The MacEwan community has seen no shortage of successes and accomplishments over the past few months. We’ve rounded up some of the latest news-worthy moments that centre on our staff, faculty, alumni and students.

In the arts

Dr. Allan Gilliland, music professor and former Faculty of Fine Art and Communications (FFAC) dean, created the score for the documentary Peggy & Balmer. The doc focuses on freedom of the news media, and was produced and directed by Edmonton filmmaker Tom Radford.

Music students Tom Shenher, Connor Archibald, Sebastian Gomez, Davie Celestial, Andrew Dwyre, Brody Richardson and Astra Bamba, and Spring 2024 BMus grads Stephen Cameron, Zach Hassan and Alex Lee worked together to write seven songs, which were licensed for a six-part docuseries in their MUSC 321 Advanced Songwriting class. Assistant Professor John McMillan also composed the score along with Zach Hassan and Stephen Cameron. The series, called The Crip Trip, follows artist, filmmaker and quadruple amputee Daniel Ennett as he and his friend Frederick Kroetsch cross Canada in search of employment in the television industry.

The MacEwan community made waves at the 2025 Juno Awards. The university’s music label Bent River Records celebrated its first nomination with alum Brianna Lizotte’s, BMus ’23, album Winston & I in the Traditional Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year category. The album was produced by Padraig Buttner-Schnirer, associate professor in the Department of Music. Associate Professor Paul Johnston also received a nod for his production work on the Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra’s album Harbour, which was nominated for Jazz Album of the Year: Group.

Harcourt House’s Art Incubator Gallery was home to Unnatural Order this spring, an exhibition by alum Dustin Coulson Design Studies ’12 and Design Foundations ’10, featuring sculptures using birch bark as his primary medium.

2017 Distinguished Alumni Award honoree Jason Carter, Digital Arts and Media ’03, has changed the face of the Calgary Stampede grounds. Three pieces of Carter’s artwork will be permanently installed at the main park entrances ahead of this year’s festivities.

When the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) matched up-and-coming journalists with industry mentors, MacEwan student Faith Tabladillo was one of only two successful candidates chosen from Western Canada. She was paired with Sarah Rieger, news writer for WealthSimple Media, for the six-week opportunity.

CAJ’s list of nominees for their annual investigative journalism awards also has a few familiar names. Danielle Paradis, assistant professor in the Department of Communication, is a finalist in the Environmental and Climate Change category, and alum Brett McKay, Communication Studies ’23, is nominated in the Scoop category.

Dr. Willow White, Bachelor of Arts Honours ’14, returned to campus to give the keynote address at this year’s English Student Conference.

Research, publications and accreditations

Spencer Pon, Massage Therapy ’23, published his research into using massage therapy to increase ankle mobility and spasticity in patients with cerebral palsy in the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork Research Education & Practice.

For alum Brayden Ritter, Bachelor of Science Honours ’23, pamphlets aren’t the only way to increase mental health awareness. Ritter researched, designed and released a board game called Life Paths, which he created to help students understand mental health while learning about tools and resources.

Dr. Gail Low, associate professor in the Department of Nursing Foundations and Science, and Hunaina Allana, lab supervisor in the Department of Professional Nursing and Allied Health, co-authored a paper with colleagues from several other universities on anxiety and coping strategies used by older adults during the pandemic. The study sought to compare national data to explore recovery options to create a visual teaching tool for practitioners and program developers.

Dr. Kristopher Wells led a team of MacEwan colleagues in interviewing 25 trans and non-binary youth as research for The Lived Experiences of Trans & Nonbinary Youth in Alberta. The report was published in PolicyWise’s Resources for Practice.

MacEwan’s Bachelor of Commerce program renewed its accreditation with the European Foundation for Management Development. Read about that and many other impressive School of Business partnerships here.

Awards and honours

MacEwan’s National Model United Nations Club recently represented Romania at the NMUN NY Conference, where they received the outstanding delegation award. Student Alyssa Tonnes also received a position paper award in the United Nations Environment Assembly, and faculty advisor Dr. Chaldeans Mensah received the Judy K. Eaton Service Award at the conference’s closing ceremony.

Journalism student Kyla Lightfoot was named Miss Ponoka Stampede 2025, continuing her streak after serving as Miss Rodeo Airdrie in 2022-23 and Cochrane Lions Rodeo Queen in 2022-23.

The Canadian Council on Animal Care announced that Aleah McCorry, animal care coordinator in the Office of Research Services, is the recipient of their 2025 Emerging Leader Award for her work with zebrafish welfare and institutional leadership.

Max Quilliam, Bachelor of Fine Art ’24, is a finalist for the 2025 McCall MacBain Scholarship at McGill University. The prestigious scholarship covers tuition, fees, a living stipend and more while successful applicants further their studies after completion of a first degree.

Students Ben Smith, Marisa Peters, Kelsie Howlett and Payton Konieczny earned top-15 honours in the Canadian Marketing League’s Next Top Ad Exec. They entered the competition as part of their strategic communications course with prof Jaelyn Birch, and Smith and Peters went on to receive an honourable mention for finishing in the top 10.

Two teams of MacEwan business students made it into the top four at the CPA Business Challenge with support from their faculty advisors Michelle Malin and Dr. Natalia Khinkanina. Kwizera Bara, Kathleen Phelan, Christiana McCracken and Alexander Gusse took fourth place, and Bryce Romanko, Westley Adams, Jack Hermanutz and Nick Divincenzo (pictured above) earned second place in the competition.

MacEwan students competed alongside other Edmonton post-secondary students in the American Statistical Association’s DataFest in March. Avishek Paudel and Marcus Euverman earned the award for best visualization of the data, and Aidan B. Fisher, Andrew Numrich, Chunyang Harry Ding and Tanveer Singh won best use of external data and resources.

MacEwan Ventures wrapped up its latest showcase with three award-winning entrepreneurial pitches. Bachelor of Commerce student Jade Pantaleon earned the top prize for her business, Design Labs. Access and Disability Resources staff member Jenna Dewar took second place, and BSc student Jedhi Aizon rounded out the top three.