Welcome to Grebel

“Grebel has been interwoven with my vocational path in powerful ways,” Barb Smith-Morrison (BA 1994, MTS 2008) shared. Barb arrived at Conrad Grebel University College in her first year of university with a calling to pastoral ministry that grew out of United Church youth camp experiences. She had little experience being part of a congregation or intergenerational faith community and Grebel was her first introduction to the Mennonite tradition. "The College introduced me to the faith tradition in which I made a home,” Barb shared. Previously working for Grebel as the Interim Dean of Students from 1994-1996, and as a pastor within Mennonite Church Eastern Canada for 28 years,  Barb is now the Executive Director of Brooksong Retreat and Cancer Support Centre, located in the Haliburton Highlands.

“Sharing aviation with others” are words that Jessalyn Teed (BES 2017) has long stood by, navigating through a career in aviation that started in the Geography and Aviation Program at the University of Waterloo. She is currently a Pilot at Sunwing Airlines, where she supports newcomer pilots through building and assisting a mentorship program, where she connects with each new pilot and fosters a support network for their success. “This is one of the pieces of my role I am most passionate about, and find fulfilling, in my career,” Jessalyn described. “I look back to my time at Conrad Grebel University College, where I was a Don and supported residents through a challenging, transitional experience – and the skills built from being a Don have helped me both identify and utilize this passion to support others through new experiences.” 

Congratulations to Ellen Marguerite Siebel-Achenbach on receiving The Sandra Burt Prize in Gender and Social Justice for her project on “Sisters of Wisdom: Female Hymnists of the Middle Ages.” Ellen graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2023 with a double major in Visual Culture and Medieval Studies and minors in both Fine Arts Studio and Church Music and Worship (CMW). She recently finished her master's degree in Art History at the University of Toronto.