YouAlberta
Each year, the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation (ACGC) highlights 30 young leaders making a difference in their communities and beyond. This year, 10 of those recipients are U of A students or alumni tackling issues from social justice and Indigenous advocacy to global education and health awareness.
I caught up with three of this year’s U of A student recipients. Over the next three weeks, we’ll feature Mel Wilk, Benjamin Kucher and Grace Kunnel to learn more about their work, how their time at the U of A has shaped their vision and what’s next for them.
Grace Kunnel: Advancing educational equality and health awareness
As a U of A student, Grace has seen how education can transform lives — yet she recognizes that many youths around the world face significant barriers to accessing it.
This reality motivates her work with Learning Beyond Borders (LBB), where she fundraises for educational resources for students in Uganda, as well as through pen pal exchanges with Ugandan students via LBB and HEAL International. Grace is also developing student nutrition guidelines that centre on affordable Ugandan cultural foods to support brain health and overall well-being.
At the U of A, she organizes a Cancer Researcher Speaker Series to demystify oncology research and make it accessible to all students. As co-host of the Humans of Relay podcast, she uses storytelling to share the experiences of those affected by cancer and to promote community healing.
Inspired by her grandparents’ transformative educational journeys, Grace envisions a future where global citizenship and educational equality ensure every child has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive.
How has your journey at the U of A inspired your dedication to educational equality and health advocacy?
One aspect I have truly come to value about the U of A is our strong sense of community.
Even with my first years being online, I found numerous opportunities to connect with others and engage in meaningful experiences. A pivotal moment was when I joined the U of A Ambassador Program. This experience helped me build meaningful connections and showed me that my university education could be more than just the courses I take; it could be a pathway to new opportunities and a powerful platform for advocacy if I embraced them.
I became motivated to seek out student groups whose missions resonated with me. This led me to become actively involved in LBB and Relay for Life, whose initiatives fueled my commitment to educational equality and health advocacy. Exploring this interest through courses from the School of Public Health also deepened my understanding of the close connection between education and health and how advancing both can uplift entire communities.
What motivated you to integrate initiatives like pen pal exchanges and a Cancer Researcher Speaker Series into your work, and how do these efforts promote global citizenship?
There’s so much to learn from the lived experiences of others, and I’ve come to realize that the most meaningful way to support a cause is to centre and uplift the voices of those we aim to help. This is what motivates me — knowing that their voices shape every step of my work.
One of my favourite aspects of the pen pal letters is learning about the children’s aspirations. Their words vividly express a passion for learning and a desire to use their education to give back to their communities. These voices remain at the core of my work when leading fundraising initiatives that support their educational journeys.
The Humans of Relay podcast, launched by the Relay for Life outreach team, balances the authentic narratives of those impacted by cancer with valuable insights and support for our audience. We recognize the power of storytelling, and by sharing these experiences on platforms like Spotify, we’re able to reach a global audience, creating a shared space for healing and connection.
Through these collaborations, my team and I foster a deep sense of global citizenship and help contribute to building a global neighbourhood. Being a good neighbour means recognizing that distance does not limit our responsibility to one another. When we look beyond borders, we become global citizens.
Could you share an example of how your projects have created tangible opportunities for students to engage with health and educational issues?
Through Relay for Life, our Cancer Researcher Speaker Series has created opportunities for students across all faculties to engage with the current advancements in cancer research, understand its significance and explore ways they can contribute. It sheds light on the challenges and realities faced by those affected by cancer, including members of our campus community. The series also offers valuable networking opportunities for students interested in oncology, connecting them with professors actively shaping the field on our campuses.
LBB, in partnership with HEAL International, has helped provide hundreds of students in Uganda with the resources needed to graduate high school, covering tuition, supplies and meals. Students who support our fundraising initiatives not only learn about educational barriers but also discover how they can become active global citizens in breaking down those challenges.
Lastly, our podcast, Global Citizens, explores meaningful conversations surrounding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the innovative solutions being developed to address them.
This year’s Top 30 Under 30 recipients from the U of A prove that local action can create global change. Through education, advocacy and research, they inspire the next generation of students to think bigger and make a difference wherever their passions take them.