Adelaide (Addy) Strickland is a third-year undergraduate student living and working in Mi’kma’ki. Addy is pursuing an Honours degree in Development Studies with an English Subsidiary at St. Francis Xavier University, concentrating her studies on artistic methods and storytelling in social change and community development. Outside of the classroom, Addy aims to use her passion for stories as a tool for leadership—elevating and amplifying the stories of others, and working to change problematic narratives, particularly surrounding sexualized violence on university campuses. Addy has been deeply involved in sexualized violence protests on the StFX campus and is one of the founders of the StFX Peer Support Program, a mental health and sexualized violence resource navigation and listening service run by students, for students. She also sits on the organizing committee for the Antigonish Youth Activism Conference and edits the StFX student newspaper—The Xaverian Weekly. Following her undergraduate studies, Addy plans on pursuing a master’s degree in either forced migration or border studies, with the goal of contributing to scholarship on how we interact with and facilitate change in contested spaces.

Ariane Freynet-Gagné, 21 years old, is a student in the Honours Psychology program at the University of Manitoba. That said, she still has strong ties with the student community and professors at the Université de Saint-Boniface, as Co-Founder of the environmental club called Club Té-vert. In terms of research, Ariane is interested in languages, minority communities and intergroup relations, and hopes to link the subjects when writing her Honours thesis. She is currently volunteering in the psychology research laboratory “Intergroup Relations & Social Justice Laboratory” at the University of Manitoba. Ariane is also President of the Conseil jeunesse provincial (Cjp) since September 2018 and is therefore a member of the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne française. The Cjp is the representative organization for French-speaking youth in Manitoba. Since 1974, the Cjp contributes to develop, among young Manitobans, the ability and willingness to play an active role in their Francophone community. Lastly, Ariane is also the youngest of four sisters and has two nieces. She feels lucky to be surrounded by strong women who inspire her in all the commitments she undertakes.

Claire is a Physics and Mathematics student from Halifax, Nova Scotia in her third-year at St. Francis Xavier University. As a science student, there are many exciting opportunities, she has chosen to follow a career path that incorporates her values of social responsibility and humanitarianism through a climate justice lens by involving herself in researching global warming effects of atmospheric molecules and pursuing a career in the field of atmospheric physics or sustainable energy engineering postgraduate. As a woman in STEM, she works to break down barriers for underrepresented groups through outreach and advocacy both locally, at StFX and nationally, as Chair of the Canadian Association of Physicists Student Advisory Council. In her community she strives to create equal access to education while reducing waste through a project launched in August 2019 with aims to provide donated school supplies leftover from her university to school aged children experiencing poverty. From a young age, she has always been involved in sports. She competed in Varsity soccer at StFX and is currently training for a marathon this summer. Claire hopes to inspire the same joy in others by coaching local youth and special needs persons in soccer and baseball.

Emma is a third-year student studying English at St. Francis Xavier University. She is the Vice President of the Students’ Union, a varsity athlete on the soccer team, and is known on campus for her sexualized violence prevention work. Since beginning university she has co-founded a sexualized violence awareness campaign, worked for the Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre, been an assistant projectcoordinator and facilitator for Waves of Change training, sat on over thirty university committees, developed and co-founded a peer support program on campus, given a TedX Talk at a Maple League retreat, and has been helping to drive a cultural shift at her institution. Emma considers herself to be an activist and channels her artistic abilities to fulfill that role — she has done illustrations for prevention programs and has shared her spoken word poetry in coffee houses, Take Back the Night marches, theatres, and more. Her activism began in her first year when she shared a poem on YouTube which was then discussed in news outlets nationwide. She is hoping to continue advocating against sexualized violence in the future and is currently planning on going to Law School, where she would like to learn to advocate for survivors of sexual assault navigating the legal system

Kai Jacobsen is a third-year Sociology and Gender Studies student at the University of Victoria. They are passionate about LGBTQ+ lives, identities, and communities, as well as creating a more equitable world for all marginalized people through activism and public policy. They currently volunteer as a peer leader on their campus, where they plan events that create safer spaces for LGBTQ+ students to find community, belonging, safety, and wellness. Previously, they have also worked for an LGBTQ+ resource center planning Pride events and connecting individuals to community resources, and as a research assistant focusing on Indigenous education, sexualized violence prevention, and first-generation post-secondary students for the provincial Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills, and Training. Kai is currently conducting sociological research on transgender communities on the social media site Tumblr and sees such research as an opportunity to bridge academic and public spheres to build community for trans, non-binary and Two-Spirit folks. They believe that social change is possible, and aim to enact anti-oppressive principles through their everyday life as well as on a larger scale through activism, academia, and politics.

