Announcing SFU’s 2020 Healthy Campus Community Champions

By Christy Ho and Anita Quan

A health sciences lecturer who has made outstanding contributions to student well-being and a student resource centre serving the LGBTQIA2S+ community are being celebrated for their efforts to create a healthy campus community at SFU.

Faculty of Health Science lecturer Paola Ardiles and SFSS Out on Campus are SFU’s 2020 Healthy Campus Community Champions.

Since 2012, SFU has recognized staff, faculty and students who have gone above and beyond in their role to create a healthy campus and enhance the SFU community through the annual Healthy Campus Community Champions Award. The award is presented annually by the SFU Health Promotion team and recognizes both individuals and groups within the SFU community. Its goal is to celebrate those who embrace SFU’s Healthy Campus Community initiative and create conditions that enhance student health and well-being.

SFSS Out on Campus

Out on Campus (OOC) is the hub for anything related to gender diversity and sexual identity at SFU.

As the only resource centre serving the needs of students, staff and faculty who identify as LGBTQIA2S+ and their allies, OOC has made important contributions to SFU’s Healthy Campus Community and received four separate nominations highlighting their impact. It has created safe spaces and opportunities for students to be their authentic selves, without judgment, policing or editing.

OOC launched its Discord server in response to the pandemic so it could continue connecting students with their peers, providing peer support, offering regular programming, as well as advocating for systemic and social change. Guided by collaborative principles, the team works with community members on individual support, builds capacity through education, and supports systemic change. Through consultations, they have advised on policies, processes, like the approach to booking speakers, and physical spaces, like Just Need to Pee poster campaign, as well as an improved sense of belonging and supportive services for LGBTQIA2S+ community members.

Paola Ardiles

Paola Ardiles has made outstanding contributions to SFU student health and well-being. As an instructor, mentor, and collaborator at SFU, she has made a positive impact through her values of equity, inclusion, community-engaged learning, and through her genuine care for student well-being.

Ardiles continuously collaborates with the Health Promotion team to provide for students opportunities to contribute to the Healthy Campus Community. Currently, she is collaborating with Student Services and the Centre for Accessible Learning on a community service course. They aim to enable students to develop solutions in addressing student experience of disability on campus.

Nominate a champion

If you know a person, program, or group that has made an outstanding contribution to the Healthy Campus Community initiative, please consider submitting a nomination package for the 2021 Healthy Campus Community Champion. Nominations will open in early fall of 2021.