/ en /celebrates/jessie-stirling-and-riley-yesno-receive-outstanding-indigenous-student-awards <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Jessie Stirling and Riley Yesno receive Outstanding Indigenous Student Awards</span> <div class="field field--name-field-awards-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/celebrates/awards-type/academic-achievement" hreflang="en">Academic Achievement</a></div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lanthierj</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2021-02-12T15:46:12-05:00" title="Friday, February 12, 2021 - 15:46" class="datetime">Fri, 02/12/2021 - 15:46</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-awards-people field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/celebrates/awards-people/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-awards-campus field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/celebrates/awards-campus/st-george" hreflang="en">St. George</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-awards-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/celebrates/awards-tags/outstanding-indigenous-student-award" hreflang="en">Outstanding Indigenous Student Award</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/celebrates/awards-tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/celebrates/awards-tags/faculty-law" hreflang="en">Faculty of Law</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/celebrates/awards-tags/victoria-college" hreflang="en">Victoria College</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-image-orientation field--type-list-string field--label-hidden field__item">landscape</div> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/media/stirling-yesno-small.jpg" width="750" height="500" alt="Jessie Stirling and Riley Yesno"> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item">From left: Jessie Stirling and Riley Yesno</div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>Riley Yesno</strong>, a fourth-year student at Victoria College, and&nbsp;<strong>Jessie Stirling</strong>&nbsp;of the Faculty of Law are the winners of the President’s Award for the Outstanding Indigenous Student of the Year.</p> <p>Stirling and Yesno were recognized for their contributions to the University of Toronto as well as to their broader Indigenous communities.</p> <p>“You’ve brought a spirit of engagement and community spirit to our university, enriching our entire academic community, and you inspire us,” President&nbsp;<strong>Meric Gertler</strong>&nbsp;said during the ceremony, which was hosted via Zoom by U of T’s First Nations House.</p> <p>Yesno, a member of Eabametoong First Nation, has been heavily involved in community advocacy for years. She has served on the Prime Minister’s Youth Council and addresses Indigenous, environmental, youth and LGBTQ2S+ issues in her work as a writer and public speaker.</p> <h3><a href="https://www.vic.utoronto.ca/news/riley-yesno-vic-2t1-indigenous-student-of-the-year/">Read more about Yesno</a></h3> <p>Stirling, a recent graduate of the U of T Faculty of Law’s JD program, is a Kwakwaka’wakw woman of the Wei Wai Kum First Nation who grew up on reserve lands in Campbell River, B.C. The president and chair of the board of directors at Aboriginal Legal Services, she is completing her articles at the Office of the Children’s Lawyer, part of the Ministry of the Attorney General.</p> <h3><a href="https://www.law.utoronto.ca/news/legal-advocate-indigenous-children-and-families-named-one-u-t-s-outstanding-indigenous-students">Read more about Stirling</a></h3> <p>The event included an opening prayer led by Ojibwe Elder Whabagoon, a welcome song by Nenookaasi Ochrym, an Indigenous singer and activist, and remarks from First Nations House director&nbsp;<strong>Michael White</strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="/news/indigenous-students-u-t-honoured-efforts-language-revitalization-health-equity"><strong>Andrea Johns</strong>,&nbsp;a previous award recipient</a>.</p> <h3><a href="/news/indigenous-students-recognized-academic-achievement-leadership-and-advocacy">Read the <em>U of T News</em> story</a></h3> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-source field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">UTC</div> <div class="field field--name-field-top-story-hub-page- field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Top Story (Hub page)</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 12 Feb 2021 20:46:12 +0000 lanthierj 168382 at