Outstanding Researchers in Mental Health Awarded Hilary M. Weston Scholarship

September 27, 2022

The Hilary M. Weston Scholarship is granted each year to two students enrolled in a full-time graduate level social work program at a publicly funded Ontario university. Applicants must have demonstrated interest in and commitment to mental health issues, as well as outstanding academic achievement. Each successful applicant will receive a one-time award of $7,500.

2022 Hilary M. Weston Scholarship Recipients

Maryam Motia is a PhD candidate in Faculty of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University. Her research combines interviews with arts-based tactics to learn how women’s mental health is impacted by gender, race, culture, class, and migration and can benefit from arts programming.

Maryam’s interest in the mental health of immigrant women is grounded in her academic and practical experience as a family counsellor in Iran. These early years gave her a critical understanding of the overwhelming challenges these women may face, as well as the importance of the right social supports. Her experience as an Iranian, Muslim, racialized immigrant woman here in Canada imbues her with an invaluable perspective on how important a positive post-migration experience is to one’s mental health.

The Hilary M. Weston scholarship will support Maryam’s important path to help immigrant women.

Cassandra Myers is a Master of Social Work student and member of the community at York University. Her academic research seeks to determine the mental health needs of marginalized survivors of sexual violence.

Self-identifying as a disabled, mad, queer, trans, South Asian survivor of sexual violence, Cassandra is uniquely qualified for this under-documented, emerging field of study. Cassandra also brings years of experience working with agencies such as Kids Help Phone Line and Toronto Rape Crisis Centre. As a student, she founded the Ryerson Center for Safer Sex and served on the university’s Board of Governors.

The Hilary M. Weston scholarship will help Cassandra to pursue her academic studies in social work and Mad Studies.