Women’s and Gender Studies Award

2026 Winners – Katrina Hayes and Taleen Jabbour

We were invited by Chair Anne Quema to listen to the two recipients of the CFUW Women and Gender Studies Award on April 23 at 6 PM on the Beveridge Arts Centre. Patricia Gallant, Noella Basque, and I (Anne) were able to attend.

Katrina Hayes participated in a project where Acadia students were paired with women from Nova. The title of her project was “Building Bridges Through Institutional and Systemic Pain”. She was able work through some of her own trauma by interacting with the “inside” students at Nova Institution in Truro.

Taleen Jabbour, a first-year student, wrote a gender autobiography from the point of view of someone of Arab heritage. Three of the factors that shaped her were her father, hierarchies of power, and being sexualized as a dancer. Her reflections on her journey have led her to consider International Law as a possible career. She would love to help women in her home country of Lebanon.

Both projects were beautifully done and thought-provoking. We were able to ask questions, and both recipients were open to being contacted to present their projects in the fall to our membership.