Announcing the 2027 FASS Dean's Undergraduate Fellows

Anastasiia is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Counselling and Human Development. She is also pursuing a Certificate in Spanish Studies.

Anastasiia is a research assistant in the Helping and Happiness Lab and the SECURE Lab. Through her involvement in psychological research, she has had the opportunity to explore her academic interests and gain valuable hands-on experience.

Anastasiia aspires to pursue graduate studies in psychology. She is passionate about contributing to psychological research and hopes to apply her knowledge to better understand human behaviour, support others, and contribute to improving people’s well-being.

Outside of academics, she enjoys reading, learning languages, listening to music, skiing, and exploring new places.

Serving as Vice President of the Sociology and Anthropology Student Union (SASU) and as a Social Media/Marketing Coordinator for the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) Women’s Centre, Avah has spearheaded multiple social media campaigns related to the promotion of human rights, including, but not limited to, 2SLGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and women’s rights.

As a sociology and anthropology student, Avah recognizes the importance of intersectionality, aiming to infuse her passion for social justice into every facet of her life. Avah is particularly interested in the sociology of families, anthropology of labour, and gender-studies, disciplinary sub-fields that have inspired her to pursue a career in law.

Outside of university, Avah enjoys hiking, swimming, skiing, travelling, and martial arts. She is honoured for her nomination as a Dean’s Undergraduate Fellow and would like to extend her gratitude to her family, friends, and academic mentors for all their support. 

Braiden graduated from the School of Criminology during the Summer 2026 semester. He plans to continue his studies in law school.  His areas of interest include constitutional law, the rise of authoritarian regimes, mental health and critical legal studies. His passion for civil rights stems from his family's experience fleeing El Salvador. He aspires to practice criminal law as a defence lawyer, using trauma-informed methods to build trust in public institutions. 

On campus, Braiden volunteered for the Canadian Cancer Society as a Logistics Lead, assisting in the planning of fundraising events. In the community, Braiden works as a show runner and project manager for Yeah Man Entertainment, where he plans and executes events for the Vancouver music scene.

Braiden currently works for Aritzia as a Learning Leader and Inventory Troubleshooter. He previously worked as an Inventory Management Team Lead before returning to SFU to complete his bachelor’s degree.

Clara is a student of the French Cohort Program aspiring to a career in law and public policy. Her honours thesis explores Canada's emerging AI strategy. A passionate champion of bilingualism, she advocates for French immersion in Canada with Canadian Parents for French, where she volunteers as a tutor and serves as lead adjudicator for the Concours d'art oratoire. As a French Cohort Program ambassador, she inspires high school students to pursue bilingual university studies.

Clara also volunteers with Crohn's and Colitis Canada, supporting its work to fund research and improve the lives of Canadians living with inflammatory bowel disease. Through her work with the Parent Support Services Society of BC, she advocates for families, making sure parents and caregivers have the support they need.

Elisabeth is passionate about applying econometric methods to answer policy-relevant questions and using data to inform evidence-based decision-making.

Since May 2025, Elisabeth has assisted with behavioural economics research in SFU’s Department of Economics, contributing to an experiment examining how individuals make decisions. She is currently completing a co-op placement with Employment and Social Development Canada, where she supports regional tariff response initiatives and engagement pieces, and previously worked as a Student Policy Analyst at Pacific Economic Development Canada.

Outside of her academic and professional pursuits, Elisabeth enjoys practicing yoga and Pilates, making pottery, exploring thrift stores, reading, and baking.

Emilia is interested in a variety of topics, including migration, development, critical theory, religious studies, and political and philosophical theory. Emilia is currently exploring theories of capitalism, political economy, risk, gambling, and financialization as part of her honours thesis. She is fascinated by the legitimation and reproduction of all forms of inequality and the moral debates that underlie much of social, political, and economic life.  

Emilia volunteers on the Sociology and Anthropology Student Union and as a board member for Burnaby Horsemen’s Association. She enjoys teaching and working with kids, training young horses, and swimming.

Irene is a fourth-year undergraduate student from Italy, with a keen interest in expanding her economics knowledge, statistical analysis, and women and minorities’ studies.

She is an active member of the Economics Student Society (ESS), where she serves as the Vice President of Design. In this role, Irene collaborates with the team to develop innovative ideas and transform them into published, printed, and wearable designs.

