Golden Apple and I am Accessible Award Winners 2022
As we look towards the end of another challenging academic year, we are filled with gratitude to be able to celebrate the faculty and staff who have fostered a healthy campus community by curating classrooms that are accessible and health promoting.
On April 6, 2022 the live award ceremony was held. Special guest speakers (selected by our student team) included previous winner Mehran Shirazi, wellbeing researchers and educational leaders Sabre Cherkowski and John Tyler-Binfet. Professor Piotr Ahmad and MSW Student Clayton March did an incredible job describing the importance of accessible classrooms. Ishika Bahambhani (fourth year Science) and Luke Feraco (first year MSW) served as the MC team and were joined by Karah Hopgood (fifth year Science) and Annika Wiebe (first year Science) who shared the nominations.
Both the Golden Apple Awards and the I Am Accessible Awards are student-driven awards where students nominate Faculty (and staff for the I Am Accessible Awards) who are supporting wellbeing and accessibility at UBC Okanagan. The nominations are then cleaned of any identifying markers before a team of students deliberate and choose the best nominations by category. These awards are sponsored by Disability Resource Centre (for the I Am Accessible Awards) and Campus Wellness and Education and UBC Wellbeing (for the Golden Apple Awards).
The 2022 Golden Apple Award Winners are:
- Fostering student-instructor relationships – Rishma Chooniedass, Nursing
- Fostering peer-to-peer relationships – Alison Hargreaves, English and Cultural Studies
- Helping Students Find Value in the Subject Matter – Martin Blum, German, FCCS
- Structuring the Course Effectively – Mehran Shirazi, Engineering
- Delivering the Material Effectively – Cameron Crookstan, English and Cultural Studies
- Supporting Learning Outside the Classroom – Ozren Petkovic, TA, Chemistry
- Recognizing that Students Have Lives Outside Academics – Roberto Filippello, Community, Culture and Global Studies
- Openly Discuss Wellbeing-Related Topics – Eva-Marie Kovacs-Kowalke, Anthropology
- Creating a Safe Classroom Environment – William Spencer Murch, Psychology
This year the 2022 I Am Accessible Award Winners are:
- Jessica Lowry – Staff Award
- Stephanie Tolman – Faculty Award
Congratulations to all the winners! If you would like more information about creating classrooms that promote wellbeing, visit our library of resources or contact Dr. Sally Stewart for information about the “Teacher Project” cohort.