Five St. Paul’s GreenHouse ventures received grants to develop their socially minded products and services at the most recent GreenHouse Social Impact Showcase.
Mechanical Engineering student Richard Yim, who started in the St. Paul’s GreenHouse program last fall and will be a GreenHouse Fellow in the spring term, won a total of $35,000 for his landmine defusing venture this week.
The Big Ideas Challenge for Social Good went big this year and awarded 10 fellowships to aspiring social entrepreneurs: Five in a ‘People and Wellbeing’ category, and five in a ‘People and Planet’ category.
The competition, which was organized by St. Paul’s GreenHouse, had a circus tent theme. Director Tania Del Matto said that’s because GreenHouse seeks to “expand the tent of youth-led social innovation and entrepreneurship as a pathway for young people to build the business and career skills they need to be problem solvers and leaders.”
The University of Waterloo’s course in Aboriginal studies (“Issues in Contemporary Native Communities”) saw a whopping 400 percent increase in student enrolment this term – something that may reflect a broader societal interest in Aboriginal culture and communities, says Graham Brown, Principal of St. Paul’s University College, where the course is taught.
Lindsay Kalbfleisch, a Recreation and Leisure student who lived at St. Paul’s in 2010-11, was immediately moved to action when she heard the news about the devastating earthquake in Nepal. Kalbfleisch had travelled to Mount Everest base camp along with 13 other UWaterloo students and their Geography Professor Sanjay Nepal in April 2014. At least half of those students had lived at St. Paul’s and many others participated in academic and community life at the College. In fact, approximately 30 St.
Humanitarian and former parliamentarian Lloyd Axworthy will be installed as the first chancellor of St. Paul’s University College today. As part of his duties, Axworthy will sit on the St. Paul’s Board of Governors and provide leadership to the College.