Congratulations to the Class of 2026

Bachelor of Arts students getting ready to cross the stage

On June 4^th faculty and staff in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies attended the graduation ceremony at UBC Okanagan, proud to congratulate all of the students who completed their degrees in 2026.

This year four doctoral students, five Interdisciplinary Studies Masters students, one Masters of Arts in English students, ten Masters of Fine Arts students, seventy-one Bachelor of Arts students, twenty-three Bachelor of Fine Arts students, and seventeen Bachelor of Media Studies students are graduating with their degrees.

Dean Bryce Traister congratulated all of our graduates: “As new graduates, you have so much to contribute. Go forward with the courage to challenge, to create, and to do the kind of work that changes how people see the world around them.”

Our FCCS graduates, their guests, our faculty and staff continued the celebrations of the day at a reception held in the Creative and Critical Studies building after the ceremony. Dean Traister raised a glass to toast this year’s graduating class and their families.

“Congratulations to all of you who crossed the stage. You have all done a great thing, and will continue to do so not just for yourselves, but for the rest of us. It is important for us to retain the human in relation to each other and something that we need to care about for our futures, and we need more of you and continue to work in the spaces of the arts and humanities. I salute you and thank your families and friends and all the people who helped get you to this moment.”

Images below show our students getting ready to cross the stage and attending the reception after convocation.

FCCS is also pleased to recognize the achievements of the following graduating or continuing students who received awards for their outstanding academic performance this year:

Olivia Allen, Dr. Shelley Martin Memorial Scholarship
Kamila Bennett, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Languages Scholarship
Sonja Berg, Creative Studies Award in Media Studies
Pippa Bingham, Okanagan Visual Arts Scholarship
Averi Boerboom, Creative Studies Award in Fine Arts
Sara Bursey, Campbell Family Graduate Award in Fine Arts
Finley Cole, Craig Hall Memorial Visual Arts Scholarship in Printmaking
Trinity David, Creative Studies Award in Fine Arts
Charlotte Dowell, Kelly Curtis Memorial Scholarship in English; Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Spanish Scholarship
Talia Gagnon, Norma and Jack Aitken Prize in Visual Arts
Brynn Garvey, Creative Studies Transfer Prize in Creative Writing
Georgia Goerz, Asper Scholarship
Ivo Guidi, Doug Biden Memorial Scholarship in Visual Arts
Garvin Leblanc, Asper Graduating Prize
Sophie-Anne Lefebvre, Asper Scholarship
Ariel Leung, Faculty of Creative & Critical Studies Media Studies Scholarship
Grant Malcolm, Deans Award for Artistic Excellence in the Bachelor of Media Studies program
Pablo Montero, The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies International Student Award
Ashley Mori, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies French Scholarship; Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies French Essay Prize
CJ Ozee, Elinor Yandel Memorial Award in Fine Arts
Stevie Poling, SOPA Fine Arts Emerging Artist Award
Neela Rader, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Cultural Studies Scholarship
Ains Reid, Faculty of Creative & Critical Studies Art History & Visual Culture Scholarship
Brendan Russell, Deans Award for Artistic Excellence in the Bachelor of Media Studies program
Sumire Shiozaki, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Visual Arts Scholarship
Stephen Taylor, Jessie Ravnsborg Memorial Award
Chris Urban, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies English Scholarship
Ana Vallejo, Perez Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Creative Writing Scholarship; Creative Writing Prize
Peony Wong, Deans Award for Artistic Excellence in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program
Johee Yeom, Creative Studies Award in Media Studies
Tianyu Zhang, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies International Student Award

The FCCS Dean’s Honour list recognizes students in all years of the BA, BMS, and BFA degrees, who are at the top of their class with a GPA of 85% or better.