Spring Convocation

This June, spring convocation at the University of Alberta was, to say the least, most unusual. With the COVID-19 pandemic necessitating a campus-wide shut down in March, the in-person convocation ceremony (and our annual garden party celebration!) was cancelled, replaced by virtual celebrations across campus. Here is a compilation of all the messages, stories and videos created in appreciation for our amazing Faculty of Arts’ Class of 2020!

DEAN’S MESSAGE:

Celebrating the success of our students at convocation is, for me, one of the highlights of the academic year. Today, over 885 Arts undergraduate and graduate students will convocate. A virtual convocation is not what any of us expected, nor the celebration our students deserve, but it is indeed a day to be celebrated!

To this year’s graduates: I am immensely proud of how you have faced recent unprecedented challenges. I believe the Class of 2020 will be marked not by how you were changed by the pandemic, but how you became the catalyst for change.

To the Faculty of Arts community: Many of you have come to know these students and have been an important part in shaping their lives, inspiring their fields of inquiry and unlocking their potential. Today, even though they will not cross that stage to receive their parchment, they will no doubt still be reflecting on their time in the Faculty of Arts and the transformational change they have experienced here – much of it as a result of your influence. So in celebrating the great achievement of our students (watch the virtual ceremony here), please take some time to remember the role you have had in helping them along the way.

Congratulations Class of 2020!

Lesley Cormack
Dean, Faculty of Arts

CONVOCATION STORIES:

This spring, we had an overwhelming response to our request for story ideas about star graduating students. On June 1, we began rolling out our 23 profiles:

Asal Andarzipour (MA in History of Art, Design and Visual Culture). Read her story here. (Asal was also featured in Folio as part of UAlberta's convocation storytelling. See below.)
Anna Chakravorty (MDes in Visual Communication Design). Read her story here.
Meijun Chen (MMus in Wind Band Conducting and Clarinet Performance). Read her story here. Sarah Clifford (BA honors in Political Science). Read her story here.
Aanchel Gupta (BA in Music). Read her story here.
Erin Hashimoto (After-degree in Linguistics). Read her story here.
Krystal Johnson (BFA in Production Stage Management). Read her story here.
Kaelin Koufogiannakis (BA in Planning). Read her story here.
Todd Kristensen (PhD in Anthropology). Read his story here.
Jacob Kryger (BMus in Percussion Performance). Read his story here.
Andrew McWhinney (BA Honors double major in Political Science/English and Film Studies). Read his story here.
Makda Mulatu (BA in English and Film Studies. Read her story here.
Mei Nan (MA in East Asian Studies). Read her story here.
Johann Pitter (BA Spanish and Latin American Studies). Read his story here.
Maryam Rana (BA in Sociology and Comparative Literature) Read her story here.
Radha Saikia (Honors BA in Psychology). Read her story here.
Mark Soriano (BA in Psychology). Read his story here.
Vidal Tavares (BA in Sociology). Read his story here.
Anne Thomas (MA in Gender and Social Justice). Read her story here.
Juan Vargas Alba (BA honors in Political Science). Read his story here.
William (Liam) Wadsworth (MA in Anthropology). Read his story here.
Suzanna Wagner (MA in History and Classics). Read her story here. (Suzanna was also featured in Folio as part of UAlberta's convocation storytelling. See below.)
Cynthia Wang (BA double major in Art & Design and Human Geography). Read her story here.

FOLIO PROFILES:

Asal Andarzipour

Earlier this year, Asal Andarzipour found herself in a leadership role at the U of A and in the local Iranian community in the wake of the PS752 disaster. She found solace by pouring herself into her remaining coursework, including a capstone project in which she examined how the Persian Qajar dynasty was represented at the World’s Fairs in late 19th-century Europe. She graduates with a master’s in the history of art, design and visual culture. Read her Folio profile here.

Suzanna Wagner

For Suzanna Wagner, the COVID-19 pandemic feels surreal but familiar. The history graduate wrote her master’s thesis on Canadian nurses in the First World War, but two years ago, she was asked by U of A historian Sarah Carter to write a paper on Edmonton’s response to the Spanish flu for an event commemorating its 100th anniversary. In March, with the advent of COVID-19 lock down measures, Suzanna’s research was rendered unexpectedly relevant. Read her Folio profile here.

AWARDS

Please join us in congratulating the following students: 

Graduate:

This June, Jennifer Hinnell won the University of Alberta top doctoral award, the Governor General‘s Gold Medal. Fascinated by language since she was a child, at age eight she created an original language of her own. This lifelong passion to understand how language influences and reflects what we think and feel, how we tell our stories, and how we interact with others is what eventually led a PhD in linguistics. Read her story here.

 Undergraduate: 

• Kaelin Koufogiannakis (BA Planning): The Governor General’s Silver Medal, which recognizes the top academic students graduating from an undergraduate degree program.
• Katherine DeCoste (BA Honors English and Film Studies and History and Classics). The Dr John MacDonald Medal in Arts — awarded to the student with the overall superior academic achievement in the BA Honors program.
  
• Kaelin Koufogiannakis (BA Planning): The Douglas E Smith Medal in Arts — awarded to a graduating student from a Bachelor of Arts program (other than Honors) who has the highest distinction in scholarship based on the convocation average.
  
• Christy Kan (BA Psychology): The Faculty of Arts Outstanding Leadership Medal — awarded annually to a convocating student who demonstrates outstanding leadership skills and potential through involvement and initiative in Arts organizations and activities.

 Alison White, Faculty of Arts Honors Prize — awarded to graduands with superior academic achievement in the Honors program of the Faculty of Arts:

• Meghan Cardy
• Katherine DeCoste
• Brittany Gergel
• Thalia Sanchez Taquechel
• Zoe Saulnier

• Neha Goel
• Aanchel Gupta
• Freya Hammond-Thrasher
• Anusha Kav
• Sarah Kondor
• Kaelin Koufogiannakis
• Bailey LeBuke
• Desiree Magotiaux
• Maryam Rana
• Radha Saikia
• Trevor Sullivan
• Sarah Yassine

 CONVOCATION VIDEOS:
University of Alberta Class of 2020 Convocation. Watch the video here. 

Dean Lesley Cormack congratulates Class of 2020. Watch the video here. 

Department convocation messages (all fantastic!): 

• Department of Art & Design: Watch the video here.
• Department of English and Film Studies: Watch the video here.
• Department of History and Classics. Watch the video here.
• Department of Psychology. Watch the video here.
• Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies. Watch the video here.
• Department of Music. Watch the video here.
• Office of Interdisciplinary Studies. Watch the video here.
• Department of Sociology. Watch the video here.

Thank you to all our graduating students (now alumni!) and to all those who have supported them through their journey.