Campus News

DANCE DREAMS BANK OF CANADA MASTER’S SCHOLARSHIP FOR WOMEN IN ECONOMICS AND FINANCE

Scout McKee

It’s one of Edinburgh’s most iconic events and for the month of August, StFX student Scout McKee will be part of it. Ms. McKee, a third- year physics student from Fredericton, NB and a longtime highland dancer, has been selected to perform in the iconic 2022 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. “It’s a dream come true,” says Ms. McKee, selected as one of 50 highland dancers to perform at the world-renowned Tattoo, held nightly from Aug. 5-27 at the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade. The Tattoo celebrates the skills and talents of military bands and display teams from throughout the world, celebrating musicians and performers from across the globe. “I’m beyond excited and very grateful. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for awhile,” says Ms. McKee, who had to submit a written application as well as undergo a video audition to be considered as a performer. The Tattoo, with a history stretching back almost seven decades, is making its return after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. McKee is the daughter of John McKee ’92 and Allison Chisholm ’93. It’s good news for Harlee Melinchuk ’22. The Edmonton, AB native is the successful recipient of a Bank of Canada Master’s Scholarship for Women in Economics and Finance, which includes $10,000 for master’s studies and mentorship from a Bank of Canada employee. Additionally, Ms. Melinchuk, who graduated from StFX in May with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours in economics and a subsidiary in mathematics, has accepted an offer of employment from the Bank of Canada to work as a research assistant in the Canadian Economic Analysis department starting in June 2022 for a one-year term. This offer is separate from the scholarship award. “Upon learning that I was selected as a scholarship recipient, I was pleasantly surprised and very excited! I am grateful to the Bank of Canada as scholarships, such as this one, are extremely important in increasing diversity and representation in the economics and finance sector,” Ms. Melinchuk says. She credits her professor Dr. Greg Tkacz, a Department of Economics faculty member, who made one of her classes aware of this opportunity.

Harlee Melinchuk ’22

MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY: STFX STUDENT CONTRIBUTES ON NATIONAL STAGE STFX VP DR. RICHARD ISNOR CONTRIBUTES TO NEW REPORT ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Jenny Li ’22

Jenny Li ’22, a graduating honours sociology student from Calgary, AB, has long been an active leader in student mental health on the StFX campus. Now, Li has taken their passion for mental health advocacy to the national stage. Li, who is extensively involved with Jack.org, a non-profit organization of young people working to revolutionize mental health in Canada, helped facilitate the organization’s national mental health summit, Next 10, a hybrid conference held in-person in Toronto and online in March. Li, the Network Representative (NR) for Jack.org, representing the province of Nova Scotia, and Chapter Lead for Jack.org Antigonish, was one of three speakers at the “Building an Inclusive Summit” workshop, and co-facilitated a collaboration session on mental health stigma.

BRINGING PIONEERS BACK TO LIFE

If you’ve ever walked down Main Street in Antigonish and failed to notice a pioneer cemetery moldering away behind the Irving gas station, no one would blame you. The burying ground, first opened in the 1820s, has been closed to burials since the 1870s and was neglected for much of the 20th century, says StFX history professor Dr. Barry MacKenzie ’07. But now students in Dr. MacKenzie’s Introduction to Public History class at StFX are bringing some of those early pioneers back to life, so to speak. Partnering with a local cemetery restoration committee, and as part of their course, the students made an important contribution to an ongoing public history project in their community last term by researching records to learn what they could about those buried in the cemetery, which at one time was part of a complex of buildings and property owned by the Diocese of Antigonish that included the present-day section of downtown now occupied by buildings between the John Paul Centre and Town Hall. Dr. Richard Isnor, StFX Associate Vice- President, Research and Graduate Studies, is a contributor to an important new report that identifies the opportunities, challenges, and implications of deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to enable scientific and engineering research design and discovery in Canada. Over the past year, Dr. Isnor served as a member of the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) Expert Panel on Artificial Intelligence for Science and Engineering, which recently released Leaps and Boundaries, a report in which the CCA, on the request of the National Research Council of Canada, examines the legal, regulatory, ethical, social, and policy challenges associated with deploying AI technologies to enable scientific and engineering research design and discovery.

Dr. Richard Isnor

L-r, StFX Knowledge Keeper and respected Mi’kmaw Elder, Kerry Prosper ‘09 and Arylnne McGrath

Step into the Warren Gardens at StFX and take a seat by the large, central, raised peanut-shaped bed and you may notice sacred plants growing— Eastern White Cedar, Sweetgrass, Pearly Everlasting, Tobacco, and Wild Strawberries. There are patches of Wild Blueberries, Woodland Poppies grown from seed, White Snakeroot and Black Elderberry. It’s a new medicine garden on campus. All the plants have medicinal value and are indigenous to the area.

