Current Graduate Students
Meet our amazing Gender & Social Justice Studies MA students!
Maëlle Weber
Maëlle Weber (they/she) received a BA in Women's and Gender studies with a history subsidiary from St. Francis Xavier University in 2023. They are interested in the intersections of queerness and autism, specifically the opportunity this nexus presents to learn about non-identity. Their research also explores how autistic people navigate sex and the link between sensory issues and identification on the asexuality spectrum.
Waniza Wasi
Waniza (she/her) is a Master's student in the Gender and Social Justice program and currently works in policy. She completed her BA in Criminology at the University of Alberta. Her research interests include intersections of social justice and equitable policy development, with a particular focus on gendered Islamophobia and non-carceral forms of justice.
In her free time, Waniza can be found scootering around the city, trying new restaurants, or experimenting with her camera.
Sydney Pietsch
Sydney is a Master's student in the Gender & Social Justice program. She obtained her Bachelor's degree in Professional Communications in 2024 and a diploma in Radio and Television in 2016. Before returning to school in 2022, Sydney worked as a freelance videographer. Her research focuses on critical issues such as gender-based violence (GBV) against Indigenous women and gender-diverse individuals, including the ongoing tragedy of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people. She is particularly interested in exploring how educating men and boys can play a vital role in preventing GBV. As an Indigenous person, it is incredibly important to her that her work highlights the ongoing violence and mistreatment faced by these communities.
Reilly Bohan
Reilly Bohan (they/she) graduated from the University of Alberta in 2024 with a BA in Women's and Gender Studies and a History minor, during which they developed an interest in researching the impact of hetero and homonormativity on queer embodiment and subjectivity. Their research focuses on the lesbian community, examining how orientation, embodiment, and subjectivity influence their lived experiences and relationships with others.
Aruthra Rajasingham
I was born and brought up in Sri Lanka. I am a registered social worker. I am currently a graduate student of the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, University of Alberta. Growing up in Sri Lanka as a person belonging to an ethnic minority, I have personally experienced and witnessed many issues that were related to gender and social justice. These experiences are powerful motivators that led me to pursue a degree in social work and then work with people and communities on many levels. Working closely with people from different cultures and social classes for more than a decade, further motivated me to learn about social justice and gender issues in a global context. I greatly value the work I do with people on a day today basis as it gives my life a purpose. I truly believe that I am part of something bigger than myself and therefore it is my duty to build meaningful human connections, advocate for social justice and thereby make this world a better place.
Rachel Zukiwski-Pezim
Rachel Zukiwski-Pezim (she/her | ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ | Amiskwacîwâskahikan, Treaty 6 territory) is a graduate student in the Gender and Social Justice Studies MA Program at the University of Alberta with a BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies from Dalhousie University. Her academic interests are extensive and include transnational feminist historiography, critical race theory, Black and Indigenous feminisms, decolonization in a transnational context, social justice praxis, and intersectional theory and practice across disciplines. She believes in dynamic and accessible academic research and writing, and thinks all academics should do variations on the Bechdel test when looking to create, review, and analyze data and sources - scan for BIPoC voices, queer and trans folks, (dis)ability frameworks, class strata, religious affiliations, and citizenship statuses, among others. For Rachel, part of the decolonialization of academia is allowing for new and radical digressions from and dismantling of the imperialist white supremacist capitalist colonial heteropatriarchy that invades and occupies every part of the neoliberal academic state. #LandBack.