UNews - law degree

Upholding the law in the land down under

trevor.kenney — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 22:02:16 +0000

With a finger-pointing, I've-got-you-now grin and an iconic light grey suit, criminal defense attorney, Ben Matlock, entertained television audiences for almost a decade with his ingenious perception and gritty determination to fight for truth. For one young boy growing up in the small town of Coronation, Alta., however, Matlock was more than mere entertainment; he was pure inspiration.

"It was the courtroom drama that got me. I used to watch Matlock and think, if he can do it, I can do it. When I watched him I knew I was born to be in the courtroom," explains solicitor, Jay Merchant (BA '05), who was recently admitted as a member of the Australian legal profession by the Supreme Court in Queensland.

Along with his interest in law, Merchant developed a love for politics and a passion for curling that have also strongly influenced his life's journey.

"The first time I heard Preston Manning speak I was fascinated by his personal approach to politics. I became a member of the Reform Party at age 15," says Merchant.

Jay Merchant, right, along with Barrister Debra Wardle, who moved his admission into the Supreme Court in Queensland.

Merchant's love of curling was a family affair. His father played in national oilman's competitions and his mom and older brother curled as well. Merchant spent the majority of his childhood winters at the rink, either watching the game or developing his skills.

"My older brother curls on a recreational level when he has time. He boasts he can kick my butt, but I am still waiting for him to put his money where his mouth his," jokes Merchant, who is a player-coach with the Australian National Curling Team.

With his three-fold passion, Merchant says that the move to Lethbridge to attend the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in 2000 was a perfect choice.

"Coming from a small town, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ was exactly what I needed, and I wouldn't change anything, but it was a steep learning curve for me. I was never a good writer but I had excellent professors, two in particular, Dr. Alan Siaroff and Dr. Geoffrey Hale. They had such a strict writing guide and they focused on using logical arguments and logical structure. I do a lot of writing now and without their dedication I would not have achieved what I have. It was a painful process but I am forever grateful to them," says Merchant. "I attended Bond ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Australia for my post-graduate studies and the common theme between both institutions is that you are not just a number. I know my professors and consider them to be my mentors. There is something really special about that."

While completing his undergrad, Merchant kept busy with local politics and curling. He was a member of Rick Casson's steering committee and curled out of the Lethbridge Curling Club.

"I played juniors for Alberta and made it to provincials a number of times. I played for the U of L in 2003. We made it to the Canadian ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Championships; I think we were in the top five. I also have a few banners up at the Lethbridge Curling Club," recalls Merchant.

Merchant eyes an Olympic berth for Australia down the line.

Merchant completed his bachelor's degree in political science in 2005. He spent one year working in a municipal internship program in Red Deer before moving to Australia to pursue a master's of business law at Bond ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, which he completed in 2007. That same year the Australian Winter Olympic Committee asked him to migrate to Australia on a distinguished talent visa, but because curling is self-funded in Australia, Merchant had to return to Canada to earn enough money before he could take advantage of the AWOC proposal. He returned to Australia in 2010 to coach and play with the Australian National Team and pursue his law degree at Bond, which he completed in 2012.

"I did my Postgraduate Diploma of Legal Practice, with a placement in criminal law. I loved it. I plan to go into prosecution and later become a barrister. As for curling, Lyn Gill, my partner in mixed doubles and I are heading to Fredericton, N.B. in April to compete at the world championships. I am really looking forward to that!" says Merchant. "My long-term focus is on continuing to develop the sport in Australia and to qualify teams for the 2018 Olympics."

For anyone who happens to be in Fredericton in April and wants to wish Merchant good luck, you'll find him easily enough if you listen for his ringtone – it's the theme from Matlock.

This story first appeared in the November 2012 issue of the Legend. To view the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Many Guns tells narrative through symbols

trevor.kenney — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:14:32 +0000

Linda Many Guns is a professor in the Department of Native American Studies. Her Blackfoot ancestry plays a large role in her teachings and she has found a unique way to bring the symbols of the Aboriginal culture into the classroom, bringing to life the rich tapestry that is the history of the Blackfoot people.

"I personally like to blow up myths about Aboriginal people," says Many Guns, who discusses the importance of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's annual Native Awareness Week.

