For Larissa Lobo (PhD ’26) and Ivie Omoregie (BSc ’26), growing as leaders has meant stepping outside their comfort zones and finding ways to support others.

The new Brock University graduates received the Board of Trustees Spirit of Brock medal on Tuesday, June 9 for their impactful leadership and community engagement.

“I try to be as active as possible in the Brock community,” said Lobo, whose PhD research focused on adolescent health and well-being.

During her time at Brock, she served as Vice-President, External Affairs with the Graduate Students’ Association and graduate student representative on the Brock University Senate; contributed to several policy-related committees; and worked for Brock Recreation, leading lifeguard and first-aid training sessions across campus.

As a youth engagement co-ordinator for the World Health Organization’s Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study, Lobo helped ensure young people were directly involved in adolescent health research.

Her qualitative research explored how youth perceived participating in risk-taking, challenging common negative assumptions about adolescent risk behaviour.

“Youth are actually very resilient,” she said. “Depending on their experiences and contexts, many engaged in prosocial risks, leaning towards viewing risk as a positive thing — being able to grow, develop and push themselves out of their comfort zone.”

A first-generation post-secondary student, she arrived at Brock after completing a master’s degree at Ontario Tech University, where her supervisor encouraged her to explore doctoral studies and seek out a mentor whose research aligned with hers.

“Your graduate supervisor can absolutely make or break your program and whether you actually enjoy graduate studies,” said Lobo, who was supervised by Professor of Health Sciences William Pickett.

According to Lobo, Brock’s close-knit community allowed her to build meaningful relationships with faculty and peers.

“Brock’s medium-sized campus lends itself perfectly to facilitating hands-on experience and forming connections,” she said.

Like Lobo, Omoregie said community shaped her experience at Brock, though she struggled to find it at first.

The Nursing graduate came to Brock looking for a university where she wouldn’t feel “like one in a million.”

Looking to connect with other Black students on campus, she decided to find and build the community she wanted.

Omoregie became involved with the Black Students’ Association (BLSA) and later worked as a peer assistant with the Black Student Success Centre after it opened during her second year.

The experience pushed her to take on leadership roles and advocate for other students.

“It’s OK to step into the light,” she said.

Inspired by her mentor Jason Ineh, BLSA’s co-founder, Omoregie said she learned to embrace uncomfortable situations and encouraged others to do the same.

“This laid the foundation of where I am today,” she said.

Wanting to create additional support for Nursing students, Omoregie founded the Black Nursing Students’ Association, which offers mentorship, resources and a safe space for students navigating academics and clinical placements.

“It feels kind of like being a big sister,” she said.

Through clinical placements across Niagara Health and Hamilton Health Sciences, Omoregie discovered a passion for labour and delivery nursing and now works full time as a labour and delivery nurse.

She aims to combine leadership and mentorship with patient care throughout her career.

“If you don’t speak up, how is anyone supposed to know that you’re going through something?” she said.

Both Omoregie and Lobo encourage students to connect with their communities.

“Get involved because you never know until you actually try it,” Lobo said.