me?’

In one portion, the chorus talks about the horrors of the holocaust.

“What I saw and what I heard

The smell of hell that filled the earth

The cold, the dark, the hunger pains

The cries for help but no one came.”

The story also looks at what happens after liberation. “What now? Will I love again?” is part of one of the solos.

“In other words, putting it all into perspective,” says Zalis.

Performances of i believe are moving, with many saying that ‘It changed my life.’

He notes that since its inception, 25,000 people have seen it and one of the most common responses is “It changed my life.”

“It sounds drastic,” he adds, “but it has happened so often that it makes us think there is something missing in our understanding of the arts as a form of inquiry that can enlarge understanding”.

He says he created the melody to keep listeners humming the songs long after they leave.

“I felt that if this is going to resonate it had to haunt.”

*All proceeds from public ticket sales of i believe will be donated to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

i believe will be performed Friday, July 10 at 8 p.m. at Crescent Fort Rouge United Church, 525 Wardlaw Ave.

Tickets can be purchased at McNally Robinson,  University Centre Answers Booth  and Winnipeg Youth Chorus or 204-479-6468.

Her instructor had each student pick scientific topics out of a bag. They then had to create a lesson plan about that topic. Jalloh, currently a PhD student in the Faculty of Education who was chosen as a recipient of this year’s U of M Emerging Leaders Award, chose “the virus.”

She decided to do a lesson plan on HIV and AIDS.

“I was really struck by the role that education could play in terms of the disease. In terms of how it was spread, addressing stigma, encouraging people to get testing. There seemed to be such a strong role education could play in terms of HIV and AIDS.

“That really changed the entire direction of what I undertook after that.”

Instead of becoming a language arts teacher after receiving her B.Ed. in 2004, Jalloh worked in community health and at various non-profit organizations.

With the AIDS virus top of mind, immediately after she got her bachelor’s degree, Jalloh signed up for an internship in Tanzania to do AIDS education.

“That really solidified for me that I was interested in the role of education and health—specifically sexual health.”

From there, Jalloh, did a year of classroom teaching in Mexico. It was then that she really realized that being a “traditional” teacher wasn’t for her. “It was fine, but it wasn’t necessarily the best fit for me,” she says.

She returned to Africa to do another internship on HIV and AIDS.

“That was hugely instrumental and it all started because of my science class in my B.Ed.”

Finding her way

Jalloh then moved into the non-profit sector in Winnipeg in 2006, working for Child Find Manitoba doing education about the prevention of sexual exploitation. In 2008, she began work on her masters of education at the U of M and at the same time was doing part-time research assistant work, working with street-involved youth in Winnipeg to evaluate a sexual health resource.

In 2011, she got a full-time research job with the department of medical microbiology doing research into sexually transmitted diseases and sexual health. Because of her work with street youth in Winnipeg and a replication of the project in Medellin, Columbia, Jalloh was able to bring a lot of the “qualitative” research to the table. “For example, how is this group more affected by chlamydia, or this particular group doesn’t use condoms during sexual encounters, etc.”

She’s since also worked as an international study coordinator for a pilot study at the U of M, along with Medellin and Nairobi, Kenya, exploring the use of technology to share sexual health information with youth. During the study, Jalloh says the team was trying to find out how to use social media to engage with youth and provide them with the best possible sexual health information, and whether that was more successful than a “passive poster campaign.”

Jalloh says that students who graduate in the field of education should keep in mind that if they are looking for jobs outside the traditional classroom, they need to sell their skills to potential employers. “Employers are not going to necessarily think that hey, someone with a B.Ed. would be a great fit for this position. You do have to know how to spin your skill set.”

“Most of the things I have ended up doing haven’t been because someone was seeking someone with my exact skill set. It’s been because I have been able to explain why and advocate for why it would be a great fit.”

Since 2012, Jalloh has also been working with the Winnipeg non-profit Sunshine House in various leadership roles, including her current role as co-chair of the board of directors. Pilot projects have included one in which solvent users were engaged in positive recreational activities such as bike repair, photography, etc. and another which involved the creation of literacy program for street involved adults.

Award is positive recognition

Jalloh is now studying for her PhD in the Faculty of Education and hopes to have it completed in five to six years. Her advisor is Michelle Honeyford, whose specialty is language and literacy—a good fit for her PhD because she wants to examine literacy as a social determinant of health. “Literacy is not synonymous with education but both are very important when it comes to people’s wellbeing and I would like to understand that a bit more,” Jalloh says.

Honeyford says Jalloh’s research is well-thought out and the results could be powerful.

“Ms. Jalloh understands well the complex factors—poverty, trauma, mental health, housing, nutrition, substance use—that affect the health of street-involved adults. What she hopes to discover through her doctoral studies and research has the potential to provide important insights into the role of literacy…in terms of the kinds of resources, programs, and community supports and partnerships that might better facilitate literacy learning for these population,” says Honeyford.