"One of the opportunities we have during Native Awareness Week is the chance to demonstrate outside of classroom discussions, what it is to be Aboriginal. It's not just about reserves and issues, it's about people, a way of life and a quality of life. The issues are always centred on poverty and that impoverished image. This week we have the opportunity to demonstrate a way of life that has quality, colour, skill and integrity."

Many Guns has a law degree and teaches in the areas of Aboriginal law. She also is an accomplished seamstress who has taken to reconstructing clothing from Aboriginal history.

By crafting traditional aboriginal clothing such as dresses, war shirts and moccasins using actual trade cloth and intricate glass beads of a bygone time, she is using colour to recreate history and help it leap off the page.

"For me it's a source of pride," says Many Guns, who is in her second semester of teaching at the U of L. "I don't want to see just black and white pictures of our people keeping the memory alive. By creating these items, you see the incredible colour and beauty of that time, and it's awesome. You get a sense of how dynamic and incredible meeting our people must have been."

Born in southern Alberta into the Blackfoot tribe, she was registered at the Tsuu T'ina Reserve, later transferred to Siksika Nation. Now an educator completing a doctorate degree, Many Guns has worked in a variety of fields, from being a chef to a high-steel construction worker.

What has always resonated with her is the history of her people.

"I've always been proud of my culture and my heritage and like so many of the students I teach here, have spent a good part of my lifetime reconstructing what I know since so much of that was fragmented growing up," she says. "I've never seen myself as assimilated, I see myself as indigenous and am very proud of that."

For more on Many Guns, see this story.

A sense of place

trevor.kenney — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:04:36 +0000

Born and raised in southern Alberta, Jim Coutts has been collecting art since he was 17. As the former secretary to two prime ministers, Coutts travelled extensively and looked at art around the world, but his collection has a clear western Canadian theme.

After recently donating more than 200 pieces to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection, Coutts paints his own picture of life on the Prairies.

Jim Coutts eyes the long, ruler-straight road approaching his Nanton property with a discerning gaze – analysing the qualities of available light, interpreting the natural contrast between the earth and the sky, and considering composition of the image in his mind's eye.

Jim Coutts, photo by Jaime Vedres.

"The grass blows a little in the wind, giving some movement to a hill in the distance, and the land just keeps drawing you out to it," says Coutts, describing an image from memory. "I find this space absolutely enchanting. Some people think it's boring because you drive and drive for hours and they feel there's nothing there, but there's a great deal there and it's the vastness and simplicity that makes it so hauntingly beautiful."

Born in High River and raised in Nanton, 80 kilometres south of Calgary, Coutts is as much a product of southern Alberta as the grasses that blanket the Porcupine Hills. Growing up in a rural community, Coutts remembers endlessly long summer days spent racing bicycles down the streets of his hometown.

"During the summer, I always had stuff to do. I was very busy – in my own mind at least," says Coutts, allowing nostalgia to creep in. "The thing about memory is that it improves over time, and events get better and better the more you remember them."

But the memory of his grandfather, W.H. (Bill) Allan, looking longingly at a homestead he'd given up, remained unchanged.

"As a young boy, I would go into his field with him in the summers," says Coutts. "We would walk over to the old homestead from that field, which was just across the road. He always told me he never should have given up that property and, although I didn't understand it, I could tell that it was a painful memory for him."

Allan was one of many settlers who, searching for a better life, travelled thousands of miles across Canada in the early years of the last century. He farmed a quarter section of land near Nanton before losing the property during the 1920s and moving his family into town. Visiting the property as a child resonated with Coutts, who felt an attachment to the land he couldn't explain at the time. He now believes the homestead provides him with a sense of place but is also symbolic of the difficulties of prairie life.

"We look at beautiful things and we see only the good," says Coutts. "We forget that our ancestors and our forebears stumbled and fell and picked themselves up and kept going. Part of our history is the history of struggle."

While crops sometimes failed, the prairie soil proved fertile ground for art and culture. At the age of 12, Coutts caught the attention of Dorothy Dowhan, a local newspaper editor with friends in the artistic community, and started visiting art galleries, theatres and even gardens as her guest.

"Dorothy took a great interest in young people and would spot individuals who were showing interest in wider subjects," says Coutts of the woman he describes as a mentor. "She had a lot of friends, and I met some very interesting people through her."

