Dedicated to creating and caring for a better berry, Dr. Eric Gerbrandt’s research takes him from the fields of his Yarrow farm to labs and conferences around the world. For this and more, Eric has been named UFV’s Distinguished Alumni Award winner for 2023. Eric has been leading the BC berry research portfolio as Research…

Eryn Braley is thankful to have chosen a career in Indigenous public health that allows her to connect with her Indigenous identity. “I am so appreciative of the Indigenous mentors and peers who have guided me in my career and personal journey. Through teachings, connection, and ceremonies, I am connecting with who I am as…

A student would have to be really outstanding to be the first-ever winner of the UFV Alumni Association’s Outstanding Student Leader award.  Manjot Benning fits the bill, and then some!  She’s graduating this June with top marks in her Bachelor of Science degree program, with sights set on medical school applications in the future. She’s…

Matt Douma is a shining example of an outstanding UFV alumnus now, but back in the mid-2000s he wasn’t your typical nursing student. Douma, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2006, is this year’s recipient of the UFV Distinguished Alumni award. During his student days he chafed against convention and questioned the…

Inside a high-rise office overlooking Sydney's endless sea of skyscrapers, Kara Chan and her team are helping solve Australia’s most pressing climate and energy-related issues. On any given day, the team can brainstorm, debate, and build strategic plans around the country’s impending forest fires, floods, heat waves, energy consumption, and alternatives, and extreme storms. The…

The Keeping in Touch section of UFV’s Skookum magazine features brief updates from a variety of alumni. Derek Epp (BSW ’15), whose Xwélmexw name is Weli’leq, is the elected Chief of the Tzeachten First Nation, part of the Ch’iyàqtel Tribe. He is a proud descendant of the Wealick family.  During his studies at UFV he…

Dr. Christopher Pascoe likens life as a research scientist to that of an explorer.  “You stand on the edge of what we know and peer out into the fog of the unknown.”  Now a tenure-track assistant professor, Pascoe (BSc ’10) chose to follow his curiosity over the edge and into the field of asthma research. …

The early 1990s were an exciting time for UFV. What had been Fraser Valley College, a small two-year institution, was transformed after an intense community campaign into the University College of the Fraser Valley, adding upper-level courses and bachelor’s degrees while trying to honour its community roots. It was time to start planning and launching…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy4ncjRqoGs&feature=youtu.be Shannon Thiesen’s alumni connection to the University of the Fraser Valley comes via the Teacher Education program, but she’s also an accomplished artist whose work has been selected to grace the UFV Alumni commemorative wine labels for 2022. Since 2005, the Alumni Association has partnered with local wineries for its annual Alumni Wine Program.…

Whitney Fordham has begun a new role at UFV as Director, Alumni Relations and Executive Director, UFV Alumni Association. She was selected as Director in December of 2021 while on parental leave and is the first person to hold this role on a permanent basis. The Director, Alumni Relations, leads alumni engagement for more than…

A plaza featuring custom-engraved paving stones will greet visitors to UFV’s Abbotsford campus, thanks to the support of generous UFV donors. These commemorative pavers are the heart of a project that revitalized the entranceway between Buildings A and B, one of the busiest spots on campus. The project raised more than $50,000 for the UFV…

When Shannon Pahladsingh (stylized as “shannon pahladsingh”) (BFA ’21), reclaimed her experiences of racism into philosophy and political science research essays, she never expected the ordeal to transform into an award-winning, and nationally recognized spoken word poem. Performed by shannon pahladsingh for her capstone Bachelor of Fine Arts project, her spoken word poem oh, thank…

Jason Beck thought farming was his destiny. An Abbotsford boy born and bred, as a teenager he assumed that his future was literally in his backyard, working on his family’s farm. “That was my plan,” Beck, 39, says before quickly clarifying. “Well, it wasn’t even a plan, it’s just what I thought was going to…

Sheetal Deo (BA ’12)  was the kind of undergraduate student who would take electives in the summertime as a way to relax and hang out with friends. That’s a good thing, because it helped her discover her love for philosophy, political science, and social justice. Deo, who earned her Bachelor of Arts at the University…

When we last checked in with Dr. Tanya Jonker in 2014, she was pursuing her PhD in psychology and planning a career in academia. Since then, she has completed her doctorate and transitioned to a career in research and development as a research science manager with Facebook Reality Labs. She leads a team of interdisciplinary…