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Fellowship Reaches Five
With the milestone announcement this week of the fifth individual to hold the Bruce-Lockhart Fellowship for Academic Excellence, this is an excellent time to look back on the history of the program.
The Fellowship was launched in 2021 to bring in an outstanding local, national or international educator to Shawnigan for one year, with the idea of shedding light on aspects of academics that the School may not have previously explored. It was named in recognition of the outstanding service to Shawnigan delivered by former headmaster Simon Bruce-Lockhart (1990-2000) and his wife Joanne (1990-2007). In addition to joining the faculty, each Fellow is given time and resources to work on a passion project.
Since its inception, the Fellowship has become an integral part of academics at Shawnigan.
“The Bruce-Lockhart Fellowship for Academic Excellence has been a cornerstone for driving educational innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and scholarly rigour at Shawnigan Lake School,” said Head of Academics and Leadership Development Mrs. Sharon Klein. “Besides providing an amazing opportunity for an outstanding educator, the Fellowship enables all Shawnigan faculty to engage in innovative teaching practices and explore new perspectives. These new practices over the past few years have been transformative. Through the recipients' leadership, new courses and dynamic curricula have been developed, ranging from Indigenous engagement initiatives to digital literacy pathways. Past recipients have designed new courses, and innovative teaching methodologies, such as the Harkness methodology. This work has significantly elevated overall academic program quality, expanded professional development across departments, and enriched The Shawnigan Journey for our entire student body.”
The first holder of the Fellowship was Ms. Lisa Jokivirta, who joined the English department for the 2021-22 school year. A teacher of social justice, Ms. Jokivirta studied at the University of Victoria, the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, and the UN-mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica. She also lived with the Sámi people of Finland for seven years as part of her studies, and taught at the universities of Cambridge, Arizona State, Lapland, and Greenland, as well as United World College Red Cross Nordic before coming to Shawnigan.
The other four Fellows all continue to contribute to the School as faculty members.
Ms. Andrea Robertson came on board for the 2022-23 school year as a social sciences teacher, having previously taught economics, global politics, social studies, and language and literature. In addition to teaching a full slate of classes at Shawnigan, Ms. Robertson worked with Shawnigan’s social studies department, addressing topics like how to continue to develop good historical practices while being both respectful of history and reflective of current values. Ms. Robertson also collaborated with economics and business educators from other schools to bring their students together for learning and sharing opportunities.
Mr. Mark Henry took on the Fellowship for 2024-25 after spending the previous 20 years in Scotland, first studying history at the University of St. Andrews, then teaching at Fettes College, a private school in Edinburgh. He brought a focus on the Harkness learning method, a discussion-based format based on the Socratic method that encourages critical thinking, empathy, and collaboration that preserves “a truly human education” in the age of artificial intelligence.
The fourth Fellow was Mrs. Sarah Teunis-Russ, who, unlike the previous educators to fill the role, was already on staff at the School, and didn’t come in with a teaching background. Mrs. Teunis-Russ was already working as Shawnigan’s archivist and curator when she added the Bruce-Lockhart Fellowship responsibilities to her role for 2025-26. She worked predominantly with the social studies department, a natural fit with her history-related work as archivist and curator. She also did additional research and took courses to prepare herself for the role.
That brings us to this year’s Bruce-Lockhart Fellow, Dr. Brad Necyk. Dr. Necyk is teaching in the digital media and computer science program as a member of the Fine Arts department. Dr. Necyk has a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics and Law, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Intermedia, a Master of Fine Arts in Intermedia, and a PhD in Psychiatry, all from the University of Alberta. Dr. Necyk received the Governor General’s Gold Medal for his PhD. He followed that up with postdoctoral research at York University and UC Santa Cruz and brings expertise in creative artificial intelligence, agentic workflows, and computational art.
In addition to his classes, Dr. Necyk is leading a 360 (co-curricular) called AI Explorations of Creativity (AIX). In the program, students will explore coding, visual effects, 3D worlds, and new technologies to bring their imaginations to life by creating images and video.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 12 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
