Congratulations to our Catamount Fellows for their amazing work during the virtual showcase of this year's Catamount Fellowship on March 31st! If you are curious to learn more about the Fellows and their projects, check out our Meet the Fellows page for details about their research topic and the team supporting them in their work!
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 2022/2023 Catamount Fellows are senior level undergraduate students studying across academic disciplines:
Alex Li, Policy Studies
Antony Tabaniag, Social Innovation
Ashton Turcotte, Sociology
Baneen Al-Sachit, General Science
Brooke Venne, Physical Literacy
Brynn Lacey, Information Design
Kelaena Maude, Social Innovation
Megan Davidson, Criminal Justice
Mofe Adeniran, Journalism & Digital Media
Salomé Blanco, Psychology
Timothy Curren, Policy Studies
We are also grateful to the faculty mentors who will be supporting students with their research in a mentorship capacity. This includes:
Adam Cave, International Business and Supply Chain Management
Amanda Williams, Communications
Brian Nichols, Religious Studies
Heather Nelson, General Education
Ines Sametband, Psychology
James Stauch, General Education
Jocelyn Rempel, Nursing
Lisa Daroux-Cole, Physical Literacy
Madison Snell, Information Design
Milena Radzikowska, Information Design
Ranjan Datta, Humanities
Join the Institute for Community Prosperity in welcoming our extraordinary cohort of community partners for the 2022/2023 Catamount fellowship.
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.
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 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.
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