草莓污视频导航

Arch award winners
Illustrated by Maya听Gohill

Arch Awards: Six for the Win

Superstars in health care, business and community leadership, these remarkable winners of the 草莓污视频导航 Alumni Association鈥檚 37th annual Arch Awards make us proud

The Arch Awards are the highest honour awarded by the听. Since 1985, they have celebrated bold alumni who鈥檝e transformed business and community, art and technology, sport and health, for the betterment of all.听

Here are the 2021 recipients.听听

Lifetime Achievement Arch Award听

Dr. Bryan Kolb, BSc鈥68, MSc鈥70

Bryan Kolb

Dr. Bryan Kolb, BSc鈥68, MSc鈥70

Illustrated by Maya Gohill

And the Arch Award for Lifetime Achievement goes to . . . neuroscience innovator Dr. Bryan Kolb, BSc鈥68, MSc鈥70, PhD! A world leader in the field of behavioral neuroscience, lucky are the students who have been dazzled by Kolb鈥檚 revolutionary discoveries and disruptive ideas since 1976, the year he began teaching at the . A fellow of the (2000), an officer of the (2015), and writer of 450 scholarly articles and chapters, Kolb maintains that two of his greatest career highlights are: the publication of a widely used textbook, Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology, in 1980 (now in its eighth edition; Kolb has published seven books), and his work at the with brain-injured people that sent his career 鈥渙n a different trajectory.鈥 Kolb鈥檚 work has fuelled new treatment to help victims of cerebral injury by identifying how new brain cells grow to restore cerebral function by understanding how neurons respond to experiences such as hormones, drugs, stress and injury, and how these changes are related to behaviour.听

My research is trying to figure out the rules that guide how the brain changes in response to experience [whether it鈥檚] trauma, wonderful things or hormones 鈥 it could be anything. One of the neat things we鈥檝e been able to show is how tactile experience, touch, has a profound impact on how the brain develops. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that tactile stimulation could have such a profound impact on the development of the brain.

Early Career Achievement听Arch Award听

Dr.听Bogdan听Knezevic, BSc鈥15, PhD听

Bogdan听Knezevic

Dr.听Bogdan听Knezevic, BSc鈥15, PhD听

Illustrated by Maya Gohill

For years, he was one of the fastest swimmers in Canada (on track to compete in the 2016 Olympics), held down a 4.0 GPA and won a in 2015. After that, this year鈥檚 recipient of the Early Achievement Arch Award went to work at the in Toronto, followed by a dreamy job at (a talent tech accelerator). But Dr. Bogdan Knezevic鈥檚 latest mission has morphed into the greatest moon shot of all: quit a great job, spend the summer trekking the ridiculously remote 1,100-km-long Great Divide Trail (from Waterton to Jasper national parks) and then launch a听startup听with two of his best mates. And what might this new venture be? Top secret, says the 30-year-old whose PhD examined how genomics could be used to identify new drug targets by applying machine learning, although the sweet spot, admits the cagey Knezevic, BSc鈥15, might be at the crossroads of 鈥渟oftware/product and the acceleration of science.鈥 Stand by!听

At the root of a true entrepreneur is an impatient听problem-solver听who wants to achieve something听鈥 and often not by themselves.听I believe that most successful entrepreneurial endeavours are never a solo journey. The things I find meaningful, that I want to be a part of, cannot be accomplished by one person.

Alumni Service听Arch Award听

Dr. Janice Heard, MD鈥84

Janice Heard

Dr. Janice Heard, MD鈥84

Illustrated by Maya Gohill

Well, there鈥檚 always a first. We can honestly report that never has a recipient for any Arch Award laid claim to be the 鈥済reat-great grandchild of a pirate,鈥 and has log-rafted in Thailand, kayaked in Laos, ice-sailed on Lake Ontario and听zorbed听in New Zealand. Yes, indeed, the 2021 winner of the Arch Award for Alumni Service, Dr. Janice Heard, MD鈥84, is all those things and more. Not to skip is this powerhouse鈥檚 work in establishing听草莓污视频导航鈥檚听first 鈥 and only 鈥 MD alumni program, her flare in creating a visual symbol for what鈥檚 come to be known as the MD Menagerie (鈥淗i, I鈥檓 a Pig. Are you a Poodle?鈥 . . . OK, that may be an inside faculty joke), her philanthropic efforts (the bursary Heard established in 2005 has helped 17 medical students), and her leadership role with the Child Sexual Abuse Clinic at (ACH) along with the CUPS Kids Clinic.听

My advice for a鈥痭ew鈥痯hilanthropist or volunteer who wants to give back鈥痠s to just go for it.鈥疧nce, I听heard someone say that giving back is like opening a treasure chest. You reach in and pull out a听gem听鈥斕齣t鈥檚 a gift.听People听can think about helping others as a gift to yourself.鈥

