Canisius College

Ten Canisius College students participated in a weeklong service-immersion in Erie, PA, during the college's Winter Service Week (WSW) in early January, 2020. The students stayed at the monastery of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, a group of Catholic, religious women who commit their lives to presence and witness by working for sustainability and justice. Students experienced the Sisters' daily life of prayer and participated each day in their ministries throughout the city.

In January, 14 students from Canisius College traveled to Michigan for a service-immersion in Detroit and Flint as part of the 2020 Winter Service Week. In addition to learning about the effects of deindustrialization on major Rust Belt cities like Detroit, the group studied the origins of the Flint water crisis. Working with local nonprofits and community groups, they explored how history, race and socioeconomics have influenced the history, culture and development of Michigan's Lower Peninsula.

Four Canisius College student-athletes received Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Sports Scholarships. Awarded annually, the scholarships recognize academically deserving Canisius student-athletes from Western New York and Southern Ontario.

Eleven students from Canisius College, including six first-year students, completed a weeklong winter service-immersion in Wheeling, West Virginia, in early January of 2020. The purpose of the trip was to learn about sustainable agriculture and environmental justice and to stand in solidarity with local residents, especially those suffering from homelessness, poverty, food insecurity, addiction and mental illness.

Seven students from Canisius College traveled to Zmiaca, Poland, to volunteer at Dzielo Pomocy Dzieciom camp for three weeks in the summer of 2019. The camp, whose name means "Help for Children," is a privately owned facility for abandoned, abused or neglected children. The student group was accompanied by Kaitlyn Buehlmann, associate campus minister for Canisius. The privately run home, whose name means "Help for Children," was established as an alternative to government-run orphanages.

Eleven Canisius College students participated in the 2019 Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in Washington, DC from November 16-18. The Canisius students joined more than 1,800 members of the Ignatian Family at the largest annual Catholic social justice gathering in the United States to hear from internationally renowned speakers, pray, network, and advocate for justice on Capitol Hill.

Canisius senior men's basketball player Malik Johnson was recently named to the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team, as announced by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference on its annual Preseason Awards Show, which was broadcast on ESPN3. Johnson, who has started all 99 career games played during his time at 2001 Main Street, was an All-MAAC Third-Team choice at the end of the 2018-19 season after he averaged 9.6 points, 4.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game in 32 contests. Johnson and his Golden Griffin teammates officially tip off the 2019-20 basketball season on November 9 when the team plays at Brown.

Canisius senior women's basketball player D'Jhai Patterson-Ricks was recently named to the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team, as announced by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference on its annual preseason awards show, which is broadcast on ESPN3. Last year, Patterson-Ricks averaged 11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in 30 games. In league play, Patterson-Ricks' averages climbed to 12.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. She ended the season ranked 11th in the MAAC in scoring average. Patterson-Ricks and her Golden Griffin teammates officially opened the 2019-20 season November 5. Click here to view the full season schedule.

Canisius College Biology major Lillian Wozniak '22 presented her work titled "Feasibility of Non-Exercise Science Majors to Direct an Exercise Program for High Functioning Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder" at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference of the American College of Sports Medicine in Hershey, PA on Friday, November 1. Wozniak concluded that though desiring additional training, it is possible to train non-exercise science students to accurately implement an exercise program for high-functioning children with Autism. Her work was completed during the summer of 2019 at the Institute for Autism Research under the direction of Karl Kozlowski, PhD, associate professor of kinesiology; Adam Booth, postdoctoral research fellow; Jonathan Rodgers, PhD, assistant professor of psychology; Marcus Thomeer, PhD, professor of teacher education; and Christopher Lopata, PsyD, professor of teacher education. Physical education major Samantha Crane '21 was also involved in the project. Wozniak is the first student from Canisius to be selected to present at this prestigious conference.

After helping lead the Canisius women's swimming and diving team to a season-opening win over Rochester, junior Dana Bender and senior Gianna Cornelia were honored as the MAAC Female Swimmer and Diver of the Week, the conference office announced on Wednesday, October 16. Bender and Cornelia helped lead the Golden Griffins to a 193-102 win over Rochester October 11 in the team's first action of the 2019-20 season.

Canisius College congratulates 18 students who received 2019-20 Western New York Prosperity Fellowships. The prestigious fellowship program identifies the most promising talent in Western New York and immerses students in a robust educational and professional development program, with the goal of developing economic leaders within the community.

Seven students from Canisius College participated in a May 2019 immersion trip to El Salvador and the U.S.-Mexico border between Arizona and Sonora. They were accompanied by John J. Hurley, president of Canisius; his wife, Maureen Hurley; and Kaitlyn Buehlmann, associate campus minister. The purpose of the trip was to understand the underlying causes of migration and foster solidarity with people whose lives have been directly impacted by U.S. and Mexican immigration policies.

Sixteen pre-health students from Canisius College participated in a two-week immersion in Costa Rica. They helped set up free popup clinics and also conducted public health home visits. The trip was organized by Allyson Backstrom, PhD, director of the Dr. George E. Schreiner '43 Pre-Medical Center at Canisius.

Canisius College embarked on its 150th year of educational excellence by welcoming 660 new students to campus (560 first-year students; 100 transfer students) for the 2019-20 academic year. The incoming class represents 224 high schools from 25 states and five countries.

A group of undergraduate students spent their 2019 spring break in northern Belize as part of a field course called Tropical Ecology and Conservation. The elective is offered through the Animal Behavior, Ecology and Conservation (ABEC) program at Canisius.