Judy Half ‘94 BA joined Alumni Council in June 2021 as the Faculty of Native Studies representative. In her first year on Council, she participated in Alumni Council’s Indigenous Alumni Connections Task Force. 

The role of alumni council members is to provide invaluable feedback on the strategies and programs that strengthen the University’s relationship with the alumni community. With a long history of volunteerism in her community, Judy brings a wealth of information to this role and her work at the U of A, well informed by her lived experiences and educational background. In addition to her BA, she has gone on to complete a Master of Arts and Integrated Studies with the Heritage Management Diploma from Athabasca University. She is currently finishing her Ph.D. at the University of Calgary. 

Judy’s experiences are important to her and help her to both recognize and voice the gaps in our education system, noting the differences in how Indigenous peoples have been represented historically, and the significance of recovering from the trauma of Residential schools. While academia is an important part of this, it is essential to also bring the human element back to these conversations. 

Volunteering and mentoring have really helped her to develop her leadership skills. One of her favorite volunteering memories is one of her blanket exercise offerings; despite it being an early Saturday morning she was glad to see everyone's willingness to show up and learn about the experiences of Indigenous peoples from a human rights context. 

Judy’s advice to future volunteers is to “get started” so that they can be the voice for their own experiences.