The Alumni Service Award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated an extraordinary level of commitment, dedication and volunteer service to the University of Alberta. Here are the 2021 recipients:
Kristina Milke, '94 BCom
They say time is money, but when it’s Kristina Milke's time — freely given to Edmonton's entrepreneurial community — it's even more valuable. Milke is one of 20 founding mentors of the U of A's ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service (VMS). A long-serving VMS board member who recently took over as its chair, Milke has helped the program grow to 120 volunteer mentors who have collectively helped more than 95 alumni ventures. Her expertise comes from a professional and volunteer career that has included leadership roles at Intuit Canada, Investopedia and Valhalla Angels; she is now a partner at Sprout Fund, which she co-founded in 2018 to support early-stage technology companies. Milke's commitment to coaching comes from her first-hand knowledge that every road to success is built with help from others.
Kairi Pawlick, '05 BSc(CivEng)
Kairi Pawlick's civil engineering degree means she knows how to build neighbourhoods, but her skill in engaging smart, talented young people means she's a builder of communities, too. Pawlick's busy volunteer schedule with community, professional and academic associations started in 2013 when she took on a senior volunteer role with NextGen, eventually becoming co-chair of the Edmonton initiative, which is committed to giving the next generation a voice in the city's future. In 2017, Pawlick channelled what she learned from NextGen into starting a new volunteer-powered organization — the Faculty of Engineering's Young Alumni Council (EnggYAC) — to help the faculty connect with its ever-growing cohort of new graduates. Whether she’s organizing professional development events or networking nights at a brewpub, Pawlick inspires fellow alumni and other young Edmontonians to become great leaders.