Respectful of its history, the new Coutts homestead faces west to the Porcupine Hills, foothills of the Canadian Rockies, which are often topped in snow even as the gardens bloom. The original buildings scattered across this sweep of prairie represent a coming home for this southern Alberta boy.

It was Dorothy who gave a then 17-year-old Coutts his first piece of art.

"Dorothy gave me a little oil by John Cook – who's still around and still painting – when I went to university," says Coutts, who hung the picture in his dorm room while completing a law degree at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta.

Armed with a single painting and an appreciation developed over years and years of looking, Coutts began buying art on his own.

"I'd been going to galleries for 10 years and I just kept looking," explains Coutts. "Toward the end of my university days I would splurge and buy a print for $50. Gradually I became a bit of a pack rat."

Collector is more accurate. Hesitant at first, Coutts soon began collecting with determination and ferocity, qualities he would demonstrate in his professional life as well.

"I studied law because I thought I could get a job when I finished," admits Coutts. "I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I was very interested in public life."

Admiring the progressive politics of provincial Liberal leader, Harper Prowse, Coutts entered the political scene in 1953 with a desire to affect change. Ten years later, Coutts was made secretary to Liberal Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson and was on the front lines of Canadian politics.

"I enjoyed being in the fray," says Coutts, who worked with Pearson for three years before going to Harvard ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to complete his MBA. "Politics is always drama. There's always something happening and it seemed important but it was also a kind of entertainment."

Canadians saw profound change in those three short years: medicare, the pension plan, old-age security, the National Economic Council and the new Canadian flag were all introduced.

"It was a very short period when a great deal of good was done for this country," says Coutts proudly.

After completing his MBA, Coutts started a consulting firm where he was working when Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau appointed him principal secretary in 1975. He worked with Trudeau for six years before leaving to run in a byelection, which he lost by 200 votes.

Homestead photos by Andy Hakin.

Through it all, Coutts diligently continued collecting art.

"You get to like things and think you need things," says Coutts. "You also train your eye so that while once in a while you buy a bad picture, generally, you buy things that you like and most are really good. In the beginning I didn't believe there was any theme to it, but over the years I acquired a good deal of western Canadian art."

The art in the Coutts collection is united by its subject matter: endless skies over empty fields, faded grain elevators contrasted against brilliant sunsets, soaring birds floating in wild winds, all depicting the variety of the southern Alberta landscape.

Understanding that the images in his collection represented more than an affinity for prairie scenery, Coutts returned to southern Alberta in 1988 and reclaimed his grandfather's homestead. With a keen eye for detail, Coutts set to work, turning the soil once broken by his grandfather into a prairie garden and bringing his own vision for the property to life.

"It seems to me the more attractive and exciting and imaginative and creative a place is in your mind, the more painful it is to be away from it," says Coutts, who is grateful for the opportunity to return each summer to the community he knew as a child.

The new homestead is very much an expression of Coutts himself. Set on the vast, flat canvas of the Prairies, buildings are scattered across the land – the original homestead; a chicken house, now a guest suite; a barn; and an old ice house and granary, moved from Coutts's mother's neighbouring property. Each structure provides a seemingly effortless organization to the landscape where gardens flourish, and the plots and paths are carefully carved in such a way to welcome visitors and encourage exploration.

His approach has been bold and the transformation remarkable, but Coutts has not forgotten the struggles of life on the Prairies.

"When you look at the place now with the gardens, grasses and trees and the beauty depicted in the photographs and paintings, that's one thing," says Coutts. "But for many years, for those who came first, it was a very difficult and painful place to live."

Respectful of its history, the new Coutts homestead faces west to the Porcupine Hills, foothills of the Canadian Rockies, which are often topped in snow even as the gardens bloom. The original buildings scattered across this sweep of prairie represent a coming home for this southern Alberta boy.

"A piece of you will always stay wherever it is that you came from, and you also carry a piece of that landscape with you," explains Coutts. "Fortunately, I've been able to return to the place that means so much to me."

This story first appeared in SAM Magazine. For a look at SAM in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Recreating a glorious past

trevor.kenney — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 17:39:57 +0000

One dimensional, black and white photographs represent much of the aboriginal history we know. While serving adequately as depictions of an era, they hardly tell a story or set a scene.

