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By Patty Pitts
Five of the eight 2009 UVic Blue and Gold Award winners (L-R): Lauren Warbeck, Shantelle Moreno, Jonathan Chui, Krista Hagstrom, Emily Gibson. Photo: UVic Photo Services From helping to build schools in the Dominican Republic and teaching hip hop dance to young people in the Victoria Youth Custody Centre to assisting people in distress through the NEED Crisis and Information Line, the winners of this year’s Blue and Gold Awards contribute widely to the local and global community.
Eight University of Victoria students who combine strong academic performance with a commitment to community volunteer work were honoured at a special luncheon last month. The awards are presented annually to students who make significant contributions to promoting and improving the quality of life on the UVic campus and in our community.
The following three winners each received a $2,500 award:
Kimberley Benson is a third-year microbiology student with past volunteer experience as a UVic Student Ambassador and with the UVic Buddy Program where she worked individually and in group settings with international students. During a Hero Holiday volunteer trip to the Dominican Republic she helped build two schools. Benson remains involved with the Circle K club, is president of its Pacific Northwest District, and was recognized by the club with two awards for her outstanding contributions.
Lauren Warbeck is a third-year environmental studies and women’s studies student who volunteers with both the Women’s Studies Equity and Outreach Committee and the Women’s Studies Course Union coordinating social, educational and creative events. Her volunteer work with the Bike Lab Society includes teaching bicycle mechanics at Victoria High School, facilitating future high school workshops and establishing the Free Hub Bike Cooperative—a non-profit community bike shop. She also creates short films through MediaNet promoting the joy of cycling.
Candace Witkowskyj is a third-year social work student and mother of two who has volunteered with the Discovery Program, working with youth who have been suspended from school for substance use, and the Community Social Planning Council, providing support to people with disabilities and low income. She currently volunteers with the Prostitutes Empowerment Education and Resource Society as an informal outreach worker and cook, with Together Against Poverty as an advocate for people with disabilities, and with Big Sisters co-facilitating a group called “Go Girl” that fosters healthy body images among pre-teen girls.
The following five winners each received a $1,000 award:
Jonathan Chui is a PhD student and teaching assistant in chemistry who has devoted hundreds of volunteer hours to UVic’s peer-helping program, providing one-on-one peer counseling to students on personal and academic issues. He also helps run the program’s weekly coffeehouse and maintains the peer helpers newsletter. In addition he is a volunteer with the NEED Crisis and Information Line.
Emily Gibson is a third-year political science and environmental studies student who combines her interest in international development and environmental issues through volunteer work with Engineers Without Borders Canada. Twice she was named the organization’s Volunteer of the Year. Last summer she worked on fundraising initiatives for the Permaculture Institute of El Salvador, which teaches subsistence farmers sustainable ways of living and farming.
Krista Hagstrom is a third-year theatre student who volunteers at the Victoria Youth Custody Centre teaching weekly hip hop dance and drama classes and assisting with special events, including choreographing dances for student performances. Hagstrom has also volunteered as a counselor with Operation Trackshoes.
Heidi Krahn is a third-year nursing student who spent a year as a volunteer at the Salvation Army in Nelson, BC, with a pilot project providing basic health care services and prevention/harm reduction information to homeless and at-risk people. The project, a result of the Selkirk College/UVic Nursing Program, was designed to create a nursing outreach practicum placement for third year nursing students.
Shantelle Moreno is a fourth-year women’s studies student who volunteers with Antidote, the multi-racial girls’ and women’s network. In this role she facilitates youth-led initiatives and skill-building programs for racialized and Aboriginal girls ages 10 to 18. She’s also an active member of the Women’s Studies Equity and Outreach Committee and a former special events volunteer for the Burnside Gorge Community Association.
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