2026 Convocation: Ceremony 1 | ECU

Welcome everyone. My name is Marcia Guno and I'm the vice provost of students. The ceremony is about to begin. We ask that you mute mute your electronic devices until the ceremony has concluded. For all who are able to, we now invite you and welcome you to please rise for the academic procession and please remain standing for the entrance of the platform and chancellor's party. Thank you. He Lord. Oh, haha. Halah. Oh, he Oh, he Oh, he know H. Oh, heal. He Oh, Hey, heal. Oh, he Oh, heaven. Oh, he Oh, heal. Oh, he Oh, he Oh, healer. Oh, he I heal. Oh, he Hey, heal. Oh, he love the I way. I try I try. Oh, I ch Hey, hey, hey. way. I hope where I hope way. Whoa. Hey. Hey. Hey. I try. Oh ch. Hope I big welcome to you Good morning everyone. My name is Danna Akiadi and I am the vice president academic and provost at Emar University Art and Design. I'm so honored to be here today for your to be here as your MC. I begin today by acknowledging that we are gathering here today in the ancestral unseated territories of the Muscum peoples. And I'd also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge that Emily Carar University of Art and Design is situated in the unseated traditional and ancestral territories of the Muscumium, Squamish, and Slava peoples. Please be seated. As we begin today's ceremony, it's my pleasure to introduce a video message to the Emily Carr graduates from the Honorable Jesse Ser, Minister of Postsecary Education and Future Skills. It is now my honor to welcome Emily Car's Chancellor Carlen Thomas to the podium. Thank you, Vice President Dian. So what I said to you in the very teenytiny bit of my language that I know calledum or down river hulkum I said my respected friends I have good feelings inside to see you and be with you here today. And in our cultural ways, I introduced myself to you with my ancestral name. I carry the name Ansahote. I also shared with you a little bit of my family tree, which is Co Salish Protocol. My parents are the late hereditary chief Ernie George. My mother is Deanna George. Both sets of my grandparents have passed on, late hereditary Chief John L. George. And my granny's name was Lillian or Dolly as her friends called her. My mother's parents were um Stan Joseph from the Squamish Nation and Caroline Trimble N Joseph N Thomas and she came from the Sneno Nimo people and Golth her father came from the beautiful Niscot village in the Nas Valley. and raising my hands. I'm sure you're all aware in coalish territory. This is a gesture of welcome. Hi, Sepka. Thanking all of you. Amid Sapwood Wheel, I'm welcoming you here to the home of the Musquim people, but also acknowledging that Emily Carr sits on the Musquam, Squamish, and Satith homelands. I want to impress upon you um the gratitude I have for Emily Carr for always beginning our procession with drummers and singers and I'm always so blessed to have Dr. Hakton come here and do the processional for us. the it's so meaningful to me because in our culture this way as they enter and the sing the song they're clearing the space of negative energy inviting the positive energy in but they're also calling the ancestors acknowledging the ancestors that are here. So if you know if you see empty seats in a in a in the building or in this area they are not empty your ancestors are here. So, I just wanted to share that little bit of protocol with you and share with you how deeply touched I am about that. Good morning everyone. My name is Carlen Thomas and I'm honored to serve as the chancellor of Emily Car University of Art and Design. To start off, I want to acknowledge what an incredible feat it is to get to this stage today. We're here to celebrate you. It's your dedication to your craft, your commitment to doing the work, and your unparalleled creativity that have brought you to this moment. You didn't do this alone. So, let's thank the people that helped you get here. To your parents, guardians, families, friends, and collaborators. We thank you for your support. As a longtime educator, I often wonder, how do we become lifelong learners? I often turn to the first people's principle of learning, which highlights that learning is embedded in memory, history, and story. The way you become a better learner, a lifelong learner is to embrace that process is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential and relational. Learning will take time and patience. These values are inherent to Emily Carr University and we hope you have embraced them in your work. What I hope you carry with you today is this. Learning doesn't end when you cross this stage today. It is ongoing and evolves over life. Even though you are graduating today, you will discover many new avenues and journeys that deepen and enhance your thinking and your practice. Whether it took you on a winding path or you grasp things instantly, no one person's learning journey is the same. As we celebrate our centennial anniversary, you stand alongside countless artists, designers, and thinkers across the decades who never stopped reinventing and pushing the boundaries of their practice. I hope you embrace that energy of the creatives who came before you. I know they are encouraging you to share your talents and creative thinking with the world. As the graduating CA class in our centennial year, we are especially proud of how you've built such a warm and friendly community, the care you've shown each other in the tougher moments, and the unbridled creativity that is reflected in your projects. From 1925 to 2026, you now join a special community of Emily Carr alumni who have made waves across the world and shaped our understanding of art and design. So go forth and create art that provokes us, inspires us, challenges us, and brings us together. Congratulations to the class of 2026. Hi Sepka thanking all of you. I would like to now call upon the president and vice chancellor of Emily Core University, Dr. Trish Kelly, who will deliver the presidential address. Good morning everyone. I'm Trish Kelly, president and vice chancellor of Emily Carr University of Art and Design and it is my great privilege and pleasure to be with you this morning to share this very special occasion. I'd like to first welcome our graduates along with their families and friends as well as the faculty, staff, and honored guests who have joined us today during this ceremony to celebrate all of you, the class of 2026. You are the first graduating cohort of Emily Carr's next 100 years, and you are joining a legacy of excellence, creativity, and innovation that spans a century. From this moment forward, the next chapter belongs