Women's Resource Centre awards recognize wisdom, resiliency and compassion

The Women's Resource Centre (WRC) is pleased to announce the recipients of the WRC Awards of Excellence for 2018.

The annual awards showcase and celebrate the outstanding success of University of Calgary community members. Each year, women are recognized for their wisdom, resiliency, and compassion in the face of adversity. Award recipients exemplify outstanding leadership in their personal and professional lives, and strive to make their communities a better place for all.  

WRC Distinguished Graduate Student 2018

Nurse, student, educator and entrepreneur — it is no secret that Suzanna Crawford, a Master of Nursing student at the University of Calgary, wears many hats. After completing a Bachelor of Science, Zoology’10 and Bachelor of Nursing'13 at UCalgary, Crawford began her pursuit of a rewarding nursing career demonstrating empathy and a deep-rooted commitment to vulnerable populations.

Soon into her career as a registered nurse, Crawford noted some profound gaps in care and so in 2015 she opted to pursue graduate school and began researching how to best support families impacted by disability. From her passionate research and meaningful relationships came many iterations of what is now Enable — a social enterprise aimed at increasing a sense of community for people of all abilities and overcoming barriers to access for people with, and without, disabilities.  

Through her work as a nurse clinician at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and a key entrepreneurial figure in Alberta, Crawford remains committed to community activism, innovation and connecting people compassionately.

WRC Distinguished Undergraduate Student 2018

Clare Hickie is an accomplished, hard-working and strong student leader in her final semester of a BA (Honours) in Psychology with a minor in development studies. In addition to demonstrating academic excellence, Hickie's contributions have proven instrumental in implementing initiatives that encourage resiliency and stigma reduction on campus, as well as promoting greater inclusivity and justice through critical evaluation.

As a strong advocate for mental health, Hickie shares her knowledge and lived experiences to support others and influence change. These qualities, combined with her extensive leadership experience on campus, have given her the experience and the foresight to better understand and be compassionate to the needs of others.

Hickie has worked with the Campus Mental Health Strategy on program creation and evaluation, organized grassroots events like Outrun the Stigma and served in varying leadership roles through the Leadership and Student Engagement office. This breadth of activity has resulted in the development of an extraordinary student leader, committed to making the world a better place.

Awards ceremony to be held March 17

The invitation-only WRC Awards presentation ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 17 at the University of Calgary. The ceremony will include inspiring stories about the award recipients and a keynote address from Shawna Cunningham, director, Indigenous strategy. The WRC Awards ceremony will be held in conjunction with the sixth annual Women’s Leadership Conference. The event is supported by SU Quality Money and the GSA Quality Money Grants.

Learn more about the WRC Awards and past years' award recipients.