Shaila Presswalia is a faculty member who has been with our community for many years, she provides the students with thoughtful and caring experiences and shares her lived experiences of a long established career in the field.

Students have described Shaila as “an incredibly engaging professor who takes the time to build connections with each of her students.” “Shaila made everyone feel at home in her classroom with her warm energy and makes it clear that everyone can feel safe and respected in that environment”. “She encourages us to share compassion and allows each student to share their personal experiences without judgment”. “She has shown me how to make learning enjoyable and that everyone deserves a place to belong”. “I strive to be as compassionate and empathic when dealing with not only children but with everyone in my lifetime”.

Heather Finch is new to our community, this term is the first time she is teaching in our program. She has taught in post-secondary for many years. Our connection and her warmth, care, compassion, interest and enthusiasm was apparent from the start. We are happy to celebrate Heather and know that she will contribute significantly to our ECS community.

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Students have described Heather as “going above and beyond in creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for students to learn and grow. Heather gets to know each of her students individually and their interests and career aspirations as well as encourages us to pursue research in our field of interest and other areas of Early Childhood and look for connections”. “She has demonstrated excellence by encouraging us to challenge our beliefs, reflect on quality education and encourage new ideas for creating inclusive environments for children and families. Her dedication to educating and inspiring future early childhood educators and demonstrating excellence and dedication to improving the early childhood field. Heather has inspired my future aspirations. Her encouragement and active listening are appreciated and make anyone feel like they can pursue anything they put their minds to!”.

Deborah Sargeant has taught for a few years in our program. We have heard about her teaching and positive experiences students have had with her for years. We are very proud to have Deborah as part of our community.

Students have described Deborah as “one of the best professors I have had, anyone that has been taught by her is lucky.” “She is a kind hearted professor, that loves to communicate with her students and support them.” “She is very enthusiastic in class which brings out the best in her students.” “She accommodates every students learning style”. She has been described as “caring and inspiring.” .. One student wrote, “I was talking to her about my essay topic about how Creating Anti Bias and Inclusive curriculum can help mental health issues. I wanted to touch upon play therapy since I am thinking of this as a career and she inspired me and told me more about it. She motivated me and also said I will be amazing as I am very kind.”

Awarded to an alumni of the University of Guelph-Humber’s Early Childhood Studies program who has flourished and made a significant impact in the lives of children and their families.

This award goes to one of our ECS alumni Jennifer Wales who has continued on to Niagara University where she is finishing Teachers College. We received many letters from the community in support of Jennifer’s nomination and they were proud of what she has accomplished, and the ripple she is making in the world. Fellow students and colleagues have shared that Jennifer has a true passion for children and truly enjoys supporting children. She dedicates her time to wanting to help children succeed. She makes children feel comfortable, safe and welcome in the classroom and is intentional in planning activities that meet all the children’s needs. Jennifer has always been a positive and inspiring mentor to the students in her classes and her passion for teaching has been an inspiration to all. Jennifer introduced a world of dance to students that they had not thought about or experienced before. 

"Through her aura and personality, you can tell that she really loves working with children and that this is meant for her. She is the definition of a true teacher as her passion and drive are exactly what all teachers should have". "Jennifer has inspired me to be a hardworking, loving and caring teacher. She has inspired me to continue to strive for excellence and to reach for my goals. She inspires me to add more of a spark when creating a learning environment. She has helped to reinforce my beliefs of how people should treat one another, with kindness, respect, compassion and an open ear".

Linda is a beautiful human being, she has a kind, compassionate heart and deeply cares. Linda is a START leader and a work study student in the Guelph-Humber Resource Room. Linda leads without knowing, she cares, she listens, she builds trust, she quietly moves the world and everyone is better for it. Linda is graduating this year and she will be continuing her education in a Masters program at TMU focusing on immigrant and refugee children and families. We look forward to seeing how she miraculously impacts the world.