Leighton Schreyer is an award-winning scholar and aspiring paediatrician, known for her enthusiasm, creativity, compassion and determination. She is an active volunteer, avid mental health advocate, and experienced leader. As a second-year Neuroscience and Scholars’ Electives student, Leighton is heavily engaged in the campus community at the University of Western Ontario: She is the Education Commissioner for Active Minds, a Workshop Facilitator for the Leadership Education Program, and a student mentor for incoming first-year students. In the community, Leighton volunteers with the Ronald McDonald House at Victoria Hospital, as well as SARI – a therapeutic riding program for individuals with special needs. In addition to her volunteer activities, Leighton is also the founder and director of Beecuz. Beecuz is a youth-led non-profit organization that provides innovative mental wellness education to elementary school students. By developing, launching and scaling Beecuz’ 12-week school program Leighton hopes to increase youth mental health literacy, spread the power of positivity, and build supportive communities. Whether she’s in the classroom or immersed in the community, Leighton aspires to be an everyday leader and, most importantly, never stop learning.

Madeleine is a fourth-year feminist Philosophy student at the University of Victoria. Her primary research interests are the medicalization of sex/gender, and the study of rape culture and incarceration. She works as a developer of UVic Bounce, a new mental health initiative at the University of Victoria, which works towards de-stigmatizing mental illness among students, and providing resources for student well-being. Madeleine received funding from the University of Victoria in 2018 for her research on gendered violence and forgiveness and was funded this Fall to present her work on the philosophy of medicine at the University of Cincinnati. Madeleine also strives to engage her UVic community through the organization of conversation circles on important topics like ‘victims and perpetrators of violence’, and ‘the medicalization of sex/gender’. Her perspective on understanding rape culture, and thoughts about how to dismantle it, have been influenced by her time studying Social Justice and Philosophy with incarcerated students at Wilkinson Jail in Victoria. Madeleine hopes to pursue a career in teaching and researching Feminist Philosophy, with a special focus on protecting vulnerable bodies from violence and systemic medical discrimination.

Maxim is a last-year business student, majoring in Global Management & Leadership. Born and raised in Quebec, he chose to go to Bishop’s University because he wanted to have an impact on campus. He has been involved with the Bishop’s University Commerce Society since his first year by launching a merchandising line for the business school, implementing recruitment and training tools for the commerce society, and being involved on many business case competitions. Maxim developed an interest in sustainability and climate change when he was on a student exchange in the UK. Through the Bishop’s Exceptional Student Talent Project Fund, he spent 10 days in Peru in the summer of 2019 (TGP) learning about water resource management and sustainable development. In his final year at Bishop’s, he rose environmental awareness on campus by organizing an information session for TGP, being part of the Bishop’s sustainability task force to advise the school on how to position itself as a sustainable institution, being a TEDx speaker, and working as a research assistant to determine how environmental sustainability could be integrated in business curriculums. Maxim will later continue his education with a Master’s degree in sustainable development to become an environmental leader.

Netra Unni Rajesh is a senior undergraduate student studying Engineering Science – Biomedical Systems Engineering at the University of Toronto. At the age of 14, she built a lab in her basement and carried out an experiment to study the effects of Wi-Fi radiation. This transformational experience taught her the importance of exposing youth to hands-on STEM education and ignited her passion for mentorship. Netra founded the Scientific Opportunities and Research Mentorship program which connected a network of over 400 students across Canada. She is an advocate for global engineering and STEM outreach at the University of Toronto. In her role as co-president of the Club for Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering, Netra founded the lab skills workshop series and taught over 150 students technical skills in biomedical engineering. She served as an engineering outreach ambassador and has spoken at several high schools across Ontario, sharing her experiences pursuing research internships at institutions like the National University of Singapore, Caltech and MIT. As a 2019 TEDx Speaker, Netra spoke about better integrating hands-on STEM education into the school curriculum. She will be pursuing a PhD in biomedical engineering and hopes to continue empowering future STEM leaders during her graduate studies.

Qendresa is pursuing an Honours in Neuroscience with a Certificate in Science Leadership and Communication. As a first-generation immigrant and a former refugee, Qendresa grew up valuing the importance of community connections. She fosters these connections by giving back to her community as an active mentor, volunteer, and leader in health and advocacy organizations. Besides her passion for science, Qendresa believes in the communicative power of art and photography. She has incorporated her artistic pursuits into her science by creating infographics to foster science literacy in first year students and used photography to connect campus community members as an Executive Member of Humans of Dalhousie, where she focused on highlighting the experiences of marginalized populations at a colonial institution. As a student Academic Advisor, Qendresa led initiatives to empower and connect her fellow students by creating a peer mentorship program
(‘Brain Buddies’) and launching a website to help students secure undergraduate research opportunities, as she believes in a hands-on, experiential approach to learning. Her own scientific curiosity has enabled her to publish and present her research nationally. She hopes to pursue a career in the art and science of medicine. Qendresa is also a TD Scholarship for Community Leadership recipient.