Antigonish native and STFX student Oliver Storseth is a 3M National Student Fellowship Award
Oliver Storseth (St. FX University photo)
winner.
Storseth, an advanced chemistry major , student is one of 10 students in Canada to earn the award, which honours full-time diploma and undergraduate students at Canadian post-secondary institutions who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in their lives and at their post-secondary institutions.
Dr. Angie Kolen, a professor at StFX, nominated Storseth for the award.
Helping create inclusion for all has played a pivotal role in his life since Grade 11 Storseth began coaching Unified Sport basketball, a program that includes individuals of all abilities in sport using an equitable platform, where inclusion, not winning, is at the forefront.
He worked as a summer camp counsellor for L’Arche Antigonish, working with a team of four counsellors to support 15 children living with intellectual disabilities. When COVID-19 cancelled camps, he reached out and did respite care with a couple of families.
Storseth, who is also a members of the STFX men’s soccer team, has also coached a Special Olympics soccer team, which won a provincial silver medal. At StFX, he took part in X-Chem Outrearch, is an elite leader in the StFX Student Athlete Leadership Academy, a formal program aimed at developing leadership skills, and has completed and delivered Bystander training to the X-Men soccer team.
Most recently, he successfully started Unified at X at StFX, which brought people living with physical and mental disabilities together with StFX varsity student-athletes every second week to participate in various sports.
He said he was surprised and honoured to learn of the achievement.
Storseth said he looks forward to meet the other recipients at a conference in June in Charlottetown.