Spirit of St. Thomas
Breeanna Gallant of Bloomfield received the 2017 Tom McCann Memorial Award for her leadership in the classroom, on campus, and in the community at the St. Thomas University graduates’ dinner.
Breeanna Gallant of Bloomfield was recognized for her leadership in the classroom, on campus, and in the community at the St. Thomas University graduates’ dinner recently. She was presented the 2017 Tom McCann Memorial Award. The award is presented annually to a senior student who best portrays the spirit of St. Thomas through contributions to the university and student affairs, while also demonstrating outstanding leadership, character, and personality traits.
“To receive an award that recognizes leadership, character and personality is an honour because it’s St. Thomas that has fostered these qualities within me,” said Gallant. “To have received the award surrounded by all of my peers was an amazing feeling.”
St. Thomas president and Vice-Chancellor Dawn Russell said the presentation of the trophy is one of the university’s most important events.
“The list of previous winners is an impressive roster of STU alumni — there are priests, lawyers, a cabinet minister, doctors, Rhodes scholars, videographers, professors, and teachers,” she said. “They all share a trait with Tom McCann, and that’s the belief that university is not only about the classroom, it’s also about enriching your life and the lives of those around you.”
In pursuit of her Bachelor of Arts, which includes an honours in sociology, a major in psychology, and a minor in criminology, Gallant discovered an interest in children’s mental health, cognitive-behaviour therapy, and intersectionality. This led to her thesis, titled “My Mental Health Is a Part of Me, But It Does Not Define Me: A Discourse Analysis of the ‘#MyDefinition’ Anti-Stigma Campaign,” which earned first place at the Dalhousie University Interdisciplinary Health Conference.
In May, she will be one of five Canadian undergraduate students to present at the Canadian Sociological Association at Ryerson University. Outside of her academic commitments, Gallant has volunteered on campus as a mentor in the Peer Mentoring program, as a Welcome Week leader, and as the Environment and Nutrition Rep for Chatham Hall. Off campus, she worked as a certified support group facilitator for the Capital Region Mental Health and Addictions Association, and was a crisis intervener with the Fredericton Sexual Assault Centre.
“The St. Thomas community is so supportive, and I’ve grown significantly during my years here,” Gallant said. “The past four years have been the best of my life and I will always be thankful to St. Thomas for an enriching undergraduate experience.”
Gallant has spent her four years at St. Thomas focusing her energy on helping others, and she hopes to dedicate her professional life to the same goal as a clinical social worker.