Past Wellness Champions

The U of A Black Students’ Association strives to empower and promote community interaction among all Black students at the university. With the goal of fostering student development, the UABSA’s objective is to create a network of supportive members who connect culturally and socially and contribute to one another’s success academically.

The UABSA social impact division collaborates with campus stakeholders to raise awareness of Black students’ experiences and connect them with resources to support them on campus.

In the community, they connect with a Black students association at a local high school, providing an opportunity for Black students to mentor and be mentored. They have also partnered with Africa Centre’s PARSSY program, a mentorship program that matches their members with high-risk youth in junior high and high school.

They hold events to help students build skills for success, including nutrition, study habits and cultural celebrations like the 2022 “A Night in Lagos,” promoting social connection and community.

Grimbly, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics, creates a supportive working and learning environment by embedding wellness activities in committee meetings, offering regular check-ins with colleagues and making them feel supported. Grimbly is known for spreading cheer, empathy and caring to those around her, encouraging her colleagues and the residents to take time to become aware and care for their wellbeing.

An assistant professor within the Faculty of Engineering, Pettit was nominated by his students a whopping 27 times for the Wellness Champions awards for promoting a supportive learning environment and creating connections among his class. His students feel supported, with the encouragement that “wellness is a priority” within the classroom through check-ins, connections and creating opportunities to attend professional development events for students.

Ahmed Youssouf, faculty service officer and coordinator of Campus Saint-Jean physics laboratories, introduced a strong equity, diversity and inclusivity component to the physics lab curriculum. She created a space for students to learn and acknowledge biases that are present in science to better create a safe and welcoming learning environment. By sharing her own stories as a woman of colour in a male-dominated discipline, she was able to enable essential reflections on the purpose and necessity of EDI in science.

Zelyck is an assistant professor and Ph.D. student from the Faculty of Nursing who promotes wellness to her peers, students and colleagues in a variety of ways. By creating space in the classroom for check-ins, she encourages student connections and engagement. She also plays an active role in the community of practice for instructors on campus, advocating for ways that wellness can be embedded in the learning environment.

Zelyck encourages connection through creative activities such as digital storytelling, sharing successes and achievements to promote a community of connection and encouragement with faculty and staff. Zelyck has been very active on campus, seeking ways to better support her faculty.

Hurley is president of the Growing with Grief student group, a space for students experiencing grief. The group provides peer support to each other as they go through their experience of grief. They also post tips and promote various resources to students to learn more about their grief and find coping mechanisms that would work for them. Sharing and connecting through grief builds empathy and community to those who are part of the group and, in turn, supports those around them experiencing grief as well.

Storm, a building services worker, is always making spaces more enjoyable to students and other occupants. She goes out of her way to create extra happiness around the student areas by hanging ribbons and ornaments, baking for colleagues and providing cheerful check-ins. Storm also goes above what is required for building maintenance, supporting the working and learning environments for our campus community.

Zuzana and Torie have worked hard to create a supportive environment for international students within our campus community. Together, they organized the Wellness Week at the Student Engagement Centre through the U of A Faculty of Extension's English Language School. Zuzana and Torie’s efforts not only helped support the students but they have also helped equip staff to better identify and address signs of distress in students.