Dr. Linda Many Guns of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Native American Studies (NAS) department is trying to fill in those gaps, reconstructing a rich history one bead at a time. By crafting traditional aboriginal clothing such as dresses, war shirts and moccasins using actual trade cloth and intricate glass beads of a bygone time, she is using colour to recreate history and help it leap off the page.

Linda Many Guns assembles a display of historical Aboriginal bead work in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library.

What has always resonated with her is the history of her people.

While working as a chef in the Banff Springs Hotel, Many Guns often visited local museums and was intrigued by the visual history of aboriginal people. She recognized that the clothes they crafted spoke volumes about the lives they lived.

"These pieces could not have been produced by a society that had no structure or no intellectual capital," she says. "Beauty comes from its environment and you must have a peaceful environment and some sense of identity. It spurred these questions in me about my background."

In her quest for knowledge, Many Guns encountered all manner of persons that helped her reconstruct the past. From 90-year-old women with stashes of highly prized, trade-route beads to a society of mountain men who literally experienced life of a bygone era, she unearthed the tales and symbols of her ancestors.

As she learned to create clothing in the traditional way, she gained an understanding of the trade route system, the value of the beads in aboriginal society and the symbols of the past.

"Aboriginal people were no different than any other people, they were always looking for ways to demonstrate status in a community. Having trade cloth was a demonstration of status, as were the beads," she says. "It was truly a sign of wealth to have any number of those beads."

She worked with an experienced group of beaders to craft her first dress, before tackling the challenge of a second by herself. She created the dress she wore when she received her doctorate at Trent ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in the spring of 2010.

The current display at the front entrance to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library depicts beads and pieces created over various eras of aboriginal history. The breathtaking colours and intricate craftsmanship create a whole new representation of history. It's that dynamic cultural past she strives to rekindle and introduce to her students.

"I believe that this is just one small example of what the NAS department offers, not just to aboriginal students but to all people," Many Guns says. "We're bringing an awareness and understanding to aboriginal people's lives and their culture, how rich and beautiful it was, to validate the complexity of the nations. We're here, we're still here, still creating these items, and we don't want the culture to die."

GET THE FACTS

· Many Guns has a BA from St. Thomas ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ (Fredericton, N.B.), a master's degree from Carleton ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ (Ottawa, Ont.), a law degree from ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Ottawa and a doctorate from Trent ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ (Peterborough, Ont.).

· A mother of two, she is also a grandmother of three.

· Many Guns credits Dr. Leroy Little Bear for the support he's shown in allowing her to "open new doors of discovery" in the NAS department.

· The beads featured in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library display date all the way back to the 1800s. Examples of their value include the largest blue beads that could fetch up to 10 buffalo hides per bead in trade.

· One of Many Guns' greatest sources of beads is a woman in Blackfoot, Idaho who has rows upon rows of cases of beads that she'll sell in large quantities.

· Each dress that Many Guns makes takes over a year to construct. "One of the things you learn is the meaning of patience because sometimes you can't get enough product (leather, hides, beads) to put it all together, but I think that is very similar to the way it was back then."

Unassuming academic

trevor.kenney — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:15:47 +0000

Reality for Chad Befus (BSc '08, MSc '10) came from looking into the eyes of his co-workers, on a frigid Arctic work site toward the end of another 16-hour day. He needed to go to school.

"In the Arctic, when you're out there working what seems like a never-ending day in minus-60 degree weather, you get that feeling you need to go do something else," says Befus, whose indirect route to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge included a work stint in the seismic trade after graduating from Calgary's William Aberhart High School.

"It was long hours and very hard work. There were guys working there, and they were very impressive people, who were 60 years old – I just didn't want to be them at 60."

So he looked south to the U of L and, taking the advice of friends who'd said he was always "good with computers", and threw himself into computer science with a determination steeled by his time in the workforce.

"My time away from school is what told me I needed to come to university and do my bachelor's degree," he says. "It also drove me to work so hard to complete it."

Alumnus Chad Befus had multiple opportunities to stay in the work world but he kept coming back to school.

A second work experience sent Befus back to school once more, this time to complete his master's degree. He says he doesn't need a third reality check, having already been accepted into a PhD program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of London. The academic world is where Befus plans to stay.

