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Emily Ma

An honours student with the Department of English, Emily Ma was one of five writers across Canada shortlisted for the prestigious CBC Poetry Prize in 2024. Her poem, "", was selected as one of the finalists and published on the CBC Books website.

Outside of the classroom, Ma volunteers with the SFU Student Learning Commons as a Writing and Learning Peer Educator, works as an ice-skating instructor, and volunteers as a ringette coach. She also served on the English department's hiring committee for a scholar on Indigenous literatures as the Undergraduate Representative.

Ma's honours thesis supervisor, Canada Research Chair Joanne Leow, describes her as "an exceptional junior scholar and researcher. Her drive, dedication, and excellence make her a perfect fit for this award."

Mitchell Gibbs

A long jumper with SFU's NCAA Track and Field team, Mitchell Gibbs is also pursuing a joint honours degree in Business and Economics. Through both academic and work experiences, he has developed skills in fund operations, investment research, and quantitative modeling, supported by statistical analysis. 

Balancing work, athletics, and academics has taught him how to learn faster and more effectively. He approaches every challenge as an opportunity to grow and refine his abilities¡ªsomething he believes is essential for long-term success and continuous learning.

As he heads down the runway for his next big career jump, he is focused on two things:

1. Deciding what to write his Economics honours thesis about (suggestions accepted).
2. Looking at careers that will apply to his skillset and challenge him so that he can continue learning.