Beyond academics, Irene enjoys staying active and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. She cherishes the friendships she has built at SFU and values spending quality time with friends and peers. Beyond this, Irene has a passion for travelling, discovering new cultures, and exploring different cuisines.

Irene is incredibly grateful to have been awarded the Dean’s FASS Fellowship and looks forward to connecting with other fellowship recipients, exchanging ideas, and engaging with community leaders. 

Isaac Mall is a fourth-year International Studies student concentrating in International Development, Inequality, Environment, and Shared Futures. His regional focuses span Latin America, South Asia, and the Middle East, and his work centers on decolonization, diaspora, and the political economies of forced migration. His recent research paper examines sex tourism and Venezuelan refugee policy in Colombia to show how colonial legacies continue to shape inequality across the Global South, and was published in Confluence, the official open-access academic journal of SFU’s International Studies Department.

This past summer, Isaac was the Social Media and Marketing Coordinator at Feels Like Home Newcomers Society, a Surrey nonprofit supporting refugee and newcomer families, where he documented and shared the unique stories behind its programs, sponsors, and participants. He also currently serves as the Associate VP of Communications for the International Studies Student Association, where he manages its social media.

After graduating this spring, Isaac hopes to draw on his education, his love for travel, and his family’s own story of migration and displacement to shape sustainable development policy, fight for migrant rights, and support decolonization movements, past and present, while preserving lived histories.

Jacqueline is in her final year of her undergraduate degree, studying Sociology, French, and German. She has been an executive member of the Sociology and Anthropology Student Union (SASU) since 2023, and has served as president since January 2025. Volunteering with her peers in SASU has been a highlight of her undergraduate career. Her passion for music impelled her to write an honours thesis, in which she sociologically examined hyperpop, a post-internet musical approach. She enjoys attending SFU’s Music Discussion Club and is thankful for how it has led her to meet some of her closest friends. In her free time, Jacqueline enjoys embroidering, making digital art, and listening to her grandma recite poetry.

As a student of History, Global Asia, and Religious Studies, Jada is interested in the ways that ideas move through society to create historical change. Her past research has focused on the sociopolitical and material contexts behind technological development, with an emphasis on railways and communications technology. Jada is currently writing her honours thesis about technical communications and participatory knowledge production in Maoist China. 

Outside of her studies, Jada recently became a research assistant with the Grassroots Chinese History Archive. She is also a member of the S.S. Sicamous Marine Heritage Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of interior British Columbia's transportation history. In collaboration with the Sicamous Society, Jada is also a part of the Kettle Valley Model Railway Club, where you can find her busy maintaining track and running HO scale trains. 

Jasmin is in her final year at SFU, majoring in Linguistics and minoring in both Early Learning and Learning and Developmental Disabilities. Her academic interests have led her to pursue research opportunities in the Linguistics Department. She volunteers for the Field Linguistics Research Lab and is a research assistant for the Phonological Processing Lab, where she contributes to the Raising Parents project.

Alongside her studies, Jasmin has been volunteering at Peace Arch Hospital, where she was awarded the Fraser Health Volunteer Bursary in 2025. She also volunteers with the Stroke Recovery Association of BC, where she uses different communication strategies to support conversations with participants over Zoom. Jasmin is so grateful for the support and guidance she’s received from her peers and staff throughout her studies. She is honoured to have the opportunity to attend the FASS Dean’s Leadership Seminar and is excited for what’s ahead.

Jennifer is a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing a major in Criminology and certificate in Correctional Studies. Throughout her studies at SFU, she has developed a strong interest in correctional policy and programming, particularly in terms of the needs and protections required for specialized and marginalized populations. She is currently involved as a research assistant for Dr. Amanda Butler, reviewing models of care in custody for those with serious mental illness. Outside of academics, she has worked in the hospitality industry as a server for the past five years, gaining experience in fast-paced, team-oriented environments. Originally from Calgary, she loves to return home whenever she can to see her friends and family.

Joseph is a fourth-year student pursuing a major in Philosophy. More than anything, he is surprised to have received this fellowship.

Mia is currently completing her honours thesis under Dr. Lara Aknin’s supervision in the Helping and Happiness Lab. Mia is also a Co-op student who completed three work terms as the Student Engagement Staff for SFU’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. In this role, she collaborated with faculty, staff, and students to develop student resources and foster community within FASS. 