"I was fortunate enough to do a co-op program with Shell Canada in my fourth year and it was an excellent experience," says Befus, who was offered a full-time job as a result.

"I likely could have spent the rest of my life there as a programmer, but I didn't find it especially challenging. It gave me yet another perspective and drove me back into university."

The U of L hooked Befus very early in his post-secondary career.

"One of my first classes was with Dr. Yllias Chali. He has such a spark of enthusiasm for his work that all the kids in his class are just drawn in by him," says Befus. "He is so exciting and interesting, and I give him a great deal of credit because that first class at university was so fun and so interesting, that appeal just stuck with me."

When seeking a graduate program, students are often advised to look beyond the confines of the school at which they earned their bachelor's degree. Befus, having built a rapport with his professors, respectfully ignored that counsel.

"For me, the idea of working for some stranger, not knowing what I'd be working on or what environment I'd be in, just didn't appeal to me," he says. "I wanted to come back and work for one of the professors that I did know, who would challenge me and give me enough leash to be able to go out and do the tasks."

Befus' research interest is in music information retrieval, essentially applying computers to music. As a computer scientist his work is on the systemic side of the equation, how to make computers more accurately represent music. It's not a one-discipline problem however, and Befus says his exposure to the artistic and psychological components have given him a more complete approach.

"I know people who have gone to other universities who stick to their respective areas, and they become very good in those areas. Here you're forced to take different disciplines as an undergraduate, things such as psychology courses, social science courses, art courses, and that's what I find really interesting. I like to go out of my box," he says.

He credits that interdisciplinary approach for enhancing his critical thinking skills.

"If you've got a breadth of knowledge, you can come at a solution from a direction that nobody else will," Befus says. "Somebody coming from a background in music might approach the same problem differently than someone from computer science or psychology. The U of L has helped me see that interdisciplinary areas of research are much more interesting."

It also contributed to his finding a PhD opportunity with Dr. Geraint Wiggins at Goldsmiths' College at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of London.

"From what I've read of his work, his department is very connected with the other aspects of this field, you'll see all three areas represented," says Befus. "I have experience with that and it's what interests me."

He admits the experience will once again take him out of his comfort zone. London is a long way from the U of L and his hometown of Calgary, and even further from his time in the Arctic.

"Back then I wanted to work on cars or something like that, being a doctor seemed out of this world to me because you had to be a brain to do that," he laughs.

"I've never done anything quite like this. It's going a little bit further than I'm used to, so it should be interesting."

GET THE FACTS

· Befus has an older brother currently pursuing his master's in earth sciences at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary.

· His mother was born in Lethbridge and has a nursing degree from the U of C, while his father has a bachelor's degree from the U of C and a law degree from ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Victoria.

· Befus met his PhD supervisor after earning the right to present a paper at the International Computer Music Conference in New York.

· He earned his studentship at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of London after winning one of three spots from among 80 applicants.

· He describes the practical applications of his research by saying, "The idea is we can do things like search or classify music better, simply because we can get a more accurate representation of music itself at a workable level."

Unassuming academic

trevor.kenney — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 19:16:09 +0000

Reality for Chad Befus (BSc '08, MSc '10) came from looking into the eyes of his co-workers, on a frigid Arctic work site toward the end of another 16-hour day. He needed to go to school.

"It was long hours and very hard work. There were guys working there, and they were very impressive people, who were 60 years old – I just didn't want to be them at 60."

"My time away from school is what told me I needed to come to university and do my bachelor's degree," he says. "It also drove me to work so hard to complete it."

"I was fortunate enough to do a co-op program with Shell Canada in my fourth year and it was an excellent experience," says Befus, who was offered a full-time job as a result.

"I likely could have spent the rest of my life there as a programmer, but I didn't find it especially challenging. It gave me yet another perspective and drove me back into university."

The U of L hooked Befus very early in his post-secondary career.

"One of my first classes was with Dr. Yllias Chali. He has such a spark of
enthusiasm for his work that all the kids in his class are just drawn in by him," says Befus. "He is so exciting and interesting, and I give him a great deal of credit because that first class at university was so fun and so interesting, that appeal just stuck with me."

