Arts student wins first Lois Hole Humanities and Social Sciences Scholarship
Mar 1, 2006
by Anne Bailey
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Barb McLean and her sons Sean and Matthew. |
Today, both her leadership and her support for education and the arts were honoured at the Alberta Legislature through the presentation of the four inaugural Lois Hole Humanities and Social Sciences Scholarships. Awarded annually to one undergraduate student from each of Alberta's universities, the Lois Hole Humanities and Social Science Scholarships reward outstanding community involvement, leadership and academic achievement. Barb McLean, a fourth-year student in women's studies and political science (combined honours), is the U of A's first recipient of the $5,000 award.
While maintaining a first-class standing, McLean has shown remarkable leadership among her student colleagues. She is the president and co-founder of the Women's Studies Undergraduate Association, co-chair of the Feminism(s) in the Third Wave conference committee, co-founder of Voices for Choices and a student mentor and student liaison at the U of A's Women's Centre Collective.
Off-campus, she has been involved in her sons' soccer team and her community gardening club. In her low-income housing community, she has a reputation for solving problems that others may not have to time address.
"Barb is an excellent and well-rounded woman," said Lise Gotell, a professor in women's studies. "She is an excellent student who is extremely active on campus which is especially amazing when you consider that she is also a mother of two boys."
As a single mother and a student, McLean sees first-hand the difficulties faced by women in many sectors of society. Her desire to address the particular problems that women face informs both her academic study and her volunteer work. "Women's issues are really important to me especially because, as a single mother, I see a lot of disadvantages for women in the community," McLean said.
In the summer of 2005, as a recipient of the Roger S. Smith Undergraduate Researcher Award in Arts, she examined the abuse of Aboriginal women in Canada. And, thanks to McLean's leadership and hard work, in May the U of A will host the first national undergraduate conference in Women's Studies in Canada.
Noting that there is often a gap between feminist academic theories and on-the-ground activism, McLean and other conference organizers hope to bridge that gap and develop strategies for bringing theory and action together.
This is precisely what McLean does in her own life - and these are the qualities celebrated in the Lois Hole Humanities and Social Science Scholarship.
During her life, Lois Hole spoke passionately about the value of public education and established endowment funds to ensure that her values would be continued after her death.
"It's so amazing to win this award," said McLean. "I've always admired Lois Hole. She was such a strong, independent woman. To receive an award in her name is one thing, but to be one of the first recipients inspires me to continue to work to achieve my goals."
At the awards ceremony at the Alberta Legislature, Jim Hole told all four award winners that his mother "would be thrilled to know that students are being cared for and nurtured through an award in her name."
In his remarks, Premier Ralph Klein said Lois Hole always showed enormous leadership, inspiring others to be "compassionate towards others, especially those who are struggling or are disadvantaged."
Not only does this scholarship acknowledge McLean's compassionate work on behalf of those who are disadvantaged, it also addresses the fact that she is, herself, a student and a single mother in need of crucial financial support to achieve her dreams. The $5,000 attached to this scholarship will no doubt play a crucial role in making that possible.
This article originally appeared in the University of Alberta's ExpressNews