to you. Getting to today has required not only hard work but also the support of a strong community. I also wish to express my gratitude to all of um to your families, to those who are supporting you, as well as our faculty, mentors, technicians, and support staff who have helped guide you here to this milestone. The path to graduation isn't always straightforward. In fact, it rarely ever is. It requires strengths that are honed through practice, iteration, and the willingness to start again. Curiosity, imagination, and resilience in the face of failure. These qualities and strategies for making are not soft skills, but rather crucial lessons. They're what keeps you going when the work gets hard. There was a moment early in my own art school education that has stayed with me all these years. It was my very first drawing class and we were asked to display our sketches on the wall. I think we had a five-minute pose or something like that with a life model and then put our sketches up for critique. No preamble, no warm-up, just your work exposed in front of everyone. I know this class here knows that very well. This was a totally new experience for me. I looked at what I made and then I looked at what the person next to me had made and I felt a particular kind of dread asking all those questions we sometimes have in our head. Is this good enough? Will my classmates understand what I'm trying to say? If only I had more time, what could I have done? But I quickly realized that the critique wasn't about who had the best drawing or the most exceptional technical skills. It was about what each of us was seeing and how willing we were to be honest about it. To share that vision with one another and be responsible for the conversation and questions the work brings up. I walked out of that class with something that has stayed with me ever since. Creative practice is not just about making objects or products, though of course that's very important and we celebrated that last night at the opening of our grads show, but it's also about sharing meaning, experiences, and relationships with one another. It's about dialogue and self-reflection, learning and transformation, not just while you're at school, but through all the adventures yet to come. ECU doesn't make artists or designers. Rather, it creates the conditions for them to grow and thrive because real insight and change doesn't usually live or exclusively live in the polished outcome. It lives in the messy uncertain process behind it, in the experimentation and risktaking, and in the commitment to engage in thoughtful and collaborative ways. Your capacity to sit with uncertainty, question what you're looking at, and find a way through is now your superpower as graduates from ECU. More than any single tool, medium, or technique you've perfected here. It is this creative resilience that will define what you do. And as new technologies continue to reshape what's possible, your curiosity, your emotion, your point of view is not a nice to have. It's actually irreplaceable. For a century, many of our alumni have driven transformation and shaped culture in ways that continue to resonate today. A painting by Luke Parnell hangs outside the prime minister's office at the threshold of where this country's most important decisions are made. Douglas Copelan wrote a novel that gave generation X a name and he has never stopped asking what technology is doing to human experience. Sunius Sue weaves indigenous identity into every medium he touches. Kevin Eastwood holds a mirror up to the world through documentary films. Orville Fischer changed the way a generation understood war through painting. We know ECU graduates don't just enter industries. They inspire the spaces where decisions are made and change the way the world sees itself. And now you are next generation of artists and designers to do just that. So, as you transition to the next phases of your journey, imagine big ideas, experiment and explore, and most importantly, use your newly honed superpowers. We're all cheering you on. Remember, the future is not something waiting for you. It's something you will all create. Congratulations, class of 2026. Thank you, Dr. Kelly. Chancellor Carlen Thomas will now begin the presentation of the honorary degrees. Honorary degrees are the highest awards conferred by Emily Carr University. They recognize and celebrate the commitment, dedication, and service of individuals who have distinguished themselves by their significant achievements and contributions to the art world in BC, Canada, and beyond. I now call upon President Kelly to present the honorary degree to Nico Casease. Okay. Thank you, Chancellor Thomas. Singer, songwriter, music producer, visual artist, and writer Nico Casease is the consumate career artist. Fearless and versatile with a fierce work ethic and constant drive to search deeper within herself for creative growth. Dubbed by Rolling Stone one of America's best and most ambitious singer songwriters and by NPR essentially purist Case has long been re revered as one of music's most influential artist. Her authenticity, lyrical storytelling, and sly wit have endeared her to a legion of critics, musicians, and lifelong fans. In addition to numerous acclaimed and Grammy nominated solo records, she is the author of the New York Times best-selling memoir, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, and a Substack newsletter, Entering the Lung. Case is currently composing the musical theater adaption of the Academy Award-winning motion picture Thelma and Louise. and her latest album on Auntie Reecords, Neon Gay Midnight Green, was named one of Pitchfork's best of 2025. And I quote, "An album that blossoms with awe." We're now going to see a short video on Nico Case. Ever since I was little, I wanted to be an artist. I always wanted I finally really started loving photography when I started making pinhole cameras. The process of the super primitive camera with the super technical dark room was something I really enjoyed. I wanted to be in a band with people. You know, I've never been a person who wanted to make things by myself musically. I played drums in a band called Cub when their drummer couldn't go on tour. I would go I was in a band called Mau and then later I was in the New Orers as well. I want to comfort people. I want I want them to feel not alone. I still have plenty of rage though. Women aren't supposed to have rage, but I don't mean to use it as something that you spray all over people, but something that you learn to using it as a generator to make things like a power source. Vancouver specifically was blessed with a wealth