These awards are a way to recognize and encourage excellence in undergraduate and graduate studies by celebrating those who have distinguished themselves not only academically, but also outside the classroom.
The Faculty of Arts is proud to announce the recipients for the year 2025.
Eric Long
My name is Eric Long, and I am graduating from an Honours Bachelor of Greek and Roman Studies in the spring of 2025. I have given the time and energy necessary to my studies to achieve the educational outcomes I came to university to seek: the development of my research and writing skills, proficiency in Latin and Greek, and a deeper understanding of the ancient Mediterranean world, the cultural matrix of European civilization. Through the degree, I have balanced work as an ESL teacher, helping my students with the language testing requisite for immigration or educational purposes. Taken together, all of this has been a most enjoyable challenge.
Hale Nicholson
Hale Nicholson (they/them) is a fourth-year student of Honours English and Celtic Studies in the University of Ottawa鈥檚 Faculty of Arts. They have been the recipient of a number of prizes including third place in the 2022 Department of English Short Story Contest, the Irish Language Book Prize in 2022, the Emmett O鈥橤rady Scholarship in 2024, and the David Staines Scholarship in 2025, alongside being a recipient of the 91精品黑料吃瓜 Merit Scholarship for every semester of their academic career. Hale, alongside their love of reading, has a keen interest in languages and international travel; their love of languages has pushed them to be fluent in English and French, proficient in Korean, and have a basic understanding of many other languages including Scots Gaelic and Irish. They have inherited from their proud Cape Breton ancestry a love for Scottish and Irish culture, which prompted them to pursue the Celtic Studies minor. Hale is also an artist, pursuing visual arts, creative writing, and music as hobbies. They are also active in their local athletic community while playing their favourite sport, volleyball.
Yulun Wu
Yulun Wu completed his PhD in Geography at the University of Ottawa in January 2025, where he also earned his Honours BSc in Environmental Science. His research interests include coastal remote sensing and planetary science. Yulun鈥檚 PhD work was centred on satellite-based remote sensing of lakes and rivers, supported by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and other partners. During his graduate studies, Yulun conducted fieldwork near Ottawa, Montreal, the Strait of Georgia, and Northern Quebec. A deep appreciation for nature, especially aquatic environments, continues to inspire his research. Yulun was an active volunteer with the Geography Graduate Student Association throughout most of his graduate studies. In his spare time, Yulun enjoys playing basketball and reading science fiction.
Kristine Feria
Kristine Feria is graduating summa cum laude with a Joint Honours BA in History and Political Science. She served on the 2023-4 History Students鈥 Association executive committee as VP Equity. Kristine is passionate about cultural history, particularly the history of ballet in the Cold War. Her article 鈥淐astro鈥檚 Cultural Policy: Cuban Ballet as a Symbol of Resistance鈥 was published in Clio Vol. XI. She is also interested in digital history and has created several online exhibits. She is especially proud of 鈥淲omen of the American West and Fashion in the Late-Nineteenth to Early-Twentieth Centuries鈥 and 鈥淭he Russian Ballet Amidst the Soviet Cultural Debate, 1917-1931.鈥 She currently works on historical declassification at Global Affairs Canada.
Kristine is grateful to her pamilya and friends in Alberta for their love from afar. She would like to thank Professors Godefroy Desrosiers-Lauzon and Corinne Gaudin for introducing her to the joys of American and Russian history, respectively. She also wishes to thank Professor Mohamad Ghossein for introducing her to the wonderful world of political theory. Finally, she would like to thank Professors Heather Murray, Sarah Templier, and Robert Sparling for guiding and supporting her throughout her studies. Kristine plans to start her master鈥檚 in history in the fall and was recently accepted to the Universities of Toronto, Victoria, Edinburgh, and Oxford.
Elizabeth Perrin
Elizabeth Perrin is a fourth-year Honours BA student in the School of Music, completing a Double Major in Music Studies and Sociology. With a passion for music that has only grown since the age of 13, Elizabeth seeks to learn more and inform others about music鈥檚 various societal impacts. Her research focuses notably on the pop, punk, and rock genres of the 21st century, analyzing concepts such as music-text relationships, identity and community building, as well as queer and feminist representations.
Elizabeth鈥檚 motivation and dedication towards her studies have earned her several distinctions. This includes being a recipient of the Frederick Karam Scholarship, which recognizes excellence in music theory, as well as being consistently placed in the Dean鈥檚 Honour List, which recognizes excellent academic standing. She will continue her studies at the University of Ottawa in the fall as she pursues an MA in Music, where she is excited and grateful to expand her musicological horizons and make meaningful contributions to the field.
Hannah Amerinejad
Hannah Amerinejad (They/She) is an artist graduating with an Honours BA in Theatre from the Department of Theatre in Spring 2025. Their work explores feminist and political subjects through various forms of performance that engage movement, puppets, and multimedia. Hannah鈥檚 most recent co-creation project, presented in subDivision 2024, reflected the shared themes between bilingualism and non-binary identities using shadow theatre techniques. She is currently working on a play that explores female familial bonds and immigration.
Hannah spent the summer of 2024 in Arezzo, Italy, training in Physical Theatre. This experience ended with two performances in public piazzas. During her time at 91精品黑料吃瓜, Hannah had the opportunity to connect and collaborate with many professionals and students in the industry. She has performed in five departmental productions, including three Drama Guild performances. Hannah has also worked as an assistant director and stage manager alongside Ottawa鈥檚 artistic leaders. They have three years of experience as a theatre technician, having worked for the Ottawa Children鈥檚 Festival, the Ottawa Fringe, and FTAMS. They have also worked with Th茅芒tre Tremplin as a lighting designer. After graduation, they are excited to develop new work, by putting their research and digital skills into play.