He credits that interdisciplinary approach for enhancing his critical thinking skills.

It also contributed to his finding a PhD opportunity with Dr. Geraint Wiggins at Goldsmiths' College at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of London.

He admits the experience will once again take him out of his comfort zone. London is a long way from the U of L and his hometown of Calgary, and even further from his time in the Arctic.

"Back then I wanted to work on cars or something like that, being a doctor seemed out of this world to me because you had to be a brain to do that," he laughs.

"I've never done anything quite like this. It's going a little bit further than I'm used to, so it should be interesting."

GET THE FACTS

• Befus has an older brother currently pursuing his master's in earth sciences at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary.

• His mother was born in Lethbridge and has a nursing degree from the U of C, while his father has a bachelor's degree from the U of C and a law degree from ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Victoria.

• Befus met his PhD supervisor after earning the right to present a paper at the International Computer Music Conference in New York.

• He earned his studentship at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of London after winning one of three spots from among 80 applicants.

• He describes the practical applications of his research by saying, "The idea is we can do things like search or classify music better, simply because we can get a more accurate representation of music itself at a workable level."

Engaging an online generation

trevor.kenney — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:02:24 +0000

Coming out of high school, Jason Suriano (BA '01) was focused on the fast track to a law degree. Now, 14 years later, he's navigating a museum gallery with a group of 10 year-old kids as they banter about video games – and he couldn't be happier.

Recently, Suriano launched Seek Your Own Proof, a new online game at Discoverykids.com. The game targets 6-12 year-olds and follows the story of three investigative siblings – Aidan, Milanie and Heiko Munro – who discover a secret underground agency known as the Central Institute for Exploration (CIE). The teens are quickly drawn into a chase through time and history against enemy agents who are plotting to rewrite the past, change the present and alter the future. Online users can play the game in traditional form but also have the option of taking field missions to real museums and landmarks.

After debuting at the Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York, Suriano brought his game home to the Galt Museum.

"To start with, we're trying to make the history in your backyard the most relevant," says Suriano. "It's neat if kids get a little bit enlightened about their own surroundings. We're also trying to make it available in as many cities as possible, so that if I take my kids to Calgary or Edmonton on the weekend, a place like the Edmonton Art Gallery is a part of it."

Jason Suriano addresses the crowd at the Galt Museum.

Considering Suriano laughs about being one of the last of his generation to begin using a computer, there is no lack of irony in the fact he now designs computer games for a living.

"In Grade 12 I was still submitting hand-written essays," says Suriano, a Catholic Central High School graduate. "I always had a real interest in technology, it was always one of the things that I liked, I just didn't know how to get into it."

He began his post-secondary career at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta but decided to come home to the U of L after one year. It was in Lethbridge that he laid the foundation for his future. "I'm a firm believer in the "things-happen for-a-reason" train of thought," he says of abandoning his legal aspirations.

Embracing the liberal arts philosophy at the U of L, Suriano discovered his passion. His humanities focus would then serve him well as he transitioned back to the U of A for a second degree, an MA in Humanities Computing with specialization in comparative literature.

"Before you work in the technology field, it's essential to have a grounding in the arts. Research and writing are keys, particularly with what I'm doing right now," he explains. "The work I do involves a lot of fact gathering, making sense of blocks of content from museums and distilling it all into worksheets and then online forms." Once out of school, Suriano began working in the non-profit sector. With both a writing and technical background, he was hard to pigeon hole and found himself working for the Heritage Community Foundation as head of the Educational Learning Objects division.

After a stint where he did consulting work for his company, Hotrocket Studios, he and business partners Ken Bautista and Norman Mendoza struck off on their own and the seeds for Seek Your Own Proof were born. Their big break came when they secured Telefilm Canada and Canadian Film Centre (CFC) Telus Funding, one of only two projects in Canada. It allowed them to flush out the idea and enter it in the Kidscreen PitchIt! Competition in New York, where they won the top prize.

"That was the first sign that we were on to something pretty cool," says Suriano.

"The neat thing is that seed idea we came up with in 2005 is still novel now, there's really not a lot of this going on, especially within our demographic."

Galt Museum executive director Susan Burrows-Johnson says the game is a wonderful way to connect with today's generation of technologically savvy kids.