of really of every genre and everyone hung out together. So, it was very communal and encouraging. Art school for me was very much about learning how I worked and learning how to make sure I got things done. It was such a productive time of my life. It was the first time I felt like I was capable of something. Really tried to reinvent myself. I think I'm just busy learning in front of people. I'm willing to fail in front of people, laugh at myself, or mess up. >> Don't forget what you love about creating things. If it feels wrong, absolutely don't do it. Wash dishes in a restaurant and make your own art before you go and work for something soulless. Just try to connect with people. We need more connections. I'm just so excited for everybody who's graduating. It's like the tools that people are given that they can do anything that they like with. It's really astounding. And you can really do anything. But connection, it's what we really really need. Chancellor Thomas, on behalf of the Senate of this university, I now ask that you confer upon Nico case the degree Doctor of Letters, Honoris Kausa. Okay. Nico Casease, by the virtue of the authority vested in me and in the Senate of Emily Carr University, I hereby admit you to the degree of Doctor of Letters Honoras Kaza. Dr. Nico Casease will be hooded by Vice President Dian Ayadi, Vice President Academic and Provo. You just She gives her Wow. Thank you very much. um to be included with this incredible class of 2026 and with Glenn and Fay and Peter. Congratulations. Um there's so much I would like to say and I'm going to try to be brief. Um, I need to thank Emily Carr and Canada um, simultaneously as I was given uh, access to a program called the Good Neighbor Program as a Washington uh, resident in Washington state. And it was a program where I could come to uh school in Canada for the same price as a Canadian student. And it was the only reason I was able to go to school at all. So thanks to Canada and Emily Carr, I am as much your kid as America's kid. And um it was the greatest thing that happened to me in my young life. I the institution and the generous faculty showed me that the world of creative expression was so much larger than I could have even imagined and I could imagine a lot. So it was pretty big. Um the possibilities were endless and by that logic I too was endless and that was the biggest gift I've ever received. I believe um Emily Carr gave me the confidence to build the runway to my life which I had no idea how to do. I came it was funny I came to Emily Carr to become a painter and I didn't do a single painting in my entire four years because I was so excited by everything that was possible. Um and in the end I became a musician. um which may look quite different from art and design from the outside but the creative processes are the same and I use what I learned here every single day. Um and to all of you graduating here today I want to say first congratulations obviously um you've done something really monumental and I want you to let yourself really feel it in your body. I know sometimes it's hard to to give yourself a pat on the back, but please let yourself be pleased and proud of yourself cuz you really really earned it. And second, when you take your talents out into the world, whatever you want to do, um there's going to be a lot of forces that push you and pull you to and fro. And no matter what happens, don't forget the inner thrumming feeling and the spark that you would get from making something with your hands just for the sake of making something. Whether it was when you were a kid or you were all blureyed at 3:00 a.m. in a studio here on campus or there on campus, I should say. Um, that feeling, that thrumming feeling is the key to everything. It's your engine. and treat it like your own personal national park. Guard it and feed it and rest it and share it because I don't need to tell you that the world is in kind of a bad way. Um, as you know, in my country, Nazis are in power and they are employing every sort of cruelty imaginable. And I didn't want to use that word here today, but I firmly believe that if you want to change something, you have to name it. So, thank you. And you know, I I didn't want to sugarcoat it and and I can't pretend that it doesn't seem to be getting worse, but I firmly believe that if things can get worse, they can get better. And that's not just a tossed off platitude. I really, really do believe that. Especially in my job, I travel all over the world and I meet people in person. And you know I find that uh nobody's like social media and nobody is how they are presented on the news and you know but the way things are people are feeling very isolated and very scared. A lot of people are very scared and um everyone really just wants the same thing. and they want to be safe and feed their families and and play and live and you that's a very obvious thing to say but it sometimes I don't know if we always remember but the the the division is by design and obviously you know people in power are afraid of large groups of united people so of course they want to undermine our humane togetherness inside and outside the country but I have hope, a lot of hope. And that's where you come in. Um, you've been trained at Emily Carr to become master communicators. You can communicate in ways spoken or written language alone cannot. You are so powerful. I'm sorry. It's true. You are magnificent. You have no idea. Or maybe you do. I hope you do. You are a force who can uplift, mobilize, translate for people, comfort, and unify people. Know it or not, you specialize in communication. Thank you. This world needs you. You are part of the front line to keep what's happening in my country from happening in yours or in the world. And I swear to God, this next part is related. It's going to sound like it's not related. It's some weird thing, but humans are not a solitary species. We're bonding mammals that choose to live in groups. And if Sir David Atenboroough made a planet Earth episode about humans, I think it would focus on our ability to communicate. It would be kind of like how, you know, if there's a show about a cheetah, they talk about how fast they can run. Communication is our gift and comes from a deep instinctual part of ourselves. We we use speech, vocalizing, dance, art, vibration, everything. Harmonizing. It's crazy how we communicate. It's fantastic and wonderful. And I've learned from singing with people and for people that we humans have not completely lost our instincts, which I live on. I live on that feeling every day. We still resonate. What we've lost is retrievable. Your