Walking into Longhouse Branding and Marketing, the values instilled by founder Keenan Beavis are immediately evident. The office buzzes with a team of nearly 15 people, working collaboratively in one large open space – reflecting the long-standing traditions of the Stó:lō People, who have done so for generations in their longhouses. Keenan is an up-and-coming…

Hometown hero Nick Taylor took a trip to Paris this month; the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) honorary degree recipient represented Team Canada at the 2024 Olympics.   Nick won the RBC Canadian Open in 2023, slingshotting himself all the way to the Olympic golf team. The 36-year-old Abbotsford local was the first Canadian to…

Content warning: This post relates to residential schools. A reminder that the Indian Residential School Survivors Society has a 24 hour Crisis Line available at 1-866-925-4419. Dr. Sarah Beaulieu, an anthropologist and assistant professor in the UFV School of Culture, Media, and Society, has been celebrated with a prestigious Governor General’s Innovation Award along with…

  Nick Taylor is a star in the world of professional golf. In 2023 he won his fourth PGA Tour event – the RBC Canadian Open, the first Canadian to do so since 1954 – and he’s currently the No. 32 ranked golfer on the planet. But he’s never forgotten his hometown of Abbotsford and…

UFV student Frankie Fowle believes misunderstanding springs from not being aware, and storytelling is a powerful way to foster understanding. That’s the philosophy which carried her through four years of university and it’s the reason she’s the 2024 winner of the Lieutenant Governor’s medal. The award goes annually to a student in a certificate, diploma,…

Michelle Good is a Cree woman, an activist, lawyer, storyteller, mentor – and now a 2024 Honorary Degree recipient from the University of the Fraser Valley. Through her writing and activism, she has confronted the genocidal nature of Canada’s laws and policies regarding Indigenous people, in particular, the pervasive removal of children through the Residential…

This year’s Governor General’s Gold Medal has been awarded to Master of Social Work graduate Marlae Vermeer with a GPA of 4.275. Granted to those with the highest academic standing in a graduate degree program, it is one of UFV’s most prestigious awards. When Vermeer learned of the achievement, she was shocked. Right away, receiving…

Pandora Siganakis hopes the skills she’s learned during her educational journey have set her up to help future students at UFV. The winner of this year’s Governor General’s Collegiate Bronze Medal for 2024, Siganakis has achieved the highest academic standing of any student in a diploma program. She completed the Library and Information Technology program…

Even if the change you make is small, it matters  Like all difference makers, Marion Keys has an origin story. To explain why she’s dedicated decades of her life to community service, she looks back to her youth growing up in a “difficult” home environment, making it through with tremendous support from friends, and teachers. …

When Amrit Singh sets his mind on an academic goal, he usually achieves it. So, when he zeroed in on winning the Governor General’s Silver Medal for 2024, odds were good he’d win it. It took a ton of work to achieve the highest standing in an undergraduate degree program, but Singh did what he…

Eddie Gardner was drawn to drumming and singing at an early age, from learning songs from Indigenous people back east where he grew up, to having Stó:lō songs come to him upon returning to his territorial and cultural roots. “Songs help connect us with our ancestors and bring harmony and joy to the work we…

The University of the Fraser Valley will present honorary degrees to four exceptional people at next week’s Convocation ceremonies. They include T’ít’elem Spáth Eddie Gardner, a lifelong champion of Indigenous rights and environmental sustainability; Marion Keys, a passionate advocate for social justice and community collaboration; Michelle Frances Good, a tireless proponent for meaningful decolonization and…