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…

  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…

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…

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. …

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…

If things had turned out a little differently, Naxaxalhts’i Albert ‘Sonny’ McHalsie might have been one of B.C.’s top mechanics rather than a highly valued interpreter of Stó:lō people’s culture and traditions. And much vital knowledge about the culture and history of Indigenous Coast Salish history would have been lost. Because he chose a different…

Sometimes it takes one defining moment to change life’s trajectory. For Dr. Judith Soon, it was in Grade 12 when she and four other classmates toured the inner workings of a pharmacy building.  From this experience, Soon knew she wanted to pursue a career in pharmacy and so far, it has been extremely rewarding for…

From sleeping in a bed dug from Peruvian sand to educating along the plank sidewalks of Barkerville, Mike Retasket’s long and diverse commitment to learning and sharing complex Indigenous history is unparalleled. For this and more, he will receive an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of the Fraser Valley this June. A…

UFV will present honorary degrees to four leaders who have had a significant impact on society and their communities at its Convocation ceremonies in June. They include Dr. Bonnie Henry, who led British Columbia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic; Naxaxalhts’i Sonny McHalsie, one of the most distinguished interpreters of the Stó:lō cultural tradition and history;…

When a young Jo-ann Archibald boarded the school bus daily as an elementary school student back in the 1950s, she stepped from one world into another. Archibald, whose Indigenous name is Q’um Q’um Xiiem, grew up in Soowhalie near Cultus Lake, part of the Indigenous Stó:lō community, and attended the Chilliwack public school system, graduating…

Diane Delves says she wants to slow down, but she can’t. Or at least she has no desire to. Even though she is of retirement age, the prominent Abbotsford-based real estate developer and philanthropist still operates at a similar speed to what she did decades ago. Every morning, Delves wakes up and checks email as…

In April, when UFV presented Shirley Turcotte the opportunity to be a UFV honorary degree award recipient, she accepted. But she did so somewhat reluctantly. It is not that the renowned Métis knowledge-carrier and registered clinical counsellor is not honoured. Or that she has anything against UFV. Simply put, Turcotte hates attention. “When I first…

A groundbreaking businessman from humble beginnings whose company now produces billions of pounds of cranberries and employs hundreds across the world, Peter Dhillon is a tireless leader, philanthropist, and cultural advocate. And as of June 14, he’s also the proud recipient of an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of the Fraser Valley.…

A leader in Indigenous education, an Abbotsford-based developer, an agribusiness magnate, and an innovator in Indigenous-focused counselling will receive honorary doctorates from the University of the Fraser Valley at its Convocation ceremonies on June 14 and 15. UFV will welcome Dr. Jo-Ann Archibald, Diane Delves, Peter Dhillon, and Shirley Turcotte to campus and honour them…