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The many students who nominated Linda have described her as “kind-hearted, loyal, compassionate and understanding. Expressing that, “she always goes out of the way to help me” “She has demonstrated immense strength in every sense of the word and has truly taken on a leadership position within the resource room and the ECS community at large”. In a beautiful story a student shared “When I was anxious about starting field placement for the first time, she empathized with me and shared positive stories from her placement. She acknowledged my emotions and validated them while also asking what questions I had and was happy to answer them to allow me to become more comfortable and less anxious entering my first placement”. “She has taught me through observing her to always lead through kindness and empathy. “Linda made me realize that it’s okay not to know what you will do after 4 years at Guelph-Humber, Linda truly feels like the older sister I don’t have”. Linda has demonstrated to me how to show kindness to everyone and that asking for help isn’t shameful but necessary. Made me fall more in love with the ECS program.

Awarded to an individual who has created positive change and who has had a profound impact on children, families and the community.

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Rosemary has worked a variety of roles as an Early Childhood Educator and throughout her career she worked in early learning and care, as a resource consultant and in full day kindergarten. She goes out of her way to make sure that children in her care feel secure, loved, cared for and are engaged in their learning. She has shown excellence in the field through inspiring future students from high school co-op programs and students in ECE programs. A student has stated “I’ve been in many different classrooms in different schools and I have never seen a better ECE in my life”. “She connects with children and they absolutely love her. It is not uncommon to hear the children in her class say “I love you so much” and “I want you to be my teacher forever”. "Rosemary inspired me to become a teacher and she inspires me to go above and beyond in all my placement settings, volunteering and work. I could only wish to be as good of an educator one day."

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Advancement in Early Childhood Studies Award Awarded to a professional who has made a significant contribution to the field of Early Childhood Studies by going above and beyond to support the well-being and best interests of children. This individual’s contribution can be through research or by working directly with children and families.

We are excited to share Katie Begley as one of our alumni and faculty that has received this award for the work she has done as an Early Childhood Education advocate and member of College of Early Childhood Education council.

Katie has been described by a current student as intelligent, caring, supportive and encouraging. Katie is seen and admired for her engagement and advocacy within the profession of ECE. She has been described as "inspirational and creates a vision for what I want for my future self". "She also teaches me the importance of advocating for myself, children, families and colleagues". "I would not be the same without Katie, she is a true inspiration for what can be achieved in life with passion and heart."

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Martine has worked tremendously hard at discovering her path in her career. She has been working at Fiddlehead Care Farm working with children with diverse needs and is constantly seeking new opportunities to grow her skillset in the area of animal-assisted wellness, early childhood development and mental health and wellbeing.

Martine speaks to us about activities she plans and implements at her workplace, making sure she is finding unique ways to engage children while considering their needs and interests. "Her passion for working with children, animals and in nature, is inspiring and has prompted me to think about how I can implement these elements into my future classroom."

Awarded to a University of Guelph-Humber Early Childhood Studies field practicum mentor that mentors students by encouraging confidence, allowing for risk and failure and models how to be an empathic professional.

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The student who nominated her described Bianca as “kind and welcomed me as part of the family and treated me as though I am a room partner”. “She has told me many times that I am part of the classroom and expresses that she values me and my input and help”. “She has shown me that a classroom should be a positive, nurturing and family-like environment. She has also shown me how valuable it is to build positive relationships in the classroom and especially with your room partner. She inspires me everyday to be better!”

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Awarded to an individual whose professional practice with children and families has rippled into positive outcomes for the community.

Oceanne was interested in children’s mental health and completed her placement at Mindwerx4kids  the therapeutic school. She began working there and she excelled in this position, the children loved her and she was an incredible mentor to our ECS practicum students, she completed her Masters in Social Work and through the pandemic she decided to become a teacher and is now completing teachers college in New Brunswick. Oceanne is a beautiful person whose kind heart and compassionate nature brightens everyone’s day. Oceanne has received a number of nominations and is a past recipient of the alumni award.

Her practicum students and colleagues have described her caring, passionate, thoughtful and kind. She connects with each of her students at an individual level and ensures she uses positive reinforcement to cultivate fun and engaging learning experiences. "She is compassionate and children, students and colleagues gravitate to her. She is the kind of person who pours her heart and soul into everything she does. She has shown me compassion is possible even when I may have felt otherwise". "She has shown me what a creative mind does to create a nourishing learning environment. I admire Oceanne's passion and approach very much and look up to her for the professional application of her skills. Oceanne inspires me to be my best self in so many different ways and I truly believe she deserves this award".