Uncategorized | Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS)

91��ɫ nursing students receive awards for excellence and leadership

vinish — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 14:03:05 +0000

Four 91��ɫ students were recently recognized by the Registered Nurses Foundation of Ontario for their academic excellence and leadership potential. Michelle Hermans (PhD student) earned the Lynn Kirkwood Research Award; Tiina Ranta (PhD student) received the Research in Mental Health Nursing Award; Alessia Lamanna (MScN student) was awarded the Nursing Research Interest Group Award; and Eseimuede James Ehiagwina (BScN student) received the Charlotte Noesgaard Memorial Scholarship.

91��ɫ research shows homelessness increases mental health risk

vinish — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 21:20:42 +0000

A 91��ɫ postdoctoral fellow is leading groundbreaking research that combines epidemiology, data science and community partnership to better understand neurological and mental health risks among people experiencing homelessness in Canada. Working in the School of Health Policy and Management in the Faculty of Health, Frederic Fu’s work examines how structural conditions, such as housing instability, service gaps and cumulative stress shape health outcomes. A Connected Minds postdoctoral fellow and course director supervised by Associate Professor Vijay Mago, Fu collaborates with municipal, Indigenous and community partners, including the Lakehead Social Planning Council, Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre and Covenant House Toronto. His mixed-methods approach integrates administrative data with community co-design to support service improvements, capacity building and policy discussions with partner organizations.

91��ɫ Master’s student honoured by PEN Canada for humanitarian work

vinish — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 16:30:26 +0000

Growing up in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and spending eight years as a refugee in Pakistan were both instrumental in shaping one woman’s journey as a life saver for journalists who found themselves in Afghanistan after the American military withdrew in August, 2021.

91��ɫ Master’s student Robina Aryubwal and Journalists for Human Rights are joint recipients of PEN Canada’s 2024 Marie-Ange Garrigue Prize. The award recognizes a Canadian individual or organization that has provided significant help to a writer or journalist outside Canada who has faced threats, violence, harassment, or imprisonment for reporting or commenting on issues of public interest.

Together, Aryubwal and Journalists for Human Rights helped more than 500 people find safety and a fresh start from the embattled country.

“The greatest joy in the world comes from helping others,” Aryubwal said. “There’s something profoundly fulfilling about being there for someone in need, whether it’s through offering support, sharing knowledge, or simply listening to them.”

Aryubwal grew up in Afghanistan under the Taliban. She remembers having a life-defining moment one New Year’s Eve when she was 10 or 11. While everyone was celebrating, she said, she stayed to assist a woman who worked for her mother who had become very sick.

“I stayed by her side. I may not have been able to do much to help,” she said, “but the comfort I gave her meant the world to her. That night, I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to helping others.”

_{A photo of Robina Aryubwal}

She once asked her mother how she can help people better, and she said, ‘Through education’, was her mother’s response.

Growing up in Afghanistan she saw how difficult life could be, particularly for girls—they were not allowed to go to school. Her family refused to accept that and started an underground school for women, teaching them in secret.

_{A photo of Robina Aryubwal and her family at the airport}

“That experience taught me the power of education and the importance of standing up for what’s right, even when it’s dangerous,” Aryubwal said.

In 2021, when the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, the fear returned. Brave people—journalists, teachers and human rights defenders—were suddenly, once again, in grave danger. It was around that time that she was introduced to Rachel Pulfer by Carol Off. At the time Pulfer was the executive director of Journalists for Human Rights.

“I signed my first contract for a week, which soon became a month, and then I worked with Journalists for Human Rights for almost three years,” Aryubwal said.

Journalists for Human Rights immediately launched an emergency evacuation effort when the Taliban regained control of Kabul. In the first week Pulfer mobilized key donors and coalition members and raised $600,000 for the emergency evacuation fund. The fund eventually grew to $2 million.

