Our Alumni
Memorial University
Emily Inder
Fry Family Foundation Dean's Leadership Award in Education, 2023
Fry Family Foundation Dean's Leadership Award in Education, 2023
Emily Inder is the recipient of the FFF Dean’s Leadership Award in Education. Emily has spent time using her knowledge in French to explore and continue her learning with the hope to inspire young learners. Following her recent teaching internship, she attended a national conference organized by the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers (CASLT) which afforded her the opportunity to gain rich experiential knowledge. This experience was invaluable in guiding her future teaching practices. Emily has been successful in leading various recreational programs within the Town of Grand Falls-Windsor where she values building community connections with all members of her community. Her intention is to keep the French language alive in small communities by allowing children to discover French in a fun, inclusive, and educational environment. Outside of school, Emily takes any opportunity she can to travel and see the world. Cultural and language exchange are both integral parts of her lifelong learning. She takes every opportunity to explore the island of Newfoundland in order to broaden her perspective and become an impactful educator. She is looking forward to encouraging children in all aspects of their learning by supporting them, guiding them, and forming connections academically, socially and emotionally.
Emily completed a mural at Woodland Primary School in Grand Falls-Windsor and said, "I wouldn’t call myself much of an artist! I have never been strictly in to painting or drawing, however I never turn down a chance to be creative or do something fun! I recently completed my internship at Woodland Primary and have spent much time there over the years. I attended this school from Kindergarten to Grade 3 and have made so many amazing memories and connections within the school. The individuals at Woodland Primary (from the children all the way up to the administration) has had such an immense impact on my learning over the past many years - both as a child and a student intern. Their school values connection and creativity above all, and it only seemed fitting that I do something like this for them."
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Emily explained the rationale behind the mural, "The principal of the school is actually planning her retirement this year and she has had such a large influence on my learning from when I was a child up until now. When she brought forth the idea of a mural, of course I was on board- I always love a challenge! Her and I collaborated to find something that would be fitting for their school as well as incorporated students and staff. We came up with the quote 'Everything that is real was imagined first' from the Velveteen Rabbit. This mural was inspired by a similar one we found online (by agirlandagluegun.com), but was the perfect fit for Woodland Primary. The incorporation of children’s literature throughout the mural was the driving factor for us and made for an incredible learning opportunity for everyone involved. The process of creating the mural included so many teaching moments; “Mme Inder, why is there a 99 at the beginning and the end of the sentence?” (quotation marks!), “Mme Inder, why did you draw everything in pencil first?” (process!), and my favourite of all “Did you ask Mrs. Barry if you could draw on the walls?”(in which they searched high and low for her to make sure I got permission!). The three weeks spent in the hallways of Woodland Primary not only included learning opportunities for the children, but also for myself. The curiosity and wondering of a child’s mind is such a force when it comes to education and gave me the chance to share something so special with the children of Woodland Primary. After some long days spent painting on the walls, my final idea was to include the staff and students - after all, I couldn’t have done it without them! Through some conversation and collaboration with staff members and students, we finally decided on a 'fingerprint rainbow' located on the far right of the mural. Class by class, I took students out to stamp their little thumbprints on to the wall and weren’t they excited! After watching me paint and draw on the walls, it was only right they got to do the same. After all students left their mark, the staff of Woodland Primary stamped their thumbprints throughout the rainbow in white - that creates an impactful contrast and symbol of trust and completion. Overall, the learning that happened in the halls of the school over the past few weeks (for both myself and the children) is something I will never be able to recreate and something I will cherish forever."