Celebrated Alumni Award

Michael Burak BA'12 (Linguistics & Languages) BA'12 (Spanish)

Burak graduated from the Faculty of Arts in 2012 with two BA’s in Linguistics and Languages and Spanish, respectively. During his time on campus he founded the University of Calgary Translation Association which became the inspiration for the successful business he runs today. Burak is founder and CEO of Languages in Motion Ltd, a company dedicated to providing certified translators and interpreters for individuals, small-medium size businesses and large corporations, with the ability to provide service in 65 languages. 

Valerie Pruegger BA'89 (Psychology), MSc'91 (Psychology)

Pruegger earned her honours BA and an MSc in psychology before ultimately going on to do her PhD in industrial/organizational psychology and cross cultural psychology at Queen’s University. She eventually returned to UCalgary as an assistant professor in psychology. Throughout her career Pruegger has worked tirelessly to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in our community. Among her positions, she has served as executive director of the Calgary Multicultural Centre, diversity education consultant for the Calgary Police, and as a research social planner for the City of Calgary. She is currently the director of the University of Calgary’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Protected Disclosure.

Lourdes Juan BGs’05, Medes’10,

Juan is the founder of Hive Developments, an urban planning firm, and Soma Hammam & Spa which focuses on traditional treatments. Juan is also the founder of Leftovers Foundation, an organization which rescues food from being thrown in the garbage and ensures it gets to service agencies in need. The Leftovers Foundation benefits local agencies such as the Calgary Drop-In Centre, Calgary Interfaith Food Bank, Alpha House, Making Changes Association and Inn from the Cold. 

Vincent Ho BMus’98,

Ho is the Artistic Director of Calgary’s Land’s End Chamber Music Ensemble. Most recently he was appointed as the New Music Advisor for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a composer of orchestral, chamber, vocal, and theatre music. His works have been described as “brilliant and compelling” by The New York Times. His many awards have included Harvard University’s Fromm Music Commission, The Canada Council for the Arts Robert Fleming Prize, and the ASCAP’s Morton Gould Young Composer Award. 

Derek Beaulieu BA ’96, (English);
MA ’04(English), BEd, ’08

Beaulieu is a past Calgary Poet Laureate, an instructor at ACAD, a prolific author and a champion of Calgary’s arts community. In partnership with the Calgary Chamber and Calgary Arts Development, he spearheaded  the Artist in the Workplace initiative, pairing businesses that have vacant offices with artist in need of affordable spaces.

Jill Drader BGS ’05, (Development Studies)

Drader is the CEO and founder of projects that coach and mentor women who want to get started in trades, including Steel Toe Stiletto, Women in Work Boots, and the online training site Business in Work Boots. In 2014 she was included in Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 list.

Douglas Hagedorn BA ’07 (Urban Studies); MSc ’11 (Geography)

Hagedorn is the CEO of Tactalis, a tech startup he founded in 2012. The company develops tactile tablet computer systems that help blind and visually impaired individuals use digital media that they cannot see. This revolutionary technology allows users to interact with maps, apps, diagrams, games, spreadsheets and graphics.