Skookum Archive
Honouring a Mennonite past, building a Mennonite future: Braun donation
Erwin and Connie Braun are urbanites now, living right in the heart of Vancouver and enjoying all the social and cultural perks that come with the city lifestyle. But their roots are planted firmly in Abbotsford — Clearbrook to be precise — where both grew up in Mennonite families that came to Canada after the…Aluminations — Keeping in Touch
Congratulations to Durga Dhaliwal, Dip ’09, for his Keeping in Touch submission to the Fall issue of Skookum. You too can enter to win, simply by contacting us and letting us know what you’ve been up to since graduation. Submit your short update for the next issue and be entered to win! Dana Boogerd, BA…Marching forth together: Debbie and Trevor Greene have been to
Once upon a time in the early-2000s, a beautiful young accountant met a handsome, gregarious, athletic, intelligent military man. They fell in love fairly quickly, and knew they wanted to build a life together. Before too long, that life included sharing a home, welcoming a baby daughter, and making plans to marry. But first, the…Behind a Lens of Empowerment: project looks at the experiences
Give people the tools to express what they see, and you never know what they’ll show you. That is the idea behind the Lens of Empowerment project, a three-course program undertaken by 11 UFV students that examines the lives and experiences of women in Stó:lō territory. Part of the inspiration for this project came from…UFV Cascades explode in 2011-12 with record breaking performances
The sports historian who wrote “records are meant to broken” must have had this year’s University of the Fraser Valley Cascades in mind, as the nine teams earned two national bronze medals and three conference silver medals, and four different student-athletes earned national all-star recognition, nine different student-athletes were selected conference all-stars, and two were…A little help from our Friends: the journey to university
The term “UFV” slips off the tongue rather easily these days. But it is the third acronym used to describe the Fraser Valley’s post-secondary institution in its almost 40-year history. What started as Fraser Valley College became the University of the Fraser Valley in 2008, after a 17-year stint as the University College of…Building physical strength and emotional relationships: UFV students guide elders
The sound of the Beach Boys fills the room, bursting from a tiny boombox in the corner. The wheelchairs, about 15 of them, are arranged in a circle with a few gaps. The grey-haired elders all have their eyes fixed upon the circle’s centre — a group of energetic students from the University of the…Mission launched: UFV and the District of Mission team up
Under a special memorandum of understanding signed recently, the District of Mission will secure $500,000 in seed funding to establish the UFV Mission campus as the primary site for the delivery of the UFV Graphic and Digital Design diploma program. “The District of Mission is very committed to forging partnerships with the University of the…Stars come out to shine in support of UFV golf
Golf tournaments and fundraising: the two go hand in hand. So when UFV golf coach Chris Bertram was looking for a way to boost funding for the UFV Cascades golf team, going the golf tourney route was an easy decision. He even had the framework for a successful event in place. Former PGA player Ray…FVC roots bring UFV growth: Scott Bate gives back to
The UFV roots go deep for Scott Bate. He grew up in with Fraser Valley College, moving to Chilliwack from Calgary as an 11-year-old in 1975 when his father Dick was hired to be the first Dean of Instruction. “Dad came out first, and then at spring break the rest of us joined him. I…Community support key to UFV success
By Christiane Hodson UFV Interim Director of Development Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead (1901–1978) At UFV, Mead’s words resonate. In fact, the university owes its very existence to the vision and perseverance of the citizens…Aluminations: Keeping in touch
Beth Maenpaa, BA CYC ’09 — completed her degree in child and youth care and was immediately hired as a supported child development consultant with the Mission Association for Community Living. The education and experience she received in this particular degree program played a major role in gaining employment with this organization. With great appreciation…Advocate extraordinaire: Distinguished Alumni recognized for human rights work
Shirzad Ahmed knows what it’s like to be a refugee — stateless and far away from family and friends. At the age of 18 he was a political exile from Kurdistan, an area of northeast Iraq that suffered great oppression under the regime of Saddam Hussein and continues to be mired in poverty today. He…Skookum Soundoff
An opinion piece by Carl Peters, who teaches English, visual arts, and art history at UFV. University Without Condition [1] or the University of Disaster:[2] Radical Pedagogy and the Scholar as Artist The pressures on us to turn classrooms into writing labs, semiotics, response theory, myth or enclaves of National Literature are symptomatic of the…Lifelong learner: Dr. John Lennox didn’t need another degree —
