A former UFV student from the university-college era is now a Federal Court judge. Justice Shirzad Ahmed was appointed to the Federal Court on September 14, 2017. The Federal Court is Canada’s national trial court. It deals with cases in a broad range of areas of federal jurisdiction, including national security law, intellectual property law,…

Forty years ago it was rare to see a woman in a police uniform. And when you did, chances are she was in a skirt and kept her gun in her purse. Now women comprise 20 percent of all police officers in Canada. Women in policing have faced challenges along the way, and many have…

Dentist, husband, father, volunteer, globetrotter, Distinguished Young Alumni. And now, UFV Top 40 Alumni. It’s little wonder Dr. Evan Wiens is always smiling. UFV’s 2013 Distinguished Young Alumni award winner — reserved for a high achiever under the age of 35 — has been making an impact at every stage of his education and career.…

Mary Anne Waterhouse is a two-time Gemini award-winning producer, with a resume that includes over 50 film and television productions. Her most recent film projects include Lawrence & Holloman, and That Burning Feeling, and The Steps. She is head of production for the Blue Ice Group in Toronto and in that capacity just finished production…

An unsuccessful start to nursing school at a large urban university may have been a blessing in disguise for Tracey. Tracey, winner of the 2010 Distinguished Alumni award and one of the UFV Top 40 alumni, knew from a young age that she wanted to be a nurse. After high school, she went directly to…

Playwright, producer, filmmaker, actor, and director Andy Thompson was almost an engineer. Andy, the artistic director of The Virtual Stage, a leader in the Vancouver theatre scene, and one of UFV’s Top 40 alumni, started as a science student with an academic scholarship heading towards an engineering degree. “My mother said I should take some…

Adam Simpson is a project management advisor for development and peacebuilding initiatives. He has worked extensively in conflict and post-conflict zones including the Congo, South Sudan, Myanmar, and Afghanistan, and currently oversees the Europe and Middle East regional portfolios of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). Adam is also experienced in strategic program…

“University changed my life!” That’s how Terry-Lynn Stone summarizes the effect that her time at UFV (then UCFV) had on her. She was a stay-at-home mother with four children with 20-year-old credentials when family circumstances influenced her to seek a return to the workforce. She planned to start with childcare courses, and came home in…

“Studying art opened my world!” So says Myrtle-Anne Rempel, a successful businesswoman and artist who took Fine Arts courses in the early days of Fraser Valley College and one of UFV’s Top 40 alumni. She earned her diploma, but enjoyed her studies so much that she took more courses than was required and spent four…

Bonnie Reilly Schmidt graduated from UFV with a BA (with a double major in history and English) in 2004. She came to UFV as a mature student after a career with the RCMP. She went on to complete an MA and PhD in history at Simon Fraser. Throughout her graduate studies, she received various fellowships…

Jaclyn Rea has truly climbed the educational ladder of success. She started out at what was then Fraser Valley College as an upgrading student hoping to build a better life for herself and her son. Upon completing her Grade 12 equivalency, she enrolled in the Office Careers program, which led to a position as an…

Barry Penner entered politics at the relatively young age of 29 when he surprised observers by successfully challenging a sitting Member of the Legislature for his party's nomination. He went on to be elected for the first time at age 30 and was a seasoned veteran by his mid-40s. Barry’s first full-time career was as…

Darren Penner has always been the inquisitive sort. This inclination serves him well in his career as a lawyer, and it was fostered during his time studying history at UFV. “I really started looking into what makes things work when I was seven years old, but once I got to UFV I further developed a…

From a young boy obsessed with popular culture and possessed with extreme artistic talent, to an established artist with multiple exhibitions to his name, Chris Woods has lived an artist’s dream. “I have been very lucky to be able to pursue my chosen profession, and UFV played no small part in my success,” he says.…

Shawn Neumann is an entrepreneur, public speaker, and tech leader who has built Domain 7 digital agency from a one-man shop in backroom of his parents’ Abbotsford home to a 40-employee company with offices in Abbotsford, Vancouver, Seattle, and Washington, DC. Shawn started his post-secondary journey at his local university college (then called UCFV), in…