skills as artists are natural bridges and gateways to reclaiming crucial instincts, part of our way back to each other. The instincts that keep us sure and safe in the fact that we are of this earth. We are part of nature and we belong here. I never used to feel that way. They remind us that our responsibility to work for the good of everyone and everything, for justice and peace, and not just for humans, but for the entire living earth, all the species we share it with. It's paramount. The instincts remind us that we must heal our relationship with nature that has been so damaged by neglect, ignorance, and our lack of engagement. The rift is a big chunk of our collective human self-esteem that we are missing. and you artists have been trained to help us retrieve it and bring us home. Your charge is sacred. So if you go out in the world and get that graphic design job and the corporation doesn't appre appreciate you or the art world doesn't embrace you or whatever, it doesn't matter because forging your own path is where the real work is done. It is where solid unbreakable community is formed. Joy and connection in that community building is a power source turbine for good. It is where your engine, your artistic fire, your human kindness inspire others and remind us that our souls are indivisible and that our joy is not for sale or something that can be taken away. Your charge is sacred and you are magnificent. Congratulations. I just have to share with you. I'm so touched by your words, Dr. Nico case, you are sacred. In our culture, we hold artists in high esteem because they are connect our connection not only to the natural world but the world of spirit. No matter what you think, where you go, we all are connected to something bigger than ourselves. So carry that with you. You are sacred. Congratulations, Dr. Nico Casease. The Emily Award recognizes outstanding achievements by members of the alumni community whose creative pursuits in the arts, media, and design have brought honor to Emily Carr University. President Kelly, will you please present the Emily Award? Peter Morren is a grandson of Talton and an ancestor artist. His artistic offerings can be organized around four themes. Articulating land knowing, articulating indigenous grief and loss, articulating community knowing and understanding the creative agency and power of the indigenous body. This work takes place in galleries, in community, in collaboration, in publication, in the classroom, and on the land. All of this art and work is informed by dreams, ancestors, family members, and quantum theory, and is shaped and reshaped by a guiding principle, performance art, as a research methodology. Morren began art school in 1997, completing his Bachelor of Fine Arts at Emily Carr in um Vancouver in 2001. He completed his master of fine arts at the University of British Columbia Okonagan in 2010. Initially trained in lithography, Morren's artistic practice has traveled from printmaking to poetry, bead work, button blanket making, installation, drum making, and performance art. Throughout his exhibition in making history, MREN has focused upon his matrineal inheritances in homage to the matriarchal structuring of the Talan nation and prioritizes cross ancestral collaborations in honor of his parents Janelle Crowclan Talton Nation and Pierre French Canadian that mines Quebec. In 2016, Morren received the Hunshine Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Canadian mid-career artist. He has been long listed for the SOI Awards twice in 2014 and 2024. He is an associate professor in the faculty of art at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto. And we'll now watch a brief video um giving us a chance to see some of Peter's work and hear some of his words. You give me nothing. It says, Emily Carr University of Art and Design is pleased to present Peter Min with this year's Emily Award. Oh yes. This is this is a bit of a this is a bit of a moment to step into um a performance artist. I got to be a bit performative, right? This is a bit of a moment to step into and I fully recognize that all of the work that I've done is in community and in collaboration and there are so many people who have helped me to step into this moment and there are and I am so grateful for them. I'm so grateful. Also, this other moment where 20 years ago in 2000, I walked across this stage for the first time. Uh, what? And I was so nervous that I like walked up those steps and tripped and nearly fell. And then I was like, did anybody see that? And then it was like, everybody saw that. Such a real thing that we're all doing here together. I want to also just acknowledge uh the honorary doctorates and Dr. Nico case. Thank you so much for that beauty. The beauty that you offered today, but the beauty that you offer. You offer beauty. You offer it so that we can step inside of it with you. It is such an incredible thing to have have met you in 1997 and still remember those interactions we had in the printmaking studio. Um to have your artwork, but also in the video was the artwork that I traded you. It's weird. I also want to say uh thank you to Emily Carr for offering this space for me to step into as well. All of the work that you are all doing every day to lift students up, to lift up designers, to lift up their family members. It is uh incredible. It's incredible. I have a better sense of that now as I've been able to step where you are in that space of holding holding energy for students and for shared learning and yeah you you are magnificent. You are sacred. It is an incredible opportunity to be somebody who stands alongside of you in a classroom and outside of a classroom. And I I I said in the video, I fought my ass off to get into being a teacher in these particular classrooms. Uh the reason why I fought my ass off was because I knew that artists and designers make culture make culture better. And I knew that if I could be an indigenous person in the front of that classroom, being awesome as an indigenous person and helping all of you to understand and invite you to the conversations and the thinking that indigenous artists and designers have done historically, currently, and in the future. that would help you to make better artwork, better design work, work that is less about causing harm and more about causing uh generous space to happen because like Nico said, the world is absolutely on fire and artists and designers, our job is to love as brightly as we can. Know who your people are. Love them. Love them as much as you can. Take them out for dinner. Meet them for coffee. Even if you can't take them out for dinner right