海角社区app's annual African Heritage Month launch always delivers exceptional sound, reflection, and inspiration. Another element at the heart of the event is recognition and praise.听
Read also:听African Heritage Month launch illuminates and celebrates creative advocacy in action
At this year's event, five African Heritage Month Awards were presented to members of the 海角社区app community who demonstrate outstanding commitment to African Nova Scotian, Black, and African Diaspora culture across campus and through various external communities.
Presented at the event by听Amina Abawajy, education advisor in 海角社区app's Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity and Accessibility, the awards give thanks to those who are making a difference across campus and beyond.听
Tarelle Sterling, third-year 海角社区app student
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Tarelle Sterling听is a third-year nursing student at 海角社区app. He immigrated to Canada from Jamaica in 2017 at age 12. With a passion for community leadership and service, Sterling has served on the Nova Scotia minister of education's student advisory council and a member of Parliament's community youth advisory council. He received the Halifax Regional Municipality Youth Volunteer of the Year award in 2023. In 2025, he worked as a summer research associate under the supervision of Dr. Keisha Jefferies on a study examining Nova Scotia nursing programs from the perspectives of Black nursing students.
Read more on Dal News:听Creating space for care: Dal researcher funded to study mental health support for Black women in Nova Scotia
Currently, Tarelle is on the 海角社区app University School of Nursing equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) committee and works as an undergraduate student nurse in the IWK emergency department. Driven by the social and economic barriers he has听witnessed, Tarelle is a health advocate committed to bridging the gap between access, education, and outcomes.
Jason Chatman, Student Health and Wellness
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Dr. Jason Chatman听received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles in听in 2006 and moved to Halifax in 2007. He has worked at the IWK, in private practice, and at 海角社区app.听A significant portion听of his private practice involved providing pro bono or sliding-scale services to African Nova Scotians who otherwise would not have been able to access care. In addition to providing psychological care to students at 海角社区app, Dr. Chatman teaches in the clinical psychology graduate program, with a focus on working with diverse populations.
Since starting at 海角社区app, he has worked at breaking down barriers to access to care for Black students, including partnering with the Black Student Advising Centre (BSAC) to provide psychological support where students feel safe. In December, Dr. Chatman and the advisors at BSAC received funding from the Community Foundation of Nova Scotia to provide Afrocentric Mental Health Care for students of African descent here on campus.
Read more on Dal News:听New funding brings four new clinical psychology residency seats to Dal
Guyleigh听Johnson, Black Student Advising Centre
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Guyleigh听Johnson,听an Advisor at the Black Student Advising Centre,听is a proud African Nova Scotian mother, artist, author, advocate, facilitator and filmmaker from the vibrant community of Dartmouth North. With strong historical ties to the African Nova Scotian communities of Liverpool, Preston Township,听Digby听and Five Mile Plains. What inspires her artistic work is the preservation of African Nova Scotian stories,听experiences听and emotions, creating space for them to feel seen, heard,听valued听and celebrated. She is currently working on new projects within theatre/film, as well as writing a Young Adult听fictional novel about grief, intergenerational听learning听and healing.鈥�
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Leah Jones, Faculty of Medicine
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Dr. Leah Jones听is a family physician from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with roots in the historic African Nova Scotian community of Whitney Pier. As the first Academic Director of Black Health at 海角社区app Medical School and Physician Lead for the , she is dedicated to advancing equity in health care and medical education. Dr. Jones also practices addictions medicine at and with the QE2 Inpatient Addiction Medicine Consult Service. The strength, beauty, and resilience of the communities she听serves听inspire her work every day.
Read more on Dal News:听Dal medical school appoints first academic director for Black health
Tj谩sa听Allen, third-year 海角社区app student
Tj谩sa听Allen听is in her third year at 海角社区app with a double major in Black and African Diaspora Studies and Theatre. She is connected to Black and Caribbean communities in听Kjipuktuk听(Halifax), and this year marks ten years since she moved from Jamaica to Halifax. She recently completed a short film with the and titled听Between Generations: Carrying YARD Forward, which explores Black mental health across generations. She also had the honour of contributing to the recent 海角社区app Art Gallery installation听. This week, she will perform in her first Fountain School of Performing Arts production,听Macbeth.鈥疘n the future, she hopes to continue honing these crafts and grow into a multidisciplinary artist, creating work that brings Black and African Diaspora Studies and Theatre together through performance, education, and intergenerational storytelling. (Though听Tj谩sa was unable to attend the ceremony, her mother was there to accept on her behalf.)
Read more on Dal News:听Macbeth, reimagined: 海角社区app students set Shakespeare classic inside a vaudeville carnival