"Almost no one who works in museums plays games, and everybody under 18 does, so there's this huge generation gap that we've been worried about," she says. "It's not that history isn't interesting to them, because it is, it's the generation gap around the technology that we need to pay attention to. Kids use different tools in their learning process and that's the gap we're trying to bridge."

To come full circle and stimulate learning in his hometown is especially gratifying for Suriano, now a father of two.

"I approached the Galt a couple years ago when we were starting this portion of the project and Susan was very open to it and supportive of the concept," says Suriano. "It's great we are now ready to bring it back here in this form."

Get The Facts

Suriano now lives in Edmonton with his wife Jen and their children Ethan (4) and Malcolm (1).
The debut field mission of the game involved facts around the King Tut exhibit at Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York. Officials estimate handing out more than 500 worksheets per week to visiting kids.
Seek Your Own Proof is available for play or purchase at www.seekyourownproof.com
CIE and Seek Your Own Proof have been recognized with several awards including: Grand Prize Winner at the TEC VenturePrize competition in Alberta; Best in Show at the Fusion Digital Media Venture Forum in Vancouver; PitchIt! Winner at KidScreen Summit in New York; and Most Promising Company at the Canadian New Media Awards
Favourite U of L professors of Suriano's included Dr. Paul Viminitz and Dr. Goldie Morgentaler. "Paul's Problem of Evil course was very memorable," he says.

Suriano looks to engage an online generation

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 20:36:02 +0000

The teens are quickly drawn into a chase through time and history against enemy agents who are plotting to rewrite the past, change the present and alter the future. Online users can play the game in traditional form but also have the option of taking field missions to real museums and landmarks.

After debuting at the Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York, Suriano brought his game home to the Galt Museum.

Considering Suriano laughs about being one of the last of his generation to begin using a computer, there is no lack of irony in the fact he now designs computer games for a living.

"I'm a firm believer in the "things-happen for-a-reason" train of thought," he says of abandoning his legal aspirations.

Once out of school, Suriano began working in the non-profit sector. With both a writing and technical background, he was hard to pigeon hole and found himself working for the Heritage Community Foundation as head of the Educational Learning Objects division.

"That was the first sign that we were on to something pretty cool," says Suriano.
"The neat thing is that seed idea we came up with in 2005 is still novel now, there's really not a lot of this going on, especially within our demographic."

Galt Museum executive director Susan Burrows-Johnson says the game is a wonderful way to connect with today's generation of technologically savvy kids.

To come full circle and stimulate learning in his hometown is especially gratifying for Suriano, now a father of two.

"I approached the Galt a couple years ago when we were starting this portion of the project, and Susan was very open to it and supportive of the concept," says Suriano. "It's great we are now ready to bring it back here in this form."

GET THE FACTS

• Suriano now lives in Edmonton with his wife Jen and their children Ethan (4) and Malcolm (1).

• The debut field mission of the game involved facts around the King Tut exhibit at Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York. Officials estimate handing out more than 500 worksheets per week to visiting kids.

• Seek Your Own Proof is available for play or purchase at www.seekyourownproof.com

• CIE and Seek Your Own Proof have been recognized with several awards including: Grand Prize Winner at the TEC VenturePrize competition in Alberta; Best in Show at the Fusion Digital Media Venture Forum in Vancouver; PitchIt! Winner at KidScreen Summit in New York; and Most Promising Company at the Canadian New Media Awards

• Favourite U of L professors of Suriano's included Dr. Paul Viminitz and Dr. Goldie Morgentaler. "Paul's Problem of Evil course was very memorable," he says.

Arbitrating for change

trevor.kenney — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:51:51 +0000

Dr. Kelly Williams-Whitt, associate professor at the Calgary campus of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, says a decade spent in the private sector started her on the path to obtaining her PhD in labour relations.

The one-time nurse developed an interest in law after witnessing how difficult the relationship between employers and employees can be. She researched the requirements for a law degree and an MBA and eventually found that labour relations pulled both of her interests together.

"Labour relations wasn't a draw for me initially – I had no idea until I started my MBA," says Williams-Whitt. "But from a human resources perspective, labour relations has a natural link to law."

Dr. Kelly Williams-Whitt researches disability accommodation in the workplace.

