Joseph Flores selected for the Alex Foto Memorial Award

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Joseph Flores on his field placement
International Development student Joseph Flores is the 2017 Alex Foto Memorial Award recipient. He receives $1,000 to support the costs of his fourth-year field placement in Ghana, where he is working with local communities who are trying to protect their watershed and water supply from environmental threats.

Joseph has been active with ME to WE and other social justice work, including leading a campaign against unethical mining practices while in high school, and he has served as a peer success coach at the Student Success Office. He has also managed The Unaccompanied Minors, a local a cappella group.

鈥淎lex Foto鈥檚 legacy is something that has touched me during my time at 蓝莓视频 and makes me very proud to be an International Development student,鈥 Joseph wrote. 鈥淚 even had a chance to volunteer alongside Alex at a WE Day event in Toronto a few years ago, from which her passion and leadership have always stuck with me and inspire me to this day.鈥

Gr谩inne Ryder, manager of International Development field placements at St. Paul鈥檚, said, 鈥淛oseph's commitment to social and environmental justice is outstanding. He鈥檚 been involved with these issues for many years and I am delighted he is the recipient this year.鈥

The Alex Foto Memorial Award was created to honour Alex Foto鈥檚 legacy and inspire others to 鈥渓ive like Alex.鈥 She was a charismatic St. Paul鈥檚 student studying International Development who cared deeply about humanitarian and anti-poverty issues, but passed away in a tragic accident in 2014.

The award is given annually to a student studying International Development at the University of 蓝莓视频 and is embarking on the fourth-year field placement. The field placements are made in partnership with .