Student awarded doctoral fellowship

Royal Roads student Ginelle Giacomin has been awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship valued at $60,000 over three years.

A student in the Doctor of Social Sciences program, Giacomin’s research aims to understand the impact of sexual exploitation of Indigenous women who are attending post-secondary school while raising children. Guided by community Elders and Knowledge Keepers, her research will explore how those who have experienced trauma can become valued child and youth care workers when offered the appropriate education and cultural supports.

Giacomin says she believes opportunities like this can be life changing for mothers, their families and the wider community.

“By empowering Indigenous parents as they raise their children, cycles of abuse, poverty, exploitation, addiction, and system involvement are being broken in our community,” she says.

Giacomin is one of 540 doctoral researchers across the country to receive $26 million over the next four years through SSHRC funding, announced by Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Navdeep Bains Nov. 2.

A SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship supports high-calibre students to complete their studies, while researching critical social issues.