Announcing Our 2023-2024 Catamount Fellows!

 

 

Aira Kaye Siodina, Psychology
Ayan Ahmed-Aden, Anthropolgy
Barry Pechet, Psychology
Chelsea Sawyer, Sociology
Christopher Shaw, Cellular and Molecular Biology
David Sinclair, General Management
Harsh Mehta, Finance
ilf Dharshi, Social Work
Luis Rios, Biology
Mary Ann Jacob, Social Work
Muhammad Nabeel, Psychology and Sociology
Reese Tofts, Psychology
Sama Ab, English Honours
Shealyn Fong, General Science

 

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 The Catamount Fellowship is a cohort-based learning experience for Mount Royal University students committed to building a more just and sustainable future for all. The program runs from late September through the end of April and meets weekly. 

The fellowship is one part community-partnered research and one part transformational learning. Diving into social innovation frameworks, experiential learning and deep listening with community, students explore the root causes of community-identified ecological, social, economic, and cultural issues. 

Students collaborate across sectors and boundaries to engage multiple stakeholders, accelerate their personal and professional development, and deepen their ability to make meaningful change in their communities.

  

Our Catamount Fellows are senior level undergraduate students studying across academic disciplines. Student fellows partner directly with community partners working to address a complex social and/or environmental issue affecting Calgarians and those living in and across Treaty 7 and with faculty mentors who support students with their research in a mentorship capacity.

  

Fellows become part of a dedicated cohort engaged in peer-to-peer experiential learning while broadening their skills and personal competencies needed to understand and navigate complex 21st-century challenges, recognizing that no single individual changes the world alone. Fellows build relationships with mentors, entrepreneurs and innovators within the broader changemaking community in and around Calgary through community-engaged research.

 

2023-2024 Community Partners

The Fellowship would not be possible without the contributions of dedicated partners, and we are incredibly grateful to welcome 14 amazing organizations for our fifth Catamount cohort!

"Catamount is a transformative learning experience that provides future leaders with new skills and exposure to applied systems thinking. This offers new ways of conceptualizing problems and designing ways to address challenges. We can't address the same old problems with the same old thinking."

- Catamount Community Partner, 2022

 

 

 

	SYSTEMS SCAN A comprehensive review of available literature, both academic and community facing, related to the issue being explored and including an initial systems map, due mid-program.
	COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Fellows design and host a community conversation during the fellowship with the purpose of engaging broader audiences in their research area including other scholars, students, practitioners and communities.
	SCHOLARLY OUTPUT The summation of the fellow's research in the form of scholarly output which could be a written research paper, photo essay, journal article, or any other academic equivalent.
	CREATIVE WORK A creative reflection of the fellowship journey that translates their experience into clear messages suitable across audiences and is shared publicly, such as a podcast, blog series, short film, data visualization or literary or dramatic work.

 

Fellows commit between 5-10 hours per week, in addition to their academic schedule, to conduct research, connect with community partners and faculty mentors and engage with the Catamount cohort. Fellows are required to join cohort meeting on Fridays from 10am - 1pm, and will also meet with their community partner and faculty mentor bi-weekly throughout the program.*

 

Fellows receive a $2,000 cash stipend upon completion of the program and residency in MRU's Trico Changemakers Studio for the duration of the program.

 

*We highly recommend taking no more than 4 courses through the winter term due to the demands of the final deliverables at the end of the program.

 

You’re passionate about the future well being of people and planet	You have a willingness to wrestle with challenges and complex issues facing the 21st century	You’re a thinker with ideas that have the potential to create change
You’re in Good Standing academically (note: there is no minimum GPA to qualify for the fellowship)	You’re a student at MRU with a minimum of 60 credits completed towards your degree or 30 credits towards your diploma	You’re able to commit between 5-10 hours per week to the fellowship

Curious to see more from the fellowship? Check out the amazing work from previous fellows using the buttons below:

 

 

 

  

 

Did you know?! Catamount is a synonym for a cougar. Not only does ‘cat’ derive from catalyst but ‘mount’ references to both our name and evokes the challenge of climbing a summit. We chose Catamount because like all large cats, they are an example of a keystone species and their range extends through virtually all of southern Alberta. After watching so many unique lives flourish in the first cohort of this program, it only made sense to reimagine a name that suggests the unique and large journey the fellowship took them on. 

 

 

 

 

The Catamount Fellowship is made possible with the generous support of the Suncor Energy Foundation