Burman University has announced the winner in the school’s Psychological Health and Wellness Contest poster contest.
Chloe Lawson, a Red Deer student from Hope Christian On-Line School, won for her poster on anxiety.
Those who took part in the contest, held through the school’s Psychological Department, were asked to help bolster awareness for a specific topic within the field of mental health and wellness.
For her efforts, Lawson was awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Burman as well as $500 in cash.
She also received $300 to go to her charity of choice — Shalom Counselling Centre in Red Deer.
A presentation was made to Shalom staff last week.
“I found out about this project through my school,” said Lawson, adding it was exciting to hear of her accomplishment.
“I was mostly interested in doing it because I was also planning on going to Burman,” she said.
She is registered to begin her studies in education there this fall.
“It was also something that I connected with because a lot of the information I have is based on my own experience, too.
“I wanted to show what (anxiety) is exactly,” she said.
“And then as you go down the poster, you see that there are some ways to help resolve it and to deal with these particular issues.
“I like to study these kinds of things and understand where they are coming from, too. A lot of the advice about how to deal with it is from what I have learned about myself,” she said.
Lawson said she was also pleased to see the donation go to her charity of choice, the Shalom Counselling Centre.
“I really do appreciate how they are a counseling service, and they work with the spiritual side of it in working through the issues people come to use their services for.”
Dr. Carole Anderson, director of program development with Burman’s Psychology Department, said a key part of the contest is about building awareness about Burman, and about health and wellness overall.
“We also wanted to engage more with the community,” she said, adding that another goal was to really engage with Grade 12 students who are considering their options for post-secondary studies.
She also said that including a donation to the contest winner’s charity of choice is also an important part of the event as well.
“It’s about engaging, and about giving back,” she said.
“Also, as a psychology department, we have chosen the area of ‘flourishing’ as a departmental area of research and interest,” she said.
“We want to go beyond just getting rid of (illness), and moving towards mental health and flourishing. That goes along with our spiritual beliefs, too. God is able to help us flourish and to become the best that we can be,” she explained.
“Chloe’s poster was very well done. It was referenced, informative, and it was creative as well.”
“We were encouraging participants to not only have information, but to also be creative in their processes as well,” she said.
“Chloe had the perfect balance with being creative, being informative, and bringing in a spiritual component and also with drawing the reader in.”
For more about Burman University and its psychology department, visit https://www.burmanu.ca/psychology.