She has now found herself heavily involved in law by virtue of her research and expertise. She has been appointed by the federal government to act as an adjudicator for labour disputes that occur under Part III of the Canada Labour Code. She regularly hears cases alleging unjust dismissal, wage disputes and other employment matters.

As a labour arbitrator, Kelly's decisions are legally binding, and she works to ensure that the needs of both employer and employee are equitably addressed. This requires that she maintain current knowledge of labour legislation and case precedent, which also benefits management students who have the opportunity to discuss these "real life" challenges in the classroom.

"There's something about the legal side of labour relations that's appealing to me. Most

labour law cases are stories of misfortune that have escalated to the point that someone has lost their job," she says.

Williams-Whitt adds there are a variety of reasons for job loss besides performance, and they include suffering an injury or illness. When an employer doesn't recognize that illness is a contributing factor, this can sometimes result in poor or hasty decisions.

Williams-Whitt has therefore focused her research in the area of disability accommodation in the workplace, although she says she hates the term "disability".

"Cancer, depression and heart attack are all things that can change a person's ability to work or result in job loss. But these illnesses are not what we think about when we hear the term disability, so we don't think the concept applies to us. Illness and injury, and therefore disability, are likely to impact most people at some point in their working lives."

Employees are important stakeholders in all organizations and Williams-Whitt feels universities have an obligation to teach students about the dual responsibilities they will have as management decision-makers and as employees themselves.

"I think we haven't done a good job of talking about this in the past."

She adds students have historically been taught that corporations exist solely to create profit for shareholders, but she believes they also exist to serve, nurture and invest in social capital.

"Corporations and society have taken notice that some things have not been done well, and that we need to rethink how we approach business."

Today's students are more conscious of social responsibility through a variety of efforts, including the education system.

"Instead of erasing it from people's minds, we're highlighting it. But I think that when we don't take social responsibility seriously enough, everybody pays, whether it be socially or environmentally."

Williams-Whitt teaches labour arbitration, collective bargaining, corporate social responsibility and workplace diversity. She has conducted the majority of her research in the area of disability accommodation, speaks frequently at conferences and has authored a number of peer-reviewed journal articles on this subject. She is currently conducting research on the behaviours of employees returning to work after a health incident.

For more on the Faculty of Management, visit their website by clicking on this link.

Advocate for aboriginal development

trevor.kenney — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:19:19 +0000

Most people move away for university and don't necessarily move back. Sara Mainville isn't most people.

Not only did she return to her home community, but she did so in order to assist with some of the daily struggles common to First Nations populations.

Mainville, who earned her BA in public administration and management arts from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in 1991, is from Couchiching First Nation in northwest Ontario. She now works as a lawyer and a legal consultant focusing on cases of indigenous law, environmental protection and community development.

Lawyer Sara Mainville works to strengthen the Couchiching First Nation.

"I've always been looking at everyday ways to try to strengthen our community," Mainville explains. "I grew up knowing about treaty rights and I was always told that we were very rich people. But the actual reality was that we were all living in poverty. We're still faced with a lot of those social factors that have become typical of a First Nation setting."

Much of her current work involves direct contact with the both the federal and Ontario governments to promote the Anishinaabe (Ojibway) community's rights, in regards to mining and general land use. Mainville says there are many challenges within the greater effort but, because of the younger generation's increased knowledge of the issues, there is definite hope for change.

"I see a lot of the younger people coming up with a real awareness of their environment," she says. "I think they have a better understanding of what stewardship is, what sustainability is."

Mainville knew she wanted to assist her community by attempting to eliminate barriers, so she decided to pursue an education. This wasn't common in the Couchiching First Nation when she was younger but she says there are a lot more people attending post-secondary school now.

"The education gap between my First Nation and the neighbouring municipality has really narrowed. I tried to create a path for other people to that," she says.

Mainville, who went on to earn a law degree at Queen's ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Kingston, Ont., and then a master of law at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto before returning to northwest Ontario permanently, still credits her time at the U of L with helping to focus her career on social responsibility.

"I've kept in touch with some of the other alumni from Lethbridge and I think we all share the same values. It set the standard for me individually. We all went back to our communities and focused on community development, especially in the corporate field."

For more information on the Faculty of Management, follow this link.

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