Teaching + Learning
Learning Near....and Far
Augustana Campus offers diverse educational experiences that enrich students’ learning — no matter what program or year of study they are in!
This past year saw both the first winter field course out at Miquelon Lake Provincial Park and the return of study abroad courses (which last ran in January 2020). Hear from our students on how these experiences enhanced their education.
Advanced field studies in environmental science and ecology
Location: Augustana Miquelon Lake Research Station
“With all the time I had spent collecting data and conducting my research, I formed a personal connection with the importance of my study (the influence of snow compaction on mammalian travel routes), which allowed me to become passionate about the topic outside of the course. Here, I could test the statistical knowledge I learnt in the second year and use it in a real-life example.”
Gillian Ebidag
4th year BSc biology student
classical history and literature
Location: Greece
“This course had a lot of interesting things to say about the way we tell stories. Not just the myths we hear coming out of Ancient Greece, but the way modern Greek museums tell the stories of their past. The experience of not just learning about a place but also seeing it changes everything – viewing the places that history, and myth, happened.”
Timothy Dueck
2nd year BA ethics and global studies student
RESEARCH IMPACT
Supporting Farmer Mental Health
Augustana professor Rebecca Purc-Stephenson aims to improve the mental health of valuable community members — our farmers.
Tips farmers and ranchers can use to cope with stress:
Get some shut-eye
“There are times when farmers are busy and will find themselves working from morning to night, but ensuring that you’re getting seven to eight hours of sleep is really important for your body and brain,” she says, adding that research shows lack of sleep impairs alertness, judgment, co-ordination and reaction time.
Eat smart
Meals and snacks rich in carbohydrates and proteins provide both immediate and sustained fuel for the body. “Don’t rely on coffee to keep you going. It can be a great way to enjoy a break, but it won’t give the energy needed to work throughout the day.”
Take a break
“Taking some time away from work will help you do your best work,” says Purc-Stephenson. She advises pursuing an outside interest or hobby at least once a week. Maybe it’s fishing, hunting, golfing or helping coach a youth sports team. Along with the much-needed mental break, “creativity and good problem-solving usually comes during
these moments.”
VIKINGS UPDATE
Vikings Reach New Heights
The 2022/23 season was one unlike any other for our Vikings.
In addition to various teams moving up in the rankings, six teams competed in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) championships and five teams advanced to nationals. Most notably, our women’s curling team won the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) national championships for the first time.
Camrose is my home town. I grew up, went to school and curled here. Bringing home the gold to my community and knowing the amount of people who were supporting our team is truly a surreal feeling! It is such an honor to be able to represent my university on the national stage. We went in as the underdogs into the finals and we came out on top – it is such an unforgettable moment.
Josie Zimmerman, ACAC Female Curler of the Year (Vikings Women’s Curling Team, Skip)
In the 2022/23 season:
Academic All-Canadian Awards received from the CCAA (the highest number in the ACAC)
Home games hosted
ACAC medals won (1 gold, 5 silver, 1 bronze)
Ana Klahr
Assistant Professor, Mental Health & Psychology
“When I grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I was interested in space sciences. But I did my honours research under a psychology professor who is also a neuroscientist. I decided then that all I wanted to do was to study brains for the rest of my life. Now I study in animals what happens in patients who suffer a hemorrhagic stroke. My main goal is to find potential therapeutic targets and test the efficacy and safety of treatments.”
Thibaud Lutellier
Assistant Professor, Computing Science
“With software, our expectations are lower and we tolerate a lot of problems. This matters, because software is used in critical domains. Everyone would complain if a car sometimes displayed the speed incorrectly! We need to raise the bar of what we consider acceptable quality. My research goals are to develop techniques that put quality and reliability at the centre of software development.”
Michael Omoge
Assistant Professor, Philosophy & Black Studies
“Think about the many things you’ve come to know. Now ask yourself whether you indeed know them. In my work, I weigh and characterize our certainty with regard to what we know. I wanted to be a philosopher after taking logic and critical thinking in my undergraduate degree. I loved the simplicity and transferability. How it exposes human reason and enables proper reasoning.”
Ivana Schoepf
Assistant Professor, Integrative Biology
“Nature constantly presents animals with challenges. My research focuses on understanding how individuals cope with the challenges of disease and competition. Deep down I have always known I wanted to be a biologist. Growing up in a small town in Italy, I made the formal decision to be a biologist at 13, when I had to apply for science high school. At Augustana, I look forward to developing my research to be truly holistic and integrative.”
community impact
Connecting with Community
On March 22, we celebrated the seventh anniversary of wahkohtowin Lodge’s grand opening on campus.
Organized by Augustana’s Indigenous Engagement Collective, this anniversary reflects the importance of the number seven in Cree culture. Through feast and ceremony, the event acknowledged the creation of the Lodge, which could not have been done without the dedicated work by Elders from Maskwacîs, members from nearby Indigenous communities and Indigenous students. The event was also an act of reaffirmation — of renewing our commitment to continuously supporting Indigenous presence on campus and working towards reconciliation.
We were grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with those who helped create wahkohtowin Lodge and those whom it continues to welcome. As we move into these next seven years and beyond, we welcome our community – Indigenous and non-Indigenous – to join us in continuing to make space to learn about, connect with and celebrate Indigenous peoples and cultures.
The Lodge was created in the spirit of wahkohtowin, a nehiyaw (Plains Cree) concept related to “kinship.”
wahkohtowin refers to the ties of mutuality and reciprocity that create responsibilities to other human beings and to animals, to the land, the water and the sky, that offer the bases of our lives and relationships.
giving impact
Celebrating 50 Years of Community Awards
In 1973, community and campus members came together to make a difference.
Aware that some students face financial barriers when looking to attend post-secondary, the Community Awards Program was formed. Now, half a century later, the program has grown from a couple awards to a couple hundred – with some of the first donors still supporting students today!
I attended Augustana for my first year of university years ago. At that time, they only offered one year of university, and that was a formative year in my life. I really wanted to be able to give back to Augustana once we moved back to Camrose. It was a very small program to begin with, of course, and at that time Camrose was a lot smaller and we thought, ‘Well, we can just do the best we can and see if the program survives.’ But I just couldn't imagine the growth that the Community Awards Program has seen.
Alan Fielding, ‘63 CLC, ‘65 BA, ‘69 LLB Alan and Valerie Fielding Leadership Scholarship
Community Awards Program highlights:
students receive a donor-funded award each year
students have received donor awards funded through the program since 1973
donor-funded awards were offered in 2022/23