“Ms. Jalloh has made, and will continue to make, important contributions to society through her scholarship and community involvement,” she says.

Along with working toward her PhD, Jalloh’s current day job is as an undergraduate coordinator for the College of Medicine.

How does she juggle all of this and maintain academic excellence—with a U of M graduate cumulative GPA of 4.21?

Jalloh says if students are truly interested and engaged in their work and the subject matter, high grades come naturally.

“I think that as you learn more about yourself and learn more about the things you are interested in, you get fired up. Those are the ones that make you work hard…it’s a process and I think it’s important for people to know.”

Being chosen to receive the Emerging Leader Award was a real honour, Jalloh adds. “It’s recognition. The very nice acknowledgement of things you have undertaken,” she adds.

Jalloh plans to continue in the areas of academic work and community involvement after she graduates with her PhD.

“I would like to keep my hand in international work. I really like being part of [this] institution. So I would be very interested to see if there would be a place to become an academic at the U of M and be involved in international collaborations.”

Jalloh says she discovered along the way that her bachelor of education degree was the key into all sorts of work that she had never envisioned.

“There was this whole other world that opened up to me in terms of what you can do with education and the role that education can play in partnership with other disciplines. That is really exciting and would be really good for people to know about.”

Andrysiaks’s topic, “The Changing World of Bullying: Students’ Opinions about How to Intervene with Cyberbullying,” has been honored by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. She has been chosen as this year’s winner of the CCPA’s Master’s Thesis Award, which will be presented at the CCPA’s annual convention May 21 in Niagara Falls, Ont.

She says she is pleased to have received the nod. But for Andrysiak, who defended her thesis last June and who is now working toward applying for her PhD in counselling or clinical psychology, “the exciting part” is that the summary she wrote will be published in the association’s journal, the Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Andrysiak’s work examined ways that youth who had been cyberbullied in high school made it through those experiences—and in many cases, were able to thrive as adults.

She says she may have been chosen to receive the award because there is little research in this area of cyberbullying. “They said it was a significant contribution to the research.”

Most studies, she said, have examined what cyberbullying is or the rates of cyberbullying. “Not a lot of people were studying actual intervention or what youth were doing.”

“Courtney focused her thesis on studying cyber survivors of cyberbullying, which is an area in the literature that requires further attention,” says advisor Priya Mani, associate professor in the Faculty of Education. “I thought the unique angle that she took to frame her research question would provide Courtney with a platform for further investigation and exploration in a new and emerging field.”

The findings

As part of her research, Andrysiak spoke with survivors after they left high school in hopes that they would have some insight about what survival strategies were effective for them. She also interviewed school counsellors and one school administrator about ways in which they supported students who were cyberbullied.

“My main finding was that youth used one of two survival strategies—online or offline coping.”

Students who were being bullied on social media or websites did several things to help themselves online, Andrysiak found. That meant changing their contact or email information, cancelling or limiting their social media presence and telling authority figures about the bullying.

Offline strategies were more surprising to Andrysiak. She found a number of students took up mindfulness training, which she didn’t expect in such a young group—ages 18-26—when she interviewed them. Others joined support groups or got involved in activities that made them happy, such as volunteering or exercising, to take their minds off the bullying. Some students changed schools.

Andrysiak also found that students had a “natural tendency to be survivors. So they had this mentality of, ‘I’m not going to let them win, I’m going to be stronger.’” This helped them continue to be resilient and not let the experience run their lives after the cyberbullying had passed, she says.

In addition, Andrysiak  spoke to school counsellors and a school administrator and found that many of the efforts against cyberbullying in schools were in the area of prevention—including educating students about protecting their identity on social media. Schools also encouraged students to speak up if they were victims of cyberbullying.

Andrysiak says the kinds of bullying students encountered was varied. Some were bullied by groups of people, others by one individual. Some had a one-time experience while others were bullied for a period of time.

She says that both men and women in the group experienced cyberbullying—it wasn’t limited to one sex.

For females, she found “there was the classic ‘Mean Girls’—a group of people ganged up on one person and all of them contributing,” but for both men and women there were other instances where the bullying was instigated by one individual.

Survival instinct

In the end, though, Andrysiak said she found that the students she had interviewed had survived and even thrived after the cyberbullying incidents.

“Most of the individuals—I think 10 out of 11—were pursuing post-secondary education. So they seemed to be well adjusted.”

Andrysiak, who is currently taking courses prior to applying for her PhD, hopes to continue her research into coping and resiliency.

“Resiliency is pretty big in the positive psychology movement. I would really like to take my findings and make it into an intervention strategy and see if it is effective. Either a one-on-one counseling scenario or a group counselling scenario.”

Mani says she is impressed with the work Andrysiak has done so far.

“I consider her an invaluable emerging researcher and I believe that she will continue to make important contributions to both the scientific and service components of the counselling psychology field.”