Three civil engineering students receive ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ awards
By Adam Freill
Construction Labour Skills DevelopmentIndigenous education fund aims to bring more Indigenous voices into engineering, architecture and building design.
Elijah Patrick (left), one of three recipients of 2023 ḴEL,ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Education Fund Awards. (Photo courtesy of ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Education Fund)
Three Indigenous civil engineering students at the University of British Columbia (UBC) are this year’s recipients of awards from the ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Education Fund.
Elijah Patrick, a second year civil engineering student at UBC Okanagan, and Connie Davis and Stacie Coutlee, both PhD students studying civil engineering at the UBC, all received received awards from the fund.
The education fund provides a minimum of one annual award of $5,000 to Indigenous, First Nations, Inuit, or Métis architectural or engineering students in British Columbia. In addition, all fund applicants are provided with the opportunity to make direct connections with industry professionals through the initiative’s mentorship program.
“On behalf of our fund’s partners, I wish to congratulate Elijah Patrick, Connie Davis, and Stacie Coutlee for being recipients of our fund in 2023,” said Kear Porttris, chair of the ḴEL,ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Advisory Committee. “Not only will these individuals bring Indigenous knowledge into their professional careers, they are already redefining engineering design, inclusion and professionalism in Canada by bringing Indigenous practices and ideals into their studies.”
“I am eternally grateful to the organization for the award and contributing to my educational journey,” stated Davis. “They truly recognized my Indigenous way of being and values that will be shared in the engineering field.”
Porttris acknowledged the work that the applicants are performing as they pursue academic credentials, adding, “This is a tremendous time to be an Indigenous professional and it is exciting to see so many Indigenous people aligning their profession with their culture and community priorities.”
