Library scholarships honour and recognize student success

The University of Victoria Libraries is proud to be an essential and integral part of the research life cycle at UVic. Our awards recognize and honor the contributions and achievements of all our students, enhancing the sense of personal growth and accomplishment in our academic community.

Congratulations to the 2023 scholarship winners. Read their award-winning submissions.

William Petrie Graduate Student Library Scholarship recipient: Allison Balabuch

Allison Balabuch is a PhD candidate in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Victoria. She earned her degrees from the University of British Columbia (Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Political Science and a Bachelor of Education), and the University of Victoria (Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction). She has been a French Immersion teacher for 25 years in British Columbia and England. Her teaching and research are centered on project-based learning, arts-based learning, land-based learning, and interdisciplinary studies in the classroom. Her current research is focused on community-based and interdisciplinary collaboration with the goal of improving and decolonizing educational systems and pedagogy.

David Harris Flaherty Undergraduate Student Library Scholarship recipient: Erin Mugford

My name is Erin Mugford and I am currently a teacher candidate in UVic’s Secondary Post Degree Professional Program. I grew up on the mainland and moved to Victoria for school in 2016. I completed my BFA with Honours in Visual Arts at UVic in 2021. During my first degree, I found my passion for working with youth and children through my part time job at the Esquimalt Recreation Centre leading preschool, out of school care, youth nights, art classes, and summer camps. I am currently teaching secondary art, photography and textiles as I complete my final practicum in the Greater Victoria School District. I am having an incredible time getting to know the students and learning alongside them! In my free time I love to knit, swim in the ocean, and spend time with my partner and our pet lizard, Oliver. I am looking forward to new and exciting adventures as I graduate from the program this December and am so grateful for the support I have received from this UVic Libraries scholarship! It has made a huge difference for me and has allowed me to focus on my learning (and my students' learning!) first.

David Harris Flaherty Undergraduate Student Library Scholarship recipient: Bella Nguyen

Bella Nguyen (she/her) is a Music Performance Major and involves herself in exploring the flute as an instrument and vehicle of expression. Studying under Dr. Suzanne Snizek, who specializes in suppressed music, Bella seeks to expand her knowledge on flute performance.

Gladys Nipp and Stephen Mah Family Award recipient: Mikaela Chia

Mikaela Chia (she/her) is a graduate student in Counselling Psychology living on the ancestral and unceded traditional territories of the Lək̓ ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Nations. Mikaela is grateful to co-create her thesis, which centers on living stories of the Chinese Students’ Strike (1922-1923), and intergenerational resistance and racial trauma, alongside the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society and under the supervision of Dr. Fred Chou.