“The idea is to create a space on campus for Indigenous students, staff and faculty to practice their culture, to have a sacred healing space,” says Arlynne McGrath, community support coordinator with Service Learning, and one of those behind the project.

“It’s also a teaching tool, and to show people the beauty of the plants, and the history of this place. For 14,000 years, the Mi’kmaw people have been here.”

Ms. McGrath says the medicine garden, which is still a work in progress, is not only a peaceful place, it offers opportunities for learning, including learning the traditional Mi’kmaq names for the plants and their medicinal value.

She says the garden, located close to Kiknu, the StFX Student Indigenous Centre in Coady West, is a partnership with the StFX Indigenous Student Affairs Office and with StFX Grounds.

“I’m just trying to make it happen. For me, this is a way to take action to decolonize the campus and to build relationships,” she says. “I get a lot of joy out of gardens and learning about plants. I am excited to support this project and have this opportunity to learn.”

Ms. McGrath says the medicine garden came about after a conversation with Terena Francis, Coordinator, Indigenous Student Affairs. StFX’s Diversity Engagement Centre is a Service Learning community partner, with which they meet regularly. During a meeting, Ms. McGrath mentioned she volunteered for the Butterflyway Project, a national volunteer program that sees volunteers work in their community to restore vital habitats for insects. Thanks to an East Coast Credit Union grant, she put in 10 gardens last summer around town at non-profit and public spaces. The experience piqued her interest in indigenous plants, which have evolved over thousands of years along with the insects.

“As settlers colonized this place, we brought plants from other places as well,” she says.

Now, plants that’ve been here for thousands of years that are essential to the ecosystem don’t get put into gardens and it’s a challenge to find most indigenous plants in garden centres.

As part of the conversation, Ms. Francis said she would love to have a medicine garden on campus as a cultural practice for students and staff. She asked Ms. McGrath if she would be interested in leading the gardening aspect.

“I was very honoured she would ask me. It’s matching my skills and interest with a need they expressed,” says Ms. McGrath.“This is just the beginning.”

Insightful, informative and interesting. The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney ’59, Canada’s 18th prime minister, returned to StFX virtually on March 17th for an engaging afternoon of discussion as he spoke on the challenges of leadership during turbulent times as part of the StFX Distinguished Speaker Series. Dr. Adam Lajeunesse, assistant professor in StFX’s Mulroney Institute of Government, moderated the Zoom event. The discussion ranged from invoking the Emergencies Act to covering Canada’s economy as well as international issues such as the situation between Russia and Ukraine.

AN UPDATE – A YEAR IN

A year into my role as Associate Registrar, Recruitment, and I cannot count the number of times I’ve been struck by how absolutely incredible our alumni are.

This past month, the McCaig-Waller family in Calgary were so gracious to host a group of prospective students and their families for a barbecue with our Student Success Leader, Brennah Agnew ’21. At this event, the prospective students and their families were welcomed into the StFX community. It provided the opportunity for Brennah, and the alumni family to allay the fears and anxieties of going halfway across the country to StFX.

Earlier this year, we launched the Future Xaverians program, designed to reward our alumni for doing what they already do—referring prospective students to StFX. While in its infancy, we’ve already had some great success with the program. If you have a family member, friend or neighbour who would benefit from sharing a similar experience that you had at StFX, we would love if you could send them our way by submitting their information at (www.alumni. stfx.ca/refer).

We’ve had a lot of new folks start with the recruitment team this past year as well. I’d love to introduce: • Brennah Agnew (BA, ’21) - The Territories & Western Canada • Ian Kemp (BA, ’19, MA) – Halifax Regional Municipality, the South Shore of Nova Scotia, and the USA • Tania Tesson (BA, ’21) - Eastern Ontario and Québec • Shane Arsenault (BBA, ’21) - Guysborough & Antigonish counties, Cape Breton and Southern Ontario • Dylan Meraw (BASH, ’22) - Newfoundland & Labrador,

Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and the North Shore of Nova Scotia • Heather Butler (BBA, ’11) – Tours & Special Events Coordinator

We are also excited that over the coming months, we will be expanding the team to provide greater outreach and support into key international markets. Stay tuned!

To connect with any of the team, please visit: www.stfx.ca/ chat-with-us

While this year has had its challenges, we’re off to a great start, and I’m optimistic for a fantastic fall 2022, in part, because of the tremendous support we have received from Canada’s most engaged alumni network. Thank you for your ongoing support!

Hail & Health, Brian Scriver Associate Registrar, Recruitment