Women's Scholar award provides opportunity

trevor.kenney — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:54:54 +0000

Established by the Women's Scholar group in collaboration with Dayna Daniels and Claudia Malacrida, the Women's Scholar Award gives female students the power to achieve their goals and reach their full potential.

Kristal Frank is one recipient of the Women's Scholar Award.

The scholarship, funded through faculty and staff giving, is based on a combination of academic achievement and financial need and is intended to support either female graduate students studying in non-traditional fields or graduate students studying gender-related issues.

"What was exciting is how quickly the members of the group agreed that it was something worth contributing to," says Daniels. "We saw an area that was underrepresented and realized we could do something to help

Kristal Frank is a recipient of the annual Women's Scholar award.

change that."

Kristal Frank, an MSc student majoring in policy and strategy, won the award this fall along with a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) award. Her proposed research is titled, Managerial Perceptions of Eldercare:

Implications for Managerial Work-Family Policy Allowance Decisions and the Adoption of Work-Eldercare Programs.

"It was amazing," Frank says of receiving the awards. "It was definitely a huge confidence-booster – it kind of reinforced that what I'd chosen to study had practical significance as well."

Frank has chosen to focus her research efforts on issues surrounding work-family conflict, organizational culture and gender issues at work, with the help of supervisor and mentor
Dr. Mary Runté.

"I chose to go with her primarily because that's her area of research as well," she explains. "For me, she's a big inspiration because not only does she research it, but she really lives it."

Frank graduated from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in 1998 and worked in the IT industry for eight years before coming to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. She says the decision to go back to school took a lot of reflection and she chose to pursue her degree at the
U of L because of its excellent reputation and the flexibility to do evening and weekend courses. Frank commenced her studies at the Calgary campus in 2006, transferred to the Lethbridge campus in 2007 and graduated with her bachelor of management degree, with Great Distinction, in 2008.

After completing her graduate studies at the U of L, Frank hopes to move either to Edmonton or Halifax to pursue a PhD in management and plans to use her skills to become a university professor.

"I really want to teach; to encourage and empower students."

To learn more about the Faculty of Management at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, visit this link.

Women's Scholar Award empowers female students

trevor.kenney — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:40:46 +0000

Faculty and staff at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge take pride in their students and believe in giving them quality education with as many opportunities as possible to succeed in their chosen career path. Established by the Women's Scholar group in collaboration with Dayna Daniels and Claudia Malacrida, the Women's Scholar Award gives female students the power to achieve their goals and reach their full potential.

Arezou Elliyoon is one recipient of the Women's Scholar Award. Born and raised in Tehran, Iran's capital city, she is the elder of two siblings. Elliyoon is a graduate of Tehran ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ with a bachelor's degree in surveying and engineering as well as an MBA.

Arezou Elliyoon is exploring the effect of religious orientation on experiences of Iranian women.

She came to Canada and the U of L in September 2008 and is currently enrolled in her second year of the Master of Science in Management program. She says she chose the U of L because of the quality of the program, as well as her desire to travel.

"Most students studying at good universities in Iran believe they should pursue their education in better schools around the world," says Elliyoon. "When you are in such an environment, you somehow get persuaded to make your world bigger and bigger. So, the U of L seemed to be a good choice for me."

Elliyoon explains she is still dealing with the culture change and her experiences have been mainly positive.

"In Canada, you have the freedom to be who you are and to express whatever you think is right," she says. "The best experience I've had here is being able to live independently; that's not so common in my country."

Elliyoon says that while many have the belief that Iran is a restrictive country, the education system is progressing at an accelerated rate.

"In the past, it might not have been common for women to pursue their education, but now, the majority of the students at Iranian universities consist of more women than men," she says, but also notes there are still significant differences between the two countries, such as advancements in technology and financial aid.

With the help of her supervisor, Robbin Derry and two other faculty members, Elliyoon is currently researching the effect of religious orientation on experiences of Iranian women in balancing their work and family roles, the
topic for which she won the award.

"I've always wanted to work on women's issues," says Elliyoon. "Religion is so significant in my country and it has had a huge influence on Iranian culture. So, winning the award was such a delightful moment to me. It was an honour."

Elliyoon says she is unsure of the future, but for now, she hopes her studies will allow her to remain in Canada to pursue a rewarding career.

UNews - Dayna Daniels

Women's Scholar award provides opportunity

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