Class of 2018: Lindsay Savard finishes her degree, but that was just the beginning

“The social work program has changed me in so many ways. I have especially enjoyed the opportunity to examine my personal values and bias which are necessary in order to grow personally and professionally.” 

Engaged, active, extraordinary, humble, are just just some of the adjectives to describe Lindsay Savard. Savard initially began as a psychology student at the University of Lethbridge before deciding social work was where she belonged. She graduates June 6, 2018 with a Bachelor of Social Work degree and couldn’t be happier.

A rich and full undergrad experience

While maintaining her “A” average, Savard worked in the traumatic brain injury section of Lethbridge Family Services, and together with fellow students advocated for increased accessibility for differently abled folks to replace broken ramps in neighbourhoods. As a student she volunteered in the University of Lethbridge’s Stepping Up program, a counselling program to promote prevention and awareness of interpersonal violence on campus.  

Savard, a member of the Métis Nation, joined her professors and peers volunteering for the Truth and Reconciliation Committee on campus and also joined the Southern Alberta Region Symposium.  

Her work as an activist and engaged community member was complimented by impressive undergraduate research. As a research assistant to Dr. Dora Tam, PhD, and Dr. Siu Ming Kwok, PhD, she was part of research project entitled Challenges Facing Newcomers to Canada. Tam, Kwok and Savard were co-presenters at the Canada-China Exchange Conference in Calgary last fall, where Savard presented the literature review she prepared.  

In June 2018, she will accompany Tam and Kwok to Guangzhou, China where the two researchers have been actively building growing relationships between the Faculty of Social Work and two large universities. While there Savard will visit community agencies and present her own research on current trends of suicide among adolescents in Canada.

'Scholarships are out there, you just have to apply!'

Reflecting on her undergraduate research experience, Savard took a moment to encourage students to research and apply for the many grants and scholarships available. She was the recipient of the Diana Fowler LeBlanc Aboriginal Social Work Scholarship, the Iain Cullen Ramsay Undergraduate Scholarship in Social Work, the Louise McKinney Post-Secondary Scholarship, and more. She says, “The scholarships are out there, you just have to find and apply for them.”

Savard is thankful to her professors and the research opportunities the University of Calgary has given her and credits her tightly knit class at the faculty’s Lethbridge campus, without whom she says she could never have done it. The advice Savard has to offer her cohorts and future graduates is “Bring to your client your most authentic and genuine self because when they see your true self, they will feel free to be themselves.”  

Not surprisingly, given her impressive research as an undergrad, Savard has been accepted into the Master of Social Work program at the University of Toronto in the fall of 2018, where she will be specialize in working with children and their families. Her goal is to become a clinical therapist working with Indigenous children and families.