Prior to starting graduate studies at Grebel, Fariba Atkin had a successful career in Software Engineering, had immigrated to Canada, and had happily raised two children. “Career and family gave me a sense of achievement but not fulfillment,” she explained.
Before joining the Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) program at Conrad Grebel University College, Alley McDonald had worked as a butcher, baker, and peace educator – meaning that she brought a multitude of talents to her studies.
After Emily Charron completed her undergraduate degree in Global Studies, she found herself drawn to local issues. She went on to work for Compass Refugee Centre, a local non-profit organization that supports refugee claimants in the Waterloo Region. It was there that she was inspired to pursue graduate studies and soon learned of the Master of Peace and Conflict Studies program at Conrad Grebel University College.
When the pandemic first closed down workplaces in March 2020, Simon Guthrie, like so many others at the time, found himself struggling to make sense of the world around him. A student in Grebel’s Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) program, he soon had the idea to take advantage of this unusual opportunity and conduct research on the impact of a global pandemic -- right in the middle of one.
"The vitality of our Peace and Conflict Studies program at Grebel depends on enrolling students with diverse experiences,” announced Conrad Grebel University College President Marcus Shantz. "We are humbled and grateful that our friend Majid Mirza and several other donors chose to establish a scholarship at Grebel, named for Malcolm X, to support Black and Indigenous students in our Master of Peace and Conflict Studies program."
Rod Friesen graduated from Conrad Grebel University College in 2013 from the Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) program. He began working with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Ontario in May 2017, where he oversees several service delivery and restorative justice-related projects in his role as a Restorative Justice Program Coordinator.
Conflict usually brings pain and disorder, and often leads to further conflict but Restorative Justice paves a different path – a path that can lead to peace. Issa Ebombolo earned his Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) degree from Conrad Grebel University College in 2017. Currently, Issa works for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Zambia and Malawi as a Peacebuilding Coordinator providing peace resourcing to local partners, including the government of Zambia.
Christian Fox graduated from Grebel’s Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) program in June 2015. Before that he completed an undergraduate degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. He currently works for the Dixie Bloor Neighbourhood Centre as a Conflict Resolution Service Facilitator. The focus of the role is to help mediate neighbour disputes.
Restorative Justice means a lot of things to Laurel Boytim, who graduated from Conrad Grebel’s Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) program in 2019. After graduating, Laurel worked at the John Howard Society in Restorative Justice (RJ) diversion programs, where she developed pre-charge and post-charge programs with the federal crown, police, and Waterloo Region Integrated Drug Strategy (WRIDS).
Conrad Grebel University College announces the appointment of Dr. Johonna McCants-Turner to a tenure-track faculty position as Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) at Grebel, beginning July 1, 2021. McCants-Turner currently serves as Assistant Professor of Restorative Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University’s (EMU) Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.