Outside of her coursework, Mia serves as the President of SFU’s Psychology Student Union and oversees the planning and hosting of social and professional development events for undergraduate psychology students. Mia also volunteers as a research assistant for SFU’s Helping and Happiness Lab and Close Relationships Lab. Following the completion of her undergraduate degree, she intends to continue conducting social psychology research in graduate school. In her spare time, Mia enjoys hiking, crafting, and spending time with her friends.

Olivia is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Linguistics and completing the Linguistics of Speech Science Certificate. She is particularly passionate about exploring second/foreign language acquisition, and she aims to enter a career where she can support others on their language learning journeys. 

Olivia also plans to develop her own proficiency in many languages. To pursue this, during her second year of her undergraduate studies, Olivia completed a semester studying abroad at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, Japan. During Olivia’s time at Rikkyo, she enrolled in Japanese language learning classes and participated in language exchange clubs with domestic Japanese students. This experience not only developed her Japanese language skills and cultural competence, but also offered valuable insight into various methods of teaching and learning a second language.  

Outside of her studies, Olivia enjoys staying active and playing sports, listening to music and playing video games, and going to cafés or fun stores with her friends. She is honoured to have been nominated for the FASS Dean’s Undergraduate Fellowship, and hopes to use this opportunity to further her personal growth, community involvement, and career aspirations.

After transferring from Langara College in 2025, Ryan promptly found himself falling into the role of an acolyte of the brilliant philosophy department at SFU. His favorite courses have covered topics in the Foundations of Math, Computability Theory, Religion, and the Philosophy of Logic and Science. In the Fall of 2026, Ryan served as a TA for PHIL 105, Critical Thinking. He is writing his Honours Thesis on Intuitionism in the Philosophy of Math under Dr. Zhao. 

Aside from his academic affairs, Ryan has a vibrant social community at SFU. He cherishes his friends in the Philosophy Student Union and in the unofficial Biercraft Poker Club.

Off campus, Ryan is the lead songwriter and frontman of Vancouver-based rock band 'saferide'.

Sheena is currently in her final year of her undergraduate degree in Psychology. She is interested in learning about children’s moral development and how to foster positive developmental outcomes. Her honours thesis, supervised by Dr. Joanna Peplak, investigated how autonomy-supportive parenting and children’s autonomy expression influence children’s emerging moral identity development. During her honours, Sheena created a comprehensive coding scheme for which she was granted the Lorne M. Kendall Memorial Award in Psychology.

Sheena's passion for research began when she joined the Grow to Care lab as a research assistant, where she gained experience in knowledge dissemination and other valuable research skills. Currently, Sheena is also a member of the CORTECH lab, where she supports research on technological interventions for concussion symptom recovery.

Outside of school, Sheena is an Orton-Gillingham practitioner, offering literacy support for children with dyslexia and other learning differences. In the future, Sheena hopes to pursue graduate studies in Psychology and eventually become a positive resource for vulnerable populations.

Síonain Bushe is a settler student, currently living and working on the traditional and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) peoples. They are pursuing concurrent degrees in English and World Literature, having arrived at SFU after three years at Capilano University in the Global Stewardship and Creative Writing programs. Among the highlights of their time at SFU are being a DSU executive for the WLLSU and helping to organize and run the 2026 World Literature Student Conference as the Lead Scenographer, Gala Creative Coordinator, Speaker Moderator, and a member of the Academic Team. They also completed a certificate in Theater and Performance studies from Scotland Universities International Summer School.

Síonain has a fascination with narrative, and the seemingly indominable human drive to tell stories and make-meaning. They plan to explore how literature media impacts active construction of social reality and individual identity over the course of their academic career.

Will's interests lie in the intersection between foreign policy, security studies, human rights violations, and international terrorism. He is currently completing a two-term co-op with Global Affairs Canada as a Trade Commissioner Assistant, where he furthers Canada’s mandate in diversifying trade by helping Canadian businesses expand internationally.

He has also studied abroad at Sciences Po in Reims, France, is a 2025 alumnus of the NATO Field School (NFS) Program, and was selected as the NFS representative for the NATO Public Forum at the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague. At SFU, he is an executive member of the Political Science Student Union (PSSU), a section editor for Gadfly (SFU's Political Science Undergraduate Student Journal), and is currently developing the Canadian Foreign Policy Tracker (CFPT) alongside friend and colleague Aidan Gough.

Moving forward, he aims to continue his research at the master’s level and subsequently join Canada's foreign service as a diplomat.