Patti-Anne Tracey and Victoria Morley, two fourth year students in StFX’s Gerald Schwartz School of Business, have been recognized as exceptional business students and future leaders.
Each has been awarded $30,000 as a 2020-21 recipient of the Frank H. Sobey Awards for Excellence in Business Studies.
The two fourth year StFX students are among nine business students, studying at Atlantic Canadian universities, to receive the award this year. The award was started in 1989 to support the development of future business leaders and business programs in Atlantic Canadian universities. Recipients are chosen by a Board of Directors, comprised of Atlantic Canadian business and academic leaders, and are based on entrepreneurial experience and interest, academic standing, extracurricular and community activities, and career aspirations.
“I could not be more pleased with the recognition of Patti-Anne and Victoria as 2020-21 Sobeys Scholars. They both have demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit and a tremendous commitment to service within the Schwartz School, the university, and within their respective home communities. They are exemplars of the type of students we strive to attract to StFX – academically focused, socially engaged and service oriented. They have brought great pride to all of us in the Gerald Schwartz School of Business,” says StFX Dean of Business Dr. Tim Hynes.
Ms. Tracey of Antigonish, NS is completing a BBA with a major in management and leadership. She also is a member of the X-Women hockey team. She says she is thrilled and overjoyed to be a recipient of the Frank H. Sobey Award for Excellence in Business Studies.
“Knowing my hard work, passion, dedication, and leadership throughout my time in university is reflected in this award is a humbling feeling. This award will be an incredible asset to my personal growth, and it will allow me to continue to pursue my educational dreams,” she says.
"I want to express my gratitude to the Schwartz School of Business professors and administration, the StFX Athletics Department, the campus community, my hometown Antigonish community, and most importantly, my family, for their incredible support throughout the last four years at StFX. I take so much pride in the people here, the community spirit, and the encouragement we have for one another. It has been a dream being a business student and representing StFX. I am looking forward to entering the professional sphere and applying my newfound knowledge and leadership skills towards my next journey.”
Ms. Morley, a BBA honours in enterprise systems student from Collingwood, ON, says she is “absolutely honoured to be a recipient of the Frank H. Sobey award. Throughout my time at StFX, I have worked hard to do my best and persevere despite facing difficult external challenges. It feels incredibly fulfilling to see that perseverance pay off, and to be a recipient of this award that will allow me to pursue further education and continue on a positive trajectory. I feel indebted to my peers and the faculty at StFX for their unwavering support of my endeavours over the last four years.”
Both students have made tremendous contributions to the StFX community and beyond.
Ms. Morley has served for the past three years in three different positions on the Schwartz Business Society executive, including this year as president. She currently serves as an executive member of the Best Buddies Society at StFX and is a Best Buddy herself.
She is passionate about raising awareness for services and supports for grieving young people. In fact, her honours thesis seeks to leverage data analytics to understand the prevalence of childhood bereavement in Canada. In October 2021, she plans to travel to Nepal to climb to the Mount Everest base camp as part of a fundraising campaign that will benefit Season’s Centre for Grieving Children in honour of her late brother. Since age 18, she has backpacked 12 countries.
Ms. Morley received an Alumni Recognition Award in 2019 and was awarded a Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Scholarship that same year. She received the EDC International Business Scholarship Award in 2020, as well as the Tanenbaum Canada-Israel Exchange Scholarship, which she completed a semester abroad at IDC Herzliya, Israel, virtually due to COVID-19. She represented StFX twice as a delegate at the Model United Nations Conference in New York City, and has competed at four case competitions across Canada. She plans to complete a master’s degree abroad after graduation from StFX.
Ms. Tracey has been a part of the StFX Athletics Leadership Academy as an elite leader and is co-chair of the SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Council).
Through support from the Wallace Family Entrepreneurship Fund, she, along with a teammate, created an educational training platform about sexual violence in athletics. Their website provides sexual violence prevention materials and training resources to Canadian sport organizations and coaches.
She also helped develop the concept of the X-Connects podcast to help people cope with the isolation that resulted from COVID-19. The project was intended to enhance connections within the StFX community and to give individuals a stronger feeling of community to help them navigate through the difficult period.
Ms. Tracey was also a student volunteer for three years at L’Arche Antigonish and was the program director of a four week Social Innovation Bootcamp (supported by Enactus StFX). She is a three-time U Sports Academic All-Canadian and is a Schwartz Women in Business Recognition Award recipient.
She has been accepted and will pursue a Corporate Residency MBA at Dalhousie University after completing her BBA at StFX.