now, make them dinner. Love them weirdly. Invite them to come to your weird events. Uh make sure that they are there to sing with you, to laugh with you, cry with you. Also to the families here, the families. This is your award, too. You do so much, and it's often unseen and unagnowledged, but I want to just acknowledge you again. This is something that it took me a long time to learn. Include your families in your work. Even if it's difficult, include them because your families want to do the work with you as well. And I'm so grateful for my family as they help me and I help them and I've become a better artist because I include them. None of that stuff. None of that stuff anymore. Oh, ju just doing that weird art thing, you know. Don't worry about it, Mom. Don't worry about it, Dad. Yeah, I'll be back soon. Don't worry. You know, they want to know. They want to know. They want to be involved even if even if it's weird. And I want to also acknowledge all the speakers beforehand. Thank you for your good words and your good heart and how you have offered so much uh to today. I want to also acknowledge the singers and the and the procession leaders who brought beauty into this and grounded us in that beauty and my uh old school teacher Helactton who I was trained by all those years ago when I was an Emily Carr student. Um, I want to say this as acknowledgements. Uh, when we were there carving those house posts with your design and I was so desperate to sing. I was so desperate to be a singer out loud and you all stood around me and you held me so that I could squeak out at least four words. It's such a beautiful thing. And so today I'm going to sing uh as a part of my offering to you and to you the whole song. I'm going to sing the whole song. And I'm not going to be scared. Well, maybe a little bit. A little bit. A little bit. It's okay. A little bit. Um, I also want to say this to uh to to all of us here again. Know your people. Know know them. Acknowledge them in the ways that you can all your career. Do that. The ones who have celebrated you and the ones who helped you to not quit. And so today I'm going to say the names of the uh uh matriarchs who helped me to not quit because I would not be here holding this award uh without their support. The first name is Shirley Bear. Uh Shirley Bear is Wulustuk. When I got to Emily Carr, I was a nervous uh anxious kid. I'm still a nervous anxious kid. and she made sure that I was seen. She showed me how to uh hold a smudge bowl. And that's knowledge that has been uh serving me and my life and my community for 26 years. Oo, 30 years. Oh, almost 30 years. The other person, I want to say her name because I would not be here without her as well. Her name is Brenda Crabtree. Brenda Crabtree uh stepped into a role at Emily Carr to to be uh lifting indigenous students up. I was somebody who needed that support. Uh, and she used to drive me cuz she lived in Chilowak, BC, and she used to and I lived in Suriri, BC. And she used to drive me to my house once a week. And she also used to feed me. She used to take me to the keg. I didn't even know you could go to the keg. And she'd say this, "Order what you want." I didn't even know you could do that. So, I ordered the steak multiple times. Oh my goodness. My first semester, first year of Emily Carr, there was a lot of elders back home who died. Home is far away. It wasn't money to get back home, you know. And I know this now there's many people in this room who understand what it means to be 3,000 kilometers away from home. All the elders, there's so many elders that I loved and who trained me passed away and I was going to we finally got enough money and mom and I went back home and I sat there with Grandma Violet and Grandma Violet said I said I just can't do it anymore. I just can't. I'm just so sad. I just can't. And she said to me, "You are not allowed to quit. You are not allowed because we need you. We need you. We need you to go into the world and carry our culture. Sometimes you will be the first Talan person who uh these people from the world meet and you have to be a good ambassador on behalf of our people and I have done that for my entire life. And finally, I want to acknowledge our mom who made sure that I didn't quit. And I went to school. I lived in uh Siri, BC. I went to school six days a week. Six days a week. And Sundays were for mom and I. And she knew that I went to work and I came home and she was always there and I shared what I did with her as best I could. and she shared with me that she would have also wanted to go to art school. She liked to draw. She liked to paint. So I made sure to include her as much as I could. She also helped me with my work, my c she culturally advised me as much as she could. I was always calling her to say, "Mom, is this okay? Can I say this? Can I do this in my performance? Can I What do you think? Will the elders back home be offended? You don't want to offend the elders back home. Mom lived and died with Alzheimer's. In year eight of her life, uh Alzheimer's life, uh she wrote, she offered this song. She made this song for us. Uh, and luckily because, you know, um, I was there in the room, I was able to write it down. And then, uh, language warriors, uh, Adonama and Galina Luks, uh, Luke, uh, moved the English words into Uh, and I'm going to sing this song for her, uh, for us. I'm going to sing it for my old school teacher. I'm going to sing it for the ancestors of these territories and as a way to also acknowledge the incredible uh, sophisticated knowledge systems and the practitioners of those knowledge systems. Musquam sleigh squish. We are so grateful for your skill. We are so grateful that we get to think alongside of what you uh incredible indigenous uh thinkers offered to us. And I'm also going to sing this mom song for all the more than human. They also have a lot of skill. The grass is a creator. The soil is a creative force. The water is a creative force. The birds are a creative force. The bears, the trees, even the flies. We did it. Mom, your song is center stage at the Chance Center. Auda. Dan Kimondo Dan Kimo. in ducky dondo. Julimo Ad, I miss you already. I wish you were coming home. Audine Dene Kim Doll. Thank you so much, Peter, and thank you so much for sharing that song with all of us. The left tenant Governor's Medal Program was created to recognize students who excel in their studies and contribute to the life of their institution and community. For nearly 40 years, British Columbia's left tenant governor has awarded the medal to outstanding students who have distinguished themselves through their post-secary education. The