Convocation award winners: Summer 2019

MARIKA (MAJKA) HAHN graduates with a joint major in Political Science and Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies, a minor in Philosophy, and a Certificate in Ethics with a concentration in Ethics and Global Justice. 

Alongside an outstanding academic record and a semester abroad at Northeastern University in Boston, Majka is applying her skills and knowledge outside the university. She currently volunteers at the West Coast Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), and is engaged in research on transnational women's movements. 

Majka has also been awarded a Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant to start her master's degree in Political Science at McGill University this fall. 

VANNA LODDERS graduates with a BA (honours) degree majoring in Political Science and a minor in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies.

Vanna has been praised by her instructors for her intellect, assertiveness, and attention to detail—qualities that have enabled her to join the Accelerated Master's Program with a Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant. 

Her interest and accomplishments in gender justice and electoral politics extends beyond the classroom. As a former president of the Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Student Union (GSWSSU), and a former member of SFU's Women's Centre Collective, Vanna has been a leader in promoting women's issues on campus. 

AMELIA DENNY-KEYS graduates with a BA in Psychology, a field of study that has long intrigued her even from an early age. Amelia grew up in a family that worked in human services and whose values reflected a commitment to inclusion and social equity—this led to a lifelong interest in social psychology and understanding human behaviour. 

During her undergraduate degree, Amelia’s passion for human services deepened when she became involved with the SFU Behavioural Neuroendocrinology Laboratory, and volunteered with a mental health rehabilitation program in the Fraser Valley.  

Amelia attributes her success to a solid social network that supported her throughout her academic journey. The encouragement and support from her friends and family motivated Amelia to stay on track to achieve her goals while also maintaining her mental and physical health during setbacks and in times of stress. 

Amelia plans to use her knowledge, passion, and privilege to help and support individuals in need. She hopes to pursue a Master’s degree in social work, and establish a career in the fields of mental health, addictions and criminal justice. 

LINDSAY SAMSON graduates with her BA (honours) majoring in Psychology with an extended minor in Linguistics and a certificate in the Linguistics of Speech Science. 

Not only has Lindsay achieved a near perfect record in a challenging honours program, she is also actively involved in research. So far, she has had two conference presentations and a journal publication, with two research papers currently under review. 

In her spare time over the past six years, Lindsay volunteered with four different research labs, and has worked as a research coordinator at St. Paul's Eating Disorder Program for the past year. She also spent a year volunteering with the Vancouver Crisis Centre. 

This fall, Lindsay will be starting her master's program in clinical psychology at York University under a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) scholarship.

HAEBIN PAN graduates with a BA majoring in English and a minor in Learning and Developmental Disabilities. 

Haebin has always been interested in supporting the education of students. During her time at SFU, she worked as a special education assistant to support students with exceptionalities and volunteered for educational organizations, such as Racing Readersand Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver. 

"SFU has helped me to become equipped with the knowledge, skills, and resilience for supporting the members of the community as a teacher," Haebin says. "The English courses I took helped me realize the importance of a critical thinking mindset and inquiry-based learning in schools." 

Haebin is currently taking courses specializing in education at SFU and plans to establish a career that supports the needs of the public. 

DR. KYEONG-MIN KIM is receiving his PhD in Linguistics, on which his thesis was focused on investigating the syntactic and interpretative properties of three Korean anaphoric devices using experimental methodologies.

He first joined the Department of Linguistics in the fall of 2011, and has since worked under Dr. Chung-hye Han and Dr. Keir Moulton in the Experimental Syntax (XSyn) Lab.

Dr. Kim believes that his doctoral study will serve as a useful starting point for any future research on the syntax of other Korean anaphoric items. 

DR. NATALIE KNIGHT is a member of the Yurok and Navajo nations, and she is graduating with a PhD in English.

As a recipient of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, Dr. Knight’s dissertation shows the ways that Indigenous people who have been dispossessed from their ancestral land and communities, can rebuild and regain their political, social and economic practices of Indigeneity.

Dr. Knight is an active advocate of indigenizing the university—while at SFU, she had worked to reinstate the Aboriginal University Prep Program which led to the creation of the Interim Aboriginal University Preparation Program.