Career Achievement Arch Award听

Dr. Sharon Friesen,听BEd鈥86, MEd鈥91, PhD鈥00听

Sharon Friesen

Dr. Sharon Friesen,听BEd鈥86, MEd鈥91, PhD鈥00听

Illustrated by Maya Gohill

Let鈥檚 just say the triple alumna who received the 2021 Arch Award for Career Achievement likes best to operate in a 鈥渃hallenge culture鈥 鈥 a gentle way of saying she鈥檚 comfortable with pushback and has always questioned the status quo. By doing so, Dr. Sharon Friesen, BEd鈥86, MEd鈥91, PhD鈥00, has become an exemplar and reformer in education circles, here and abroad. 鈥 which has left its fingerprints on more than 500,000 students and thousands more teachers and principals across the planet 鈥 was co-founded by Friesen and has been recognized by the as one the world鈥檚 most powerful professional learning networks. At the helm of this provocative approach to design-based professional learning, the multipronged Galileo Network acts as an incubator, an advocate of teaching and learning, and as an innovator of professional learning practices and networked digital technologies that have shattered old theories and blasted new pathways into ways of thinking and working in our world. When asked for an aha! moment in research, Friesen confesses that, although she is comfortable questioning, challenging and debating most ideas, 鈥渢he status quo is difficult to disrupt as people鈥檚 beliefs are much stronger than evidence.鈥澨

My听grandmother,听who went against the grain in absolutely everything she did,听always said:听鈥楧on鈥檛 live by what someone else tells you that you can or cannot do or should or shouldn鈥檛 do. What you need to do is find that spark inside yourself that allows you to know that you are part of something bigger than鈥痽ou听and鈥痜eel committed to that.鈥

International Career Achievement Arch Award听

Dr. Helga Holst, MD鈥75

Helga Holst

Dr. Helga Holst, MD鈥75

Illustrated by Maya Gohill

Long before Starbucks arrived on campus, and even before Mac Hall had a food court, we had students such as Dr. Helga Holst, MD鈥75, tucking away tender moments from her days as a听草莓污视频导航听med school student. There were the raucous, and very politically incorrect, annual Med Show performances (Helga a.k.a. a 鈥榯urkey,鈥 worked backstage in costume support for the 1975 cabaret production); TGIF parties; as well as skiing and hiking trips to the Rockies, recalls Holst from her home in Howick, South Africa. With dreams of being a general practitioner (GP), 鈥渢he sort who knew you and your family and was competent in all medical fields, just like our hometown GP was,鈥 this year鈥檚 recipient of the Arch Award for International Career Achievement never imagined she鈥檇 spend most of her working career in South Africa. Learning basic Zulu and then navigating the clinical unknowns and cultural complexities that came with attending patients who had HIV/AIDS never crossed her mind when she completed听草莓污视频导航鈥檚听MD program in 1975. Her tenacity and "can do" attitude also led her to implement a cataract service for a local rural population, encourage the development of an electronic medical-record system and catalyze powerful relationships between philanthropists, funders and researchers. Holst鈥檚 legacy, writes her nominator, will be 鈥減ure innovation.鈥澨

If I had to sum up, in one word,听how I feel about my career in South Africa,听it would, undeniably,听be 鈥榞ratitude.鈥 It鈥檚 a huge privilege to be present at a time when there鈥檚 a great need and where your skills can truly make a difference. Working with HIV/AIDS patients in the 鈥80s,听which came with all the cultural complexities and clinical unknowns was, in the end,听enormously听gratifying.

Community Commitment Arch Award听

Lourdes Juan, BGS鈥05, MEDes鈥10听

Lourdes Juan

Lourdes Juan, BGS鈥05, MEDes鈥10听

Illustrated by Maya Gohill

When it comes to Lourdes Juan, BGS鈥05, MEDes鈥10, it鈥檚 hard not to talk numbers. Let鈥檚 start with the , the organization that this year鈥檚 Arch Award recipient for Community Commitment launched in 2012. Today, Leftovers is responsible for diverting some 92,000 pounds of food per month away from landfills and, instead, redistributing them to those in need. Behind the scenes: 93 vendors, 2,347 volunteers and operations in three major cities (Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg, as well as Airdrie and Hinton). Then there鈥檚 which Juan, an urban planner by profession, opened in 2010; her other听startup, (that assists developers with processes, permits and more); and , a small fleet of delivery vehicles that supplies culturally appropriate groceries to communities in need. If Juan, however, looks a little sleepy these days, the culprit is not helming this community-based empire but her latest and most beloved 鈥減roject鈥 of all. Her baby son, Lorenzo.听

In 2012, as a young entrepreneur without an office, I was working听in听coffee joints when I began asking shop owners if I could pick up their excess food at the end of the day听鈥斕齮hat鈥檚 how Leftovers took off. Nine years later, I can proudly tell you that we rescue about 10,000听lbs听of food per week in Manitoba and Alberta and employ about 40 people and give volunteer opportunities to hundreds more.

For more information about the Arch Awards and the 2021 recipients, visit听.听

Fall 2021

arch magazine

Arch is a publication for and about 草莓污视频导航 alumni, faculty, students, supporters and curious readers at large.听

This article was first published in the Fall 2021 issue.