Congratulations, Grads!
The University of Victoria will award 1,246 degrees, 60 diplomas and 14 professional specialization certificates and 81 certificates to 1,401 students at Fall Convocation in four ceremonies Nov. 9 and 10. At the 10 a.m. ceremony on Nov. 10, the first cohort of 30 students will receive the Certificate in Aboriginal Language Revitalization. All four ceremonies will be webcast live at www.uvic.ca/convocation and each ceremony will also be available in a video-on-demand format on this website for eight weeks thereafter.
A trio of honorary degrees
Fall Convocation ceremonies will include three honorary degree presentations. The university’s highest award—based on exceptional achievements in scholarship, research, teaching, the creative arts or public service—will be bestowed upon an internet architect, a computer science pioneer and a leading advocate for arts in education.
Honouring this year’s top teachers
At Convocation, the University of Victoria celebrates the accomplishments of our students and the great promise that they bring as they enter on a new stage of their careers. It is also an occasion when we recognize the outstanding talent, dedication and creativity of the faculty members and other teaching staff who provide such a high quality of education to our students.
Degree took grad across Canada’s three oceans
Ian Wrohan’s university experience strayed from the classroom environment and extended to the northern extremes of the Canadian Arctic. This September, Wrohan completed his master’s in Earth and ocean sciences and will convocate this month.
PhD Proud: School of Nursing’s first doctoral grads
After travelling very different paths, Ann Syme and Kara Schick Makaroff convocate together this November with PhDs in nursing. While their journeys differ, Syme and Makaroff share feelings of pride mixed with relief as the first two students to graduate from the School of Nursing’s relatively new doctoral program, launched in 2006.
Grad student explores the mysteries of the deep sea
When you ask Katleen ‘Kat’ Robert, a scuba diving enthusiast, what brought her to UVic to pursue her MSc degree, she says it was the irresistible pull of the ocean and the chance to study marine biology up close and personal. Little did she know that her diving experience at UVic would involve an all-day 2,100-metre trip to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
Grad uses theatre to help others quit smoking
Quitting smoking can be tough, but imagine the added pressure of trying to quit while living with a mental illness. University of Victoria applied theatre researcher Lauren Jerke, who will receive her master’s degree at Fall Convocation, doesn’t have to imagine this scenario—she wrote a play about it.
Psychology grad follows her dual passions
Nichole Williams knew at 15 years old she wanted to study psychology and make a difference in the lives of people suffering from dependence issues. Williams graduates this month with an honours degree in psychology; fulfilling the first of many goals she has set for herself. Her honours thesis on homelessness and alcohol dependence explored how policy measures can be used to help Victoria’s most vulnerable populations.
Opportunity keeps knocking for new grad
Even before Lara Dahle graduated, prospective employers approached her, asking to be notified upon her graduation. This might not be so surprising for this exceptional student, but it is the norm for many students in her program. She is graduating with a bachelor of science in health information science.
PhD grad contributes to ATLAS particle detector
Lorraine Courneyea, who graduates this month with her PhD in high-energy physics, just completed the kind of program that every particle-physicist-in-the-making dreams of.
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