Four students have been awarded the highest tribute that can be paid to a student from the University—the Agnes Benidickson Tricolour Award.
This year’s recipients included Emils Matiss, PhD ’27, Bisola Olaseni, BHSc ’26, Oluwamisimi (Simi) Oluwole, Nurs ’26, and Daniel Reddy, PhD ’26.
In an interview with The Journal, Rector Niki Boytchuk-Hale explained how nominees were scored across four core categories: distinguished service, character, leadership, and support from a broad range of people. While not sharing the specific number of nominees, Boytchuk-Hale said there was a “substantial” amount, almost double what she’s seen in previous years.
The top 10 scoring nominees advanced to interviews held over the Feb. 7 weekend, each lasting roughly 40 minutes. After all interviews concluded, the committee deliberated for four-hours, which Boytchuk-Hale said reflected the strength of the pool.
Each of the recipients sat down with The Journal to discuss their experiences at Queen’s.
Emils Matiss, PhD ’27
Since arriving at Queen’s, Matiss has served across multiple major governing bodies at the University.
He first participated in committees within the Centre for Neuroscience Studies before being elected to Queen’s Senate, where he served two terms and sat on various committees. He later became president of the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) and now serves as the graduate student representative on the Board of Trustees.
Advocating within those roles required working through formal governance channels. During discussions surrounding the Queen’s Graduate Award, a funding award for master’s students at the University, Matiss said the effort extended well beyond one office or organization.
“The work [the SGPS] did last year was a multi-faceted conversation with stakeholders from all around campus,” he said, explaining it wasn’t just the SGPS advocating by themselves but also working with faculty, PSAC 901, and others. “It was really about campus coming together.”
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He emphasized communication as central to that work, explaining that advocacy involved “trying to communicate the impact” of what this award meant for students.
Matiss describes his leadership style as rooted in listening.
“It’s setting aside your personal biases and assumptions [and] making sure you do the legwork to understand what’s happening through the perspectives of the people you’re representing.”
One example of tangible impact came during a University Council meeting about food insecurity. After he, along with other student representatives, shared the challenges facing the AMS Food Bank, councillors donated more than $2,000 toward a new fridge. For Matiss, the moment reinforced that sharing student experiences can lead to real change.
Reflecting on the importance of the award, he pointed to the community.
“Nobody exists in isolation,” he said. “It’s an award for the Queen’s community and the Queen’s spirit, not just for individuals.”
Bisola Olaseni, BHSc ’26
Having once been a mentee, unsure whether she would be able to thrive at Queen’s, Olaseni is grateful to now act as a mentor herself, increasing representation and self-confidence amongst students at the University.
Formerly working as the Lead Equity Ambassador for Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment and a coordinator for the Queen’s Health Science Outreach and Summer Program, Olaseni has been able to help increase accessibility and remove barriers for equity-deserving students.
“It just fills me with so much joy when I see high school students go from saying they’re not sure they could become a doctor because nobody looks like them there, or the system is just too complicated, to [realizing] they now have connections, and people they can reach out to,” Olaseni said.
Recognizing systemic racism and biases in Canadian healthcare, Olaseni also took on the challenge of evaluating and making recommendations for a new course on Racism and Health in Canada, GLPH 281, and completing research focused on increasing access to effective care for children with complex developmental needs.
“My goal was to help increase representation and help train medical professionals so that our system can be more aware, and physicians can reflect on their biases and provide better care,” Olaseni said. “Canada does have a diverse population, and we need to start acting like it.”
As Olaseni heads to medical school, she’s looking back with pride at the diversity and community she was able to foster during her time at Queen’s, and is hoping to continue acting as a mentor in this coming phase of her life.
Oluwamisimi (Simi) Oluwole, Nurs ’26
Oluwole received the news she won the award in the middle of a 12-hour clinical shift, adding that the first thing she said was “no way.”
During her time at the University, she has served as a Black initiatives and inclusion facilitator at the Yellow House, a student EDIIA coordinator within Queen’s Health Sciences, the president of the Canadian Black Nurses Alliance chapter at Queen’s, a mentor with QSuccess, and the Chair of the AMS Judicial Committee.
While Oluwole has done many different kinds of work, she feels her biggest impact has been through supporting Black nursing students as a mentor.
“Just being able to support people, whether they’re down, whether they’re happy, celebrate their wins and ensure that they have an excellent first year has been the most rewarding part of this experience.”
Oluwole also co-founded a sickle cell awareness group at Queen’s. She explained that as a Nigerian, sickle cell has always been very pronounced in her community, and that even in Canada she saw patients struggle to get the help they need.
This encouraged her to try and bring light to the issue, leading to the formation of the club and ultimately the running of a simulation about sickle cell.
READ MORE: Students learn about sickle cell through live simulation
Reflecting on the award, Oluwole emphasized collective effort.
“It’s not a one-man show by any stretch of the imagination,” she said. “It’s the group mobilization behind it, and this is like a group award. That’s just me going up to get the plaque.”
Daniel Reddy, PhD ’26
A Vanier Scholar in the Department of Chemistry, Reddy has used his time at Queen’s to not only advance his own knowledge and research, but to help his peers receive the funding and opportunity necessary to do the same.
As the founder of the University’s International Student Chapter of the American Chemical Society (Q-ACS), Reddy is proud to have helped the club to secure more than $50,000 in funding and establish over 30 awards rewarding student leadership and research. He explained it was at the club’s annual celebration series dinner that he was really able to realize the impact their work has made.
“Seeing everybody in the room having a good time celebrating each other’s accomplishments, that was really where I holistically saw the impact of what Q-ACS, and our community coming together could do,” Reddy said.
Reddy is also excited to have spearheaded the nomination of Alfred R. Bader for an A-CS Historic Chemical Landmark, which he described as having “put Queen’s on the map” in the chemistry world.
“It’s the first one of these chemical landmarks being designated in Canada in the past 20 years,” he said. “[…] The fact that we’re getting one designated here at Queen’s is something I’m really proud of, and that was fun to share with the committee. […] It really cements Queen’s in the timeline of chemical history.”
For first-year students hoping to one day make an impact in their own fields, Reddy recommends finding and learning from mentors and building connections within their community.
“I’ve loved getting to be an international student here at Queen’s. It really has been a transformative experience for me, and it’s just an honour to be receiving this award so I’m really grateful for all the people [who’ve helped me] and for the opportunities that I’ve had,” Reddy said.
Tags
Agnes Benedickson, Leadership, Tricolour, Tricolour award
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