Lieutenant Governor's Medal is a prestigious badge of recognition for recipients granted for outstanding contributions in support of inclusion, democracy, and reconciliation. On behalf of the honorable Wendy Lisogar Coochia, British Columbia's left tenant governor, I am pleased to announce this year's winner of the left tenant governor's medal is Opi Barzel, Bachelor of Design, Industrial Design Major. just want I once again congratulate Opir. The Governor General's Academic Silver Medal is one of Canada's most prestigious honors. Created in 1873, it is awarded to the undergraduate student with the highest academic standing upon graduation from a university. On behalf of their excellency, the right honorable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, I am pleased to present the Governor General's Academic Silver Medal to Tomas Herrera Area Bachelor of Media Arts. I would now like to call in our vice president, academic and provos to introduce our undergraduate student speakers. >> Thank you, Dr. Kelly, and congratulations again. I'm honored to introduce the 2026 undergraduate student speakers. Chancellor Thomas, I now call upon this year's undergraduate student speakers, Sanvi Bat and Jonah Randell, to address convocation. Sanvi's practice is shaped by an interest in accessibility, community engagement, ecology, and the ways that design can translate ideas between different people and spaces through exhibition coordination, health design research, and hands-on production work. She has developed an approach grounded in care and attention to materials, systems, and collective practices. She hopes to continue working closely with people, communities, and public spaces through design. Jonah considers himself and his design language a work in progress with a focus on useful objects, merging art, craft, and design into his works while keeping play, experimentation, thoughtfulness, and query into his dayto-day. Sanvi and Jonah, I welcome you to please come to the stage and deliver your address. Hello and thank you. We would like to begin today with a quote. One does not expect out of life what one has already learned that it cannot give, but rather one begins to see more and more clearly that life is only a kind of sewing time and the harvest is not yet here. These words by Vincent Van Go have been sitting with us for a better part of a year and today we reflect on them in relation to our time at Emily Carr. As creatives, our work is often seen as final outcomes and less about the process that brought us there. Our relationships with the world, things that inspire us, emotional questionings, and retrospective insights are not spontaneous reactions, but instead are forever compounding conclusions. Emily Carr University has made this clear and with each graduating year more and more of us more and more of a path towards process is shared and maybe that's why design school can feel so strange sometimes because for 4 years we were not only making things we were slowly becoming people who notice and see and observe the world around us from a learned perspective. Over time, our studios became little ecosystems of shared knowledge. Someone always knows how to use a tool that we didn't know how to use. Someone always had material to share. And someone always had a very specific opinion about typography. And someone somewhere was definitely always always stressed about something. And I think that is what we will remember the most about this place. Not the work itself, but the communities that formed around making it and the shared process that comes with it. Now we leave here carrying all of these things forever. Ways of making, ways of caring, caring about the process and the lines that follow through. That means the world is now about to receive an unusually large number of people who cannot walk past bad design without commenting on it. And we would say that that's a pretty good thing. >> Thank you. >> Thank you so much, Sanvi and Jonah. The members of the 2026 graduating class will now be presented to the chancellor to be admitted and masked to their degrees. I will ask the graduants to please stand. By virtue of the authority vested in me as chancellor of Emily Carr University of Art and Design and in the Senate of this university, I hereby admit you to your various degrees. Do I ask them to be stay? Um, it says here that you guys are supposed to stay seated. So, I don't I don't know. Sorry about that. We're almost there. Um, the Bachelor of Design and the Bachelor of Media Arts degrees will now be conferred. We will begin with the Bachelor of Design candidates presented by the dean of the Ian Gillespie Faculty of Design and Dynamic Media, Celeste Martin. Dean Martin will present the candidates and our name reader, Don Andrews, will read the names of the graduates as they cross the stage. To honor the co-ish traditional territories we are on, we'll refrain from handshakes. Instead, we'll invite graduates in our platform party to raise our hands to each other as a sign of respect and acknowledgement. In the spirit of inclusivity for all students graduating, we respectfully ask the audience to please hold applause until all the degrees are conferred. Dean Martin, Chancellor, I have the honor of presenting the Bachelor of Design degree candidates in communication design, industrial design, and interaction design. I also have the honor of presenting the candidates for the bachelor of media arts in 2D and experimental animation, 3D computer animation, and film and screen arts. >> Good morning everyone. Please welcome to the stage graduates for the major communication design. Kiana Allen. Thank you. Stephanie A. >> Congratulations, Elias Brezlo. >> Thank you, Anastasia Broken. >> Good morning, Caitlyn Chong. Phyllis Huling Chong just this please. Thank you. Joy Jun Jong Choy, congratulations. >> Karina Deng, congratulations. Alexis Dick, congratulations. Maria Salomome Esparza Hernandez. Congratulations. Melvika Geriel, congratulations. Masa Gazini, congratulations. Thank you, Tigga. Sneaky Stripes. >> Congratulations. Elona Gradeski, Anika Prasad, congratulations. Gwen Holstead, congratulations. Leila Hansovich, congratulations. Grace Hatra, congratulations. Shane Homie, congratulations. Ricardo is Lavine. Congratulations Dang Kim. Congratulations Unsung Kim. Congratulations Kwanhi Kim. Congratulations McKenzie Knight. >> Congratulations. Michael Le, >> congratulations. Stanley Lei, >> congratulations. Ulim Lee, congratulations. Tina Leela Wongson, congratulations. Sienna Ling, congratulations. Tory Leu, >> congratulations. >> Thank you. >> Adrien Magno, >> congratulations. Diane