Sabrina Ferrari
In Spring 2025, Sabrina Ferrari will be graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Ottawa鈥檚 Department of Visual Arts. Ferrari works in a queer artist duo with Evalyn Shields, together their anti-disciplinary collaborative practice responds to the contradictions of living in a supposedly secular, progressive, liberal democracy steeped in repressive traditional Judeo-Christian cultural values. Borrowing from the aesthetic strategies of religious practice, they create spaces of hushed reverence and contemplation in an attempt to reveal the rigidity and impossibility of the promise of salvation from a system that insists on only counting to two.
Ferrari and Shields will start their Masters of Fine Arts at the University of Ottawa in the fall of 2025 as an artist duo. They are incredibly thankful to the entire Visual Arts Department. All their gratitude to the admirable Cara Tierney, Deborah Margo, Aylin Abbasi, and Michel Valli猫res, who have shaped their practice and education with incredible generosity.
Gwendelyn Hanna
My name is Gwendelyn Hanna, and I鈥檓 in my fourth year of an Honours Bachelor of Arts with a Double Major in World Languages and Cultures (Spanish profile) and Communication at the University of Ottawa. I鈥檝e worked as a student ambassador, completed internships such as tutoring French with Canadian Parents for French and advising communications for Gentle Ways for OurPlanet. I also served as co-president of the Lebanese Cultural Club, fostering cultural exchange and student engagement.
My passion for cross-cultural understanding and communication has been recognized through awards such as the Embassy of Spain鈥檚 prize for a Spanish short story I wrote, and the Excellence Award in Modern Languages from the Faculty of Arts Student Association. In my final year, I had the opportunity to present a symposium on my capstone project exploring how art served as a form of protest, hope, and grief following the 2020 Beirut explosion.
These experiences have strengthened my commitment to advocacy and global citizenship. Next fall, I鈥檒l begin my studies in Common Law in French at 91精品黑料吃瓜, with the goal of one day practicing international law.
Nyla Martin
Nyla Martin is in her fifth year graduating from an Honours BA specialised in Second Language Teaching focused on Teaching French as a Second Language. Throughout her studies at UOttawa, she has acquired numerous accomplishments and developed her academic interests. She presented in one of APFUCC鈥檚 round tables about teaching initiatives during the 2024 Humanities and Social Sciences Congress at McGill University. She received La Bourse de la Francophonie for her participation in French research activities during the conference. Nyla has received scholarships throughout her studies for her academic excellence and has worked with OLBI professors on different pedagogical and research projects pertaining to the francophone population and community. Nyla has always had a passion for learning; her research and studies interests include language development, neurolinguistics, pragmatics, and first and second language acquisition. Through her volunteer work at the Therapeutic Riding Association of Ottawa-Carleton and with a speech language pathologist (SLP), she found a passion for the SLP career as it combines her major interests of language, psychology, and having a positive impact on people鈥檚 lives. Nyla鈥檚 next step is pursuing her Master鈥檚 in SLP and continuing in clinical and research practices.
Max Dewaele
Asini Kwens diznakaaz, Makwa ndodem. My name is Max Dewaele, and I am completing my Honours Bachelor in philosophy this year. Like all learning, my path to this degree has been circuitous: I started from a degree in mathematics and computer science, transferred into computer science after two years of that program, then, after two more years, finally found myself in philosophy. The change was also one of my own ethical interests and practice, which was informed by the traditional Anishinaabe knowledge which I have been touched by, including the emphasis on responsibility which Elders have impressed me with. Responsibility for community has led me to think more about the role of the university and people like me within it to society and community. Working on the Indigenization project with the Faculty of Social Science has shown me all that can and should be done in the university to support Indigenous communities and the revitalization of traditional knowledge. Philosophy gives a wealth tools for thinking about Indigenous knowledge, and the relations between Indigenous epistemologies and western epistemologies. These are skills which I am excited to take up more in my upcoming master鈥檚 program in Indigenous studies.
Andr茅a Rainville
Andr茅a Rainville is a first-year master鈥檚 student in lettres fran莽aises at the University of Ottawa鈥檚 D茅partement de fran莽ais. As a proud Franco-Ontarian from Ottawa, Andr茅a has always nurtured her passion for the French language. She focuses mainly on matters of language and literature in Francophone minority communities across Canada. While completing her bachelor鈥檚 degree, Andr茅a stood out for her exceptional academic performance due to her consistent and thorough work. Andr茅a has worked as a teaching assistant in the D茅partement de fran莽ais and taken part in recruitment activities. She has also served as a translator in Canada鈥檚 public service. Outside her work and studies, she has volunteered at the Maison des arts litt茅raires de Gatineau. Andr茅a received a scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for her graduate studies. Andr茅a would like to say a special thanks to professors Ana茂s Tatossian and Lucie Hotte for their invaluable support along her academic journey.
Jasmine Desjardins
Jasmine Desjardins discovered her passion for linguistics while studying at the University of Ottawa. She is now about to complete her master鈥檚 degree at the Department of Linguistics. With her fascination for languages as systems and reflections of cultures, she specialized in language documentation.
For her research paper, she conducted phonology research in collaboration with speakers of a minoritized language. This work led her to deepen her commitment to documenting and revitalizing Indigenous languages.
After her master鈥檚 degree, she intends to continue her research at the doctoral level, making use of the skills she gained in the field and working in close collaboration with communities.