By Patty Wellborn Dr. John Lennox has an “Everest attitude” when it comes to learning. A few years back, while in his mid-sixties, and after a lengthy medical career, much of it working overseas teaching pediatrics with his wife Dr. Ruth Lennox, he decided to go back to school. It wasn’t because he needed to.…UFV Top 40 Alumni: Shirzad Ahmed — Human rights lawyer
Caring, competent, and charismatic, Shirzad Ahmed was an obvious choice for UFV’s Top 40 Alumni list. Winner of UFV’s Distinguished Alumni award in 2011, his tireless fight for oppressed and vulnerable people is partially inspired by his own trials and tribulations. At the age of 18 he was a political exile from Kurdistan. He knocked…UFV Top 40 Alumni: Rebecca Anderson — UFV kick-started law
Rebecca Anderson didn’t know where her educational journey would take her when she began taking media and communications studies and other humanities courses at UFV in the early 1990s. She earned her MACS diploma in 1992 and continued on to Simon Fraser to finish a BA degree. When she finished that she worked in the…UFV, CEPCO, BC government and donors team up to fund
UFV has committed $750,000 toward the construction of the first stage of a new BC School of Agriculture on its Chilliwack campus at the Canada Education Park, and two key partners plus community donors have brought that total to $2.2 million. UFV will pay $750,000 of the cost of building the first phase of the…George Hemeon honoured for career and artistic accomplishments
Typically, awards recognize a major strength of the individual receiving them. But George Hemeon (BA ’04) the latest Distinguished Alumni award winner, was lauded for multiple strengths. Hemeon was honoured for both his career achievements and his artistic talents. He has accomplished a lot in the past decade. The former landscaper earned his Bachelor of…Young man going places: inaugural UFV Young Distinguished Alumni award
From dreams of growing up and becoming a doctor, to evolving into the CFO of a public company, many things have changed for Chilliwack’s Alex McAulay. But the one thing that has remained the same is McAulay’s drive. He’s always been a hardworking, multi-tasking individual. Those qualities were recognized when UFV presented McAulay with the…Aluminations: Alumni News
Message from the Alumni Association Chair It’s been a busy time these past few months for your Alumni Association and the Alumni Engagement office on campus. We will be watching proudly as more than 1,200 students make the transition to alumni when they walk across the convocation stage this June. We hope you’ll take advantage…Institutional Learning Outcomes provide “value-added” education for every UFV grad
A university education should consist of more than the accumulation of a body of knowledge in a certain discipline. That’s the premise of a process that’s been ongoing at UFV since 2011. Many people have brainstormed, planned, deliberated, contributed, and worked together to create the university’s Institutional Learning Outcomes. The ILOs, as they are known,…Success is spelled C-A-S-C-A-D-E-S: UFV’s Athletics enjoys banner year
It’s no longer a question of “Where is Abbotsford?” It’s more like, “Oh no! We have to play the Cascades again?” This year’s version of the UFV Cascades really put the Fraser Valley on the map. UFV Athletics enjoyed a banner year that included the school’s first-ever women’s CCAA national championship (volleyball), the two basketball…Indigenizing the Academy: making universities more welcoming for Aboriginal peoples
For anyone new to academia, there’s a bit of confusion and trepidation. Why do the professors wear those gowns at Convocation? How do you know when and where to apply for a scholarship? What’s a graduate degree? For Aboriginal students, the gap between their worldview and mainstream academic culture can be even wider. Throw in decades…Making history: innovative history course puts local stories from WW
A history paper seems like a lot of work, even from an outside perspective. The research alone is enough to make the most stalwart student stagger; add a couple dozen hours of compiling citations and leafing through library books that smell like the stone age, and a history paper is no small undertaking. Even after…UFV + NASA. Looking for signs of life.
UFV researchers are helping NASA understand the environment of odd life forms. Investigating the universe from the bottom of an ancient lake, right here in BC. Working with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is a dream for most scientists. And it’s something a group of UFV students were able to experience during a summer…Herron roots go deep in Chilliwack: endowed scholarship will keep
You know your family has been in the community a long time when there is a road named after you. A few families in the Fraser Valley qualify for this distinction, including the Herron family, descendants of which still live in the area. And there is more than one road in the area bearing names…