Alcantara Malbanan, congratulations. Disha Malholtra, >> congratulations. >> Anna Mandraino, congratulations. Ira Mendes, congratulations. >> Sydney Milan, congratulations. Ellis Molson, congratulations. David Park, >> congratulations. Justin Park, congratulations, Tiffany Patrick Iselli. >> Congratulations, >> Katrina Pereira. Congratulations, Fatima Pored. >> Congratulations. Amuto Ram, >> congratulations. Le Sabahan, >> congratulations. >> Taylor Schaefer, congratulations. Ava Scott, congratulations. And Sunny Soul, congratulations. Abby Simatuang, congratulations. Eugene Song, congratulations. Tanya Fund, >> congratulations. Kangen Trong, congratulations. Ashlin Wong, congratulations. >> Gemma Waldridge, >> congratulations. Mingu. Up next, please welcome to the stage graduates for the major industrial design. >> Congratulations. >> Amelia Abundice Griezbach. Congratulations. >> Audrey Allensson. Congratulations Oir Barzille. >> Congratulations Sanvi Bot. >> Congratulations Critai Pino. >> Congratulations Sasha Bishop. Congratulations, >> Ethan Bachmann. >> Congratulations, >> Matthew Borlow. >> Congratulations, >> Kimberly Brown. >> Congratulations, Yen Sai. >> Congratulations, >> Luf Chen. Congratulations >> Nantthra Chilika. >> Congratulations >> Tony Chong. >> Congratulations Sandro Diari. >> Congratulations Ding Hayou. Congratulations. Luwend Ding, >> congratulations. Ella Foron, congratulations. >> Serena Halbig, congratulations. >> Claudia Hamilton, >> thank you. Chowo Han, >> congratulations. Megan Hippisley, >> congratulations. Who? Yan Lin. >> Congratulations, Sewan Huang. >> Congratulations. >> Hedo Jang. congratulations. >> Lenlan Gi, >> Congratulations, Joey Sano Kim. >> Congratulations, >> Ilia Kveshnikov. Congratulations, >> Tessa Croch. Congratulations. >> Thank you, Jose Kura. >> Congratulations, Lin Ying Yu. >> Congratulations, Jetra. >> Maliperryi, >> congratulations, >> Malikica Kim McDuffy. Congratulations >> Riel Thomas Padua. >> Congratulations Nabi Park. >> Congratulations Jonah Danger Randall. >> Congratulations Rowan Rodenberg. Congratulations Yong Jin Song. >> Congratulations Alex Turnbull. >> Congratulations Meno Olrich. >> Congratulations Sean Valena. >> Congratulations Starream. >> Ty Vo Congratulations >> Sarah Wolgamut. >> Congratulations Hansi Yang. >> Congratulations Charlotte Yang. >> Congratulations Mingy Shu. Please welcome the stage graduates for the major film and screen arts. Congratulations. Oh, is it interactive design? Please welcome to the stage graduates for the for the major >> interactive design. It's in here somewhere. Na Aurora. Thank you. Serena Atalan, >> congratulations. >> Juliana Lassam Castillo, congratulations. Valerie Chang, >> congratulations. Quando, >> congratulations. Terrence Hall, >> congratulations. Sarah Huitt, >> congratulations. Chloe Jun, >> congratulations. Selena Kang, >> congratulations. Nyla Kandra, >> congratulations. Anika Kim, congratulations. Fatima Lami, congratulations. Ayan Lee, congratulations. Chenshin Lee, congratulations. Lee Raya, congratulations. Hi Leang, congratulations. Yang Leu, congratulations. Amy Ma, congratulations. Hey, one moon. Congratulations. Sasha Peele, congratulations. Amamira Hafisda Putriali, congratulations. Emily Chiang, >> congratulations. Matin Rahimi, >> Congratulations, >> Leela Raalo, >> congratulations. Maria Siminova, >> congratulations. Augustia Sharma, >> congratulations. Shinyu Xi. >> Congratulations. Monenir Singh. Congratulations. Jaden Sutando. >> Congratulations. Kima Pashvidi. Congratulations. Tangin Tong, congratulations. Janvi Tapsilia, >> congratulations. Cu, >> congratulations. >> William Wang, >> congratulations. Tiana Wong. Congratulations. Frisk Woo. I now call forward graduates for the degree Bachelor of Media Arts for the major 2D plus experimental animation. Congratulations, Sara Amini. Congratulations Lyanna Agesa Aznil. Congratulations Isa Barmy. Congratulations Kayla Berseron. Congratulations Alexandra Ber. Congratulations. Galad Galadriel Hannah Broly, >> congratulations. >> Ruth Brown Murray, congratulations. Kazuko Canela Zazua, >> congratulations. >> Marie Castillo Katab, >> congratulations. Vina Ray Dorado Castro. Congratulations >> Cindy Chen. >> Congratulations Roong Cheng. Congratulations. Say it. >> Congratulations. >> Victoria Kirchu. >> Congratulations. >> Katie Haun Choy. Congratulations, >> Serena Chung. Congratulations, Sarah Delvali, congratulations. Kendra Dugis, congratulations. Gerald Florina, >> congratulations. Alexa Gamboa Alcoser, congratulations. >> Fertino Gao, congratulations. Silvin Gari, >> congratulations. Ella Heert, >> congratulations. >> Ashley Johnsgard, >> congratulations. Rachel Christina Kernney. >> Congratulations, Chantel Kawitinan. >> Congratulations. Natalie Le, >> congratulations. >> Lee Ambberila, >> congratulations. >> Loin Lee, >> congratulations. Yong Lynn, congratulations. Kyle Lopez, >> congratulations. You look lovely. >> Ashley Lore, >> congratulations. >> Caitlyn Lyer, >> congratulations. Samantha Luxford, >> congratulations. Kai Milikin, congratulations. Jamie Newan, >> congratulations. Aaron O'Neal, >> congratulations. Chris Ginwoo Park, congratulations. Maline Alice Perez, congratulations. Aani Rosra, >> congratulations. Lindsay and Justine Ratray, >> congratulations. Daisy and Brutder, >> congratulations. Isa San Pedro Gil, >> congratulations. Miko Santiago, >> congratulations. >> Emily Soul, >> congratulations. >> Himea Jazelle Stimple Teres. Congratulations. >> Jaden Sue, >> Congratulations, Roman Luis Teasdale. >> Congratulations. Tiara Sang, >> congratulations. Wabin Cheton, >> congratulations. Jignya Warrior, >> congratulations. >> Yunqing Elizabeth Wong, >> congratulations. Ani Wu, >> congratulations. Chung Xi Jung. >> Now, please welcome graduates for the major 3D computer animation. Congratulations, >> Hunyon Bay. Congratulations, Beck Unsu. >> Congratulations, Barun Bosley, >> congratulations. Zway Kai, >> congratulations. >> Evelyn Cha, >> congratulations. Dewan Choy, >> congratulations. >> Ka Chow, >> congratulations. Methyli Dur, >> congratulations. Alicia Naimm Engineer, >> congratulations. Cla Esta Kamacho, >> congratulations. Quaong, >> congratulations. >> Annie Getski, Congratulations Koko Gasso. >> Congratulations Christina Hunyatti. >> Congratulations Yunyong Ho. >> Congratulations Maya Jones. >> Congratulations. Deon Kim, >> congratulations. >> Ji Su Kim, >> congratulations. Saurin Lewis, >> congratulations. Janice Lee, >> congratulations. Queeping Lee, congratulations. CJ Lee, >> congratulations. Sawyer Nielsen, congratulations. VT Tan Nuyan, congratulations. Tammy