Arctica Cunningham and Sukhpreet Buttar will be the 2018 Valedictorians at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC).
“It’s intimidating but a really big honor to be chosen as UNBC’s Valedictorian,” says Cunningham “During my time here I have had the opportunity to interact with so many other amazing students so I’m truly grateful that they have selected me to represent the graduating class.”
Cunningham grew up in Telkwa, BC and is graduating with her Bachelor of Arts degree with a joint major in Environmental Studies and Political Science and a minor in Global Studies.
She says her decision to begin her educating process at UNBC was an easy one.
“When I saw that UNBC offered a joint major in Environmental Studies and Political Science, I felt like all my interests were coming together, and I knew I that I had found the perfect school,” she said. “It is impossible to pick just one thing that I enjoyed the most, but I would say the campus culture, in general, is incredible, with so many events and activities happening all the time. Students have so many opportunities to share their passions and it is easy to get involved with new things.”
Her resume during her time at UNBC is quite impressive and includes:
- Volunteering with various student clubs and societies (Debate, Political Science, Students for a Green University) and organizations (Prince George Public Interest Research Group)
- Cunningham first served as the Academic Representative on the Northern Undergraduate Student Society representing student interests at UNBC meetings and then in April 2016 was elected President.
- Responsible for all internal and external relations, financial management and budgeting processes and navigated the student union through some challenging times.
- In her fifth year, she sat on UNBC’s Board of Governors as an elected undergraduate student representative.
Cunningham says although the educating process was a tough one for herself and her classmates, it was definitely worth it.
“I’m sure what I’ll remember most are all of the moments I have shared with the people I have spent my time with. I will especially miss the student organizations I was involved with as I learned so much from my experiences in roles with student government.”
Cunningham and Buttar will each give a brief speech during the Prince George convocation celebrations on May 25 at the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre.