Our Scholars
The 2018-19 Foundations of Leadership class worked with a professional production team and connected with stakeholders across the U of A campuses to create a video series highlighting mental health strategies for undergraduates, graduate students, staff, and faculty, and discussing the various challenges and specific resources for each group. See more at uab.ca/cares.
Faculty of Science student Simran applied the leadership skills she gained in PLLC to a campus issue. In Foundations of Leadership, she worked on a vodcast to raise awareness about the lack of menstrual health supplies at North Campus. She dedicated her Stretch Experience to the topic, and was eventually successful in organizing free menstrual health products on campus.
Congratulations to PLLC scholar Rowan Ley, the 2020-21 Vice President External, and other scholars that won Students' Council positions! Last year, Students' Union Executives in PLLC included SU President Akanksha Bhatnagar (pictured left), and Vice President External Adam Brown. We are confident you will fairly represent the students of #UAlberta.
Featured Student
Christy Kan, Faculty of Arts, recent PLLC graduate
Christy is a Department of Psychology graduate that was an engaged PLLC scholar during her degree. She was a vocal advocate for the #UAlbertaCares vodcast project, as you can see in her appearance with Dr. Stasia and a fellow scholar on Global News. During her Stretch Experience, she participated in an Intercultural Communication Lab at the University of Alberta, which led her to host a booth to discuss cultural identity at the Chinese Multicultural Centre on Canada Day. You can read about the project on her Stretch blog post. Upon her graduation from the Faculty of Arts, she received the Faculty of Arts Outstanding Leadership Medal, which is awarded annually to a convocating student who demonstrates outstanding leadership skills and potential through involvement and initiative in Arts organizations and activities.
Yasmin Rafiei
Graduate of the Faculty of Science
2017 Rhodes Scholar
Yasmin's Stretch Experience produced Project Healthcare, a program to encourage diversity in medical school applicants.
Mackenzie Martin
Graduate of the Faculty of Education and ALES
2018 Rhodes Scholar
Mackenzie increased her leadership capacity in order to pursue her interests in aging and gerontology, which she studied in Japan and the USA during her Stretch Experience.
Kabir Nadkarni
Student in the Faculty of Engineering
2014 Loran Scholar
Kabir is a Top 30 Under 30 recipient who joined PLLC in 2017 to further his passion for sustainability.
Scholars in the News
- Annie Wachowich was recognized for her Stretch Experience opening a Period Pantry
- Akanksha shares the behind-the-scenes of her unique argument "paper"
- Alumni Reshma Sirajee and Kabir Nadkarni advocate for improved food security in Edmonton in response to COVID-19.
- Scholars in Foundations of Leadership were recognized for their work on the #UAlbertaCares vodcasts on mental health at the University of Alberta
- Martin Pasev worked with a team of researchers dedicated to eradicating hepatitis C as part of his Stretch Experience
- Jacob Rohloff's Stretch Experience was successful in advocating for a bus route between Edmonton and Camrose
- Kabir Nadkarni received a Campus Sustainability Leadership Award
- Natasha Pye competed in the Shell Eco-marathon Americas competition in Sonoma, California
- Kaitlyn Walcheske traveled to Finland to research Indigenous education
- Kourtney Boucher overcame her past to pursue post-secondary education
Inaugural Class Graduated in 2017
Our inaugural class joined PLLC in 2015 and completed the program in 2017. Many had a hand in the program's creation, starting in focus groups and sharing their desire for leadership development. With students from across North Campus, Campus Saint-Jean, and Augustana, the interdisciplinary forums built friendships that hadn't previously existed.
Global Youth Leadership Network
Established in 2014, the Sunwah Foundation Global Young Leaders Network (GYLN) focuses on helping its undergraduate student members develop their leadership and service learning skills in a global multicultural context. Our scholars and alumni have created a PLLC chapter of the network, becoming one of the first Canadian chapters. In 2019, the PLLC GYLN chapter went abroad to the Sunwah GYLN International Summit in Macau. See the video they shared from the trip!
Meet new Students: Find your Forum
Interdisciplinary
PLLC scholars are students that join us from all across UAlberta, regardless of their faculty or program.
"There is no other program within the university of Alberta which will give you an interdiscplinary education that heightens your train of thought quite like PLLC."
- Feedback from a PLLC alumni in an anonymous survey