Yarim Park, >> congratulations. Christy Fam, >> congratulations. >> Chris Reyes, >> congratulations. >> Zara Rodriguez, >> congratulations. Gabriella Ellen Rousley, congratulations. Kayla Shua, congratulations Shini Song. >> Congratulations, Mangasa Shriant. >> You're all good. Congratulations. >> Natalie Grace 2. Congratulations, >> Kaiju Wang. Congratulations, >> Ryan Wang. >> Congratulations. You look >> Yi Wang, >> congratulations. Edelyn Audrey Wento, >> thank you. Candace Woo, congratulations. Jingwin Shu, >> congratulations. Irene Yen, >> congratulations. Anika Yun, >> congratulations. Hung Yu Jeang, congratulations. Jean Jen, Please welcome graduates for the major film and screen arts. >> Congratulations. >> Ali Burajeri. >> Congratulations. >> Eden Cot Foster. >> Congratulations. >> Kaylee Davidson. >> Congratulations. Gustavo Diaz, >> congratulations. Thomas Farstead, >> congratulations. Braden Fraser, >> congratulations. >> Olivia Henderson, >> congratulations. >> Adrienne Hernandez O. Congratulations. You look great. >> Thomas Herrera Lara, >> congratulations. >> Valerie Ivashchenko, >> congratulations. Anton Colonov, >> congratulations. >> Peter Lee, >> congratulations. Hayden Lim, congratulations. Jacob Nataline, congratulations. Tandu Sao Ku Nuian, >> congratulations. Tonging Ping, >> congratulations. >> Ronan Seagar, Congratulations, Izzy Eileeno. Congratulations, Chen Kai Shu, >> congratulations. Sa Suzuki, >> congratulations. >> Amy Schwarz, >> congratulations. Ekin, congratulations. Amelia Joon Tonai, >> congratulations. Hang Vu, >> congratulations. >> Sophia Yun, >> and last but certainly not least, Sushin Shen. Heat. All right. All right. All right. All right. Can I have your attention please? >> This concludes the formal awarding of degrees. Some candidates recommended by the Senate for degrees today are unable to be present and their names have therefore not been called. I now admit them to the appropriate degrees as shown in the program. Will the graduating class please rise? I'll follow the directions this time. I congratulate each and every one of you on the completion of your degree. This is truly an impressive achievement. I would now like to ask your family, friends, and everyone assembled here to join me in a round of applause for the graduating class of 2026. Woo! Now, now I'd like to invite you, the members of the graduating class, to reciprocate by applauding your family, friends, faculty, and staff, and all those who helped you reach this goal. Thank you graduates. Please be seated. I would now like to call the VP academic and provo Dian AI to deliver closing remarks on behalf of the board of governors. Thank you, Chancellor Thomas, and it's so lovely to be amidst all this love and joy. Um, on behalf of the board, it is my privilege to welcome you to the celebration of your achievement, creativity, and promise. As we mark this milestone in your journey, we also mark a milestone for Emily Carr as a whole. This graduating class is the largest in our university's history, which significantly reflects the growth and resiliency of the exceptional community to which you belong. As you step forward today, you do so as a part of a creative legacy that is only becoming stronger thanks to each of your individual contributions. The board of governors has the honor of guiding Emar University's long-term vision. That vision includes a university where art and design have the power to drive change and become a reality through your efforts. Nowhere is this inspiration more at the forefront than at the show where your talents, ambitions, and commitment to innovation are on full display. Often we think of innovation as the realm of technology, labs, algorithms, or even engineering. But at Emily Carr, innovation goes beyond those ideas. It lives at the heart of how we ask questions, how we make meaning, and how we imagine what is possible. Innovation means bringing something into the world that didn't exist before, which all of you do, and using creativity as a force for dialogue, inclusion, and transformation. The spirit of innovation in each of you as you push boundaries, take risks, and think forward are all defining traits of this graduating class. It's not just your numbers that set you apart. It's the diversity and depth of the work that you've created while you're here. It's the way you've responded to a rapidly changing world with curiosity, resilience, and bold new ideas. The role of the board of governors is to ensure that Emily Carr remains a place where creative leadership can flourish and a place where students are not only equipped with the skills they need to succeed, but empowered to shape the future for the better. Graduates, whether you're starting a new profession, launching a practice, or forging your own unique path, remember that the world needs what you've learned here, perhaps now more than ever. It needs your imagination. It needs your empathy, and it needs your commitment to questioning and creating. On behalf of the board of governors, I congratulate you. We are all incredibly proud of you and can't wait to see how you continue to invol to evolve your work, your voices, and your expertise. Thank you and congratulations to the class of 2026. Thank you, Vice President Dian. This brings to a close today's convocation ceremony. On behalf of the entire Emily Carr University of Art and Design community and the many honored guests who have joined us here today, I would like to thank you for coming and wish you a wonderful rest of your day. Congratulations all graduates and a special congratulations to all supported you in your educational journey. I'd like to take a brief moment to offer a heartfelt thank you to everyone who made today possible. Our student service staff, IT team, ceremonies and events, and colleagues and departments across ECU who have lent their support. We're also grateful for our friends here at UBC for their collaboration and generosity. I invite all guests who are able to please rise and remain standing until the platform party and the graduating class of 2026 have recessed. Graduates, you'll be marshaled out to the Rose Gardens and your guests can join you there. And graduates are also reminded to please return your rented gowns to the Gasbard which is located at the flag pole plaza. Congratulations to all of you. Hey friends, students, get up and dance. Yo, yo. Hey. Yo, yo. Hey. Yol back up. Everybody separate. Second round. attack. All right. Here we go. Thank you. I love you. Hi Melissa. Hey carrier. You got your flower. Yes. I don't know. What are you waiting for? Thank you very much for your play. It was lovely.