News

PACS students spend a lot of time learning, growing and getting ready for what comes next. With graduation in our midst, for many it's time to find out what 'next' is. Graduates go on to do exciting and innovative things, finding opportunities to put what they’ve learned in the classroom to use in the real world. Catherine You completed a PACS diploma in 2012 and her studies were the first step in her path to a career in social enterprise and international development. Upon completion of a Bachelors of Math at the University of Waterloo, Catherine started her career as an IT Risk Advisory Services Associate for an IT consultancy firm. However, she soon realized that she was looking for more: something more fulfilling, something more meaningful. Having taken a few courses in the PACS discipline during her undergraduate degree, Catherine was drawn back to the University of Waterloo to pursue a Diploma in PACS.

Chinenye Chukwuma-Nwuba is one of several international students currently enrolled in the MPACS program at Conrad Grebel. Growing up in Nigeria during times of relative peace and then violence, Chinenye brings her own perspective and experience to the program to gain a deeper understanding of what conflict is and how it develops:

 I’ve seen the good and bad side of my lovely country… For a while everything was okay, and then sometime in 2000 our lives turned upside down and there were religious riots. We lost a couple of friends, relatives and lost some of our belongings. When you witness this sort of thing, it stays with you… It’s something I wake up to everyday and think about. I think that's what pushed me to want to understand people more and want to understand the dynamics of conflict: how people change, why people change.

Rachel Urban-Shipley is a fourth year PACS student, with minors in Music and Psychology. She originally came to UW to study peace and conflict studies for her interest in mediation, but as she learned more about the field and other issues within PACS, her options and interests have also grown.

This is the fifth installment of a monthly feature on the PACS website. This monthly profile of PACS and MPACS students will give a small snapshot into the pursuits and experiences of our students.

Kaylee Perez, currently an MPACS student at Conrad Grebel, has always been interested in cross-cultural interactions and global issues. Following high school, Kaylee took a year off to attend a Servant Leadership Institute, which led her to major in Global studies at Wilfred Laurier University. During her undergrad, she completed an international and a local field placement, first interning for 3 months at a refugee centre in South Africa and then returning to volunteer with the Mennonite Coalition for Refugee Support, where she now works as a case worker.

This is the fourth installment of a monthly feature on the PACS website. This monthly profile of PACS and MPACS students will give a small snapshot into the pursuits and experiences of our students.

This is the third installment of a monthly feature on the PACS website. This monthly profile of PACS and MPACS students will give a small snapshot into the pursuits and experiences of our PACS students.

Conrad Grebel University College will confer its first honorary doctorate to John Paul Lederach at its Convocation ceremony on April 13, 2014.

Congratulations to Jacob Winter, winner of the 2013 C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest.

Jacob competed with students from all Mennonite and Brethren in Christ colleges and Universities across Canada and the US by composing and delivering a speech on the topic of the application of the Christian peace position to contemporary concerns.

Look Behind You!

This is the second installment of a monthly feature on the PACS website. This monthly profile of PACS and MPACS students will give a small snapshot into the pursuits and experiences of our PACS students.

Dreams are like horizons, they keep shifting. When you make the journey and reach the horizon, from that point you will see another horizon to reach towards.