“Every life we helped save felt like a small victory in a world full of fear,” she said. “This award is a reminder of those victories. It’s not just for me—it’s for every person who has shown bravery in the face of danger, every family forced to flee, and every girl who still dreams of a better future despite the challenges she faces.”

Aryubwal knows the fear that people face, as well as their pain and their hope. “Because I have lived it,” she said.

This work has meant so much to her, not just because of the lives that were saved, but because they also gave people hope and showed them they were not alone.

She said her life experience was one of the forces that kept driving her forward. As a little girl she lived under the rule of the Taliban, and she thought it was terrible. Following that she spent eight long years as a refugee in Pakistan—which was an incredibly hard journey. After eight years of trying, the family made it to Canada, where Aryubwal resumed her education. She is currently studying a Master’s degree in Public and International Affairs (MPIA) at 91��ɫ.

“Every moment was filled with fear and pain.” Aryubwal said she didn’t want other families to suffer what she and her family suffered. That became her motivation to keep pushing forward.

She said she chose the MPIA graduate program because she was captivated by its interdisciplinary, bilingual approach and commitment to blending theory with hands-on experience to address complex global challenges.

“My future goal is to drive impactful policy changes that promote equity, justice and sustainable development through a career in an international organization or governmental agency,” said Aryubwal, “leveraging my passion for humanitarian work to create a better world.”

Our community mourns the passing of Neil Livingston, Humanities PhD Candidate

vinish — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 16:09:56 +0000

The 91��ɫ community is mourning the loss of Neil Marcellus Livingston, 53, a PhD student in Humanities.

“I feel truly privileged to have worked with Neil. I will miss the wide-ranging intellectual conversations we had, his insights and humour, and his energy and drive to make a difference. He will be remembered by all of us who were lucky enough to know him as a dear friend with whom we wished we could have spent more time,” Markus Reisenleitner, Neil’s supervisor here at 91��ɫ said.

Humanities program director Victor Shea said, “Those of us who were lucky enough to know Neil will remember a kind soul who had a charisma and an energy that lit up a room. Wherever he was there were smiles and laughter, and good debate and discussion of things that matter. In his intellectual work he was writing a dissertation on Little Jamaica on Eglington and gentrification.”

Neil was born in 1971 and raised in Guelph and Elmira by his mother Catherine Elstone. He graduated as valedictorian of Elmira District Secondary School (EDSS) in 1990. He cared deeply for his mother, who passed away in August 2023.

Neil was predeceased by his father, James Livingston, in October 2020. His father greatly inspired him academically.

_{a photo of Neil Livingston}

Neil passed away Thursday, September 26, surrounded by his family and many friends. He had been diagnosed only days before with an advanced and rare form of renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) that had rapidly progressed.

Neil was a graduate of Queen’s University, Environmental Science, Honours, 1995, and a student leader while at Queen’s. He served as Director of Services for the AMS, heading Queen’s Project on International Development (QPID) and managing Queen’s Student Constables.

Later in his life Neil came to 91��ɫ, graduating with a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies (Complex Systems Analysis) in 2014, before proceeding to his PhD. His research topic was Global Digital Gentrification.

Ali Ahmed, speaking on behalf of his colleagues in the Humanities Graduate Student Association, said, “Whenever we met Neil, especially through the advocacy group he formed to revive our grad students' association, we were always taken by his uncontainable spirit, his unaffected and endearing manner of relating to each of us, and his love for family and community. In the midst of our sadness in losing him, we realize even more how much his being was a blessing for all of us; and, in remembering our dear friend, we are led to carry on the task of our association. Thank you, Brother Neil.”

A student of life and a teacher to many, Neil will be missed by his wife of more than 21 years, Claudia Gibson, and their three young daughters Nyah, 11, Luna, 7, and Hannah, 6. He will also be missed by his sister Sara Cooper (nee. Elstone), brother-in-law Chad Cooper, niece Amelia Elstone-Cooper, nephew Holden Cooper, as well as his extended family and countless friends.

A has been set up on behalf of Claudia and the girls to provide critical support.