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As one of SFU's most outstanding graduate students from the Faculty of Education, Dr. Estella Kuchta is recognized with the Governor General’s Gold Medal. On behalf of SFU, we congratulate Dr. Kuchta on her outstanding achievements.

Kuchta’s doctoral research, which culminated in her thesis, , was described by Kenneth Tobin, presidential professor of urban education at the Graduate Center at City University of New York as “highly unusual”, “risky”, “pioneering”, “refreshing” and having “significant potential for enhancing the dynamic ecosystems of planet Earth and beyond.”  

Drawing on Kuchta’s lifelong practice as a creative and critical writer (both fiction and non-fiction), her love for wild places and being on the land, her inheritance from her parents and upbringing, and her professional career as a college educator, her research redefines love from an ecological rather than human-centric perspective as an energetic force that enables deeply relational ways of knowing. Kuchta’s thesis suggests that human relational wounds are a central cause of ongoing environmental harms, and it offers teaching practices that work to heal these wounds.

Her research has been aired on local and international podcasts, published in numerous books and journals, and presented at conferences and workshops in Canada, USA, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, and Cyprus. In addition to the Governor General Gold Medal, Kuchta received multiple Graduate Fellowships, an Education Graduation Fellowship, Lis Welch Graduate Scholarship, and Travel & Research Award.

Education professor, Dr. Sean Blenkinsop, supervised Kuchta through her research and provides a glowing review of Kuchta and her work.

Says Blenkinsop, “Throughout her studies, Estella showed herself to be in every way an exceptional doctoral student, with an enormous appetite for learning and scholarship. I would describe her progress in the Philosophy stream of our Educational Theory and Practice doctoral program as ‘meteoric’.”

Says Kuchta, “I knew I was taking a big risk with my research topic and methodology, so it’s both an honour and a surprise to be recognized with this medal. Sean Blenkinsop and Heesoon Bai offered enormous intellectual freedom and encouraging feedback. For me, they were the best committee possible. I’m also deeply grateful to those PhD colleagues who supported me through the challenges.”

Kuchta continues her role as an English Instructor at Langara College, where she also worked during her doctoral studies.  Kuchta is a published fiction and non-fiction author. Her publications include the novel  and in a collaboration with Blenskinsop, co-authoring , and she is currently writing a book on ecological love.

Additional Links

• Program: Educational Theory and Practice: Philosophy of Education
• Bluesky:   
  
• LinkedIn: 
• Personal Website: