From sport fields to international classrooms to fast-paced corporate environments, Shelby Steward (BPhEd \u201911, BEd \u201912) has paved the way for positive social change through her community leadership and commitment to education.<\/p>\n
Once a self-proclaimed \u201cshy kid,\u201d Steward stepped into the spotlight when she received the 2025 Faculty of Education Distinguished Graduate Award during Brock University’s recent Homecoming celebrations.<\/p>\n
As a Senior Business Analyst and Chapter Lead (Change Champion) with Telus Health, she\u2019s shaping how health-care professionals across Canada use technology to improve patient care.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had a unique journey, and I\u2019ve always been interested in alternative methods of teaching and learning, especially through using sports and physical activity as a way to learn life skills,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Stewart was deeply engaged with Brock\u2019s campus community while earning her Bachelor of Physical Education and Bachelor of Education at the University.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrock was such a warm and welcoming place. Walking through the halls, you could always find a friendly face. That kind of community support really inspired me, and kickstarted a lot of my personal and professional growth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Experiential education opportunities offered at Brock also played a pivotal role in her career trajectory.<\/p>\n
Study abroad experiences teaching Grade 7 math in South Africa and physical education in El Salvador shaped her global perspective on education, for example, and deepened her belief in the power of sport to transform lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrock gave me the chance to develop leadership and transferrable skills as I designed and led workshops that used sports as an alternative way of learning in global settings; playing a sport is so much more than just a game,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
After completing her degrees, Steward continued to gain international experience teaching Grades 6 to 10 in the United Kingdom. When she returned to Canada, she explored a new direction in her career and drew on her education expertise to work into corporate learning environments.<\/p>\n
In her current role, Steward develops and delivers engaging educational programming that equips teams to train health-care professionals on new technologies so they can better serve patients across the country.<\/p>\n
Her previous role at Telus involved training doctors and medical clinic employees on how to use software for tasks such as recording patient notes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to learn the technology, but the teaching skills and education background I had from Brock helped me fast-track in my career at Telus,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Following a series of rapid promotions, Steward now focuses on business operations and process optimization across Canada, working closely with provincial managers to assess how medical technology training is being delivered and identify opportunities for improvement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like sitting down to a big puzzle every day. I especially love mentoring new team members offering support drawing on my teaching background,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Steward remains a dedicated advocate of the social and developmental benefits of sport \u2014 an accomplished athlete herself \u2014\u00a0as Head Coach and Club Director of Future Girls Soccer, one of the few all-girls soccer academies in Canada.<\/p>\n
Looking back on her career so far, she advises current and future Badgers to trust their instincts.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never know what will find you,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve gone from teaching and recruitment, to being an athlete, to now being in corporate leadership. I never thought I would ever work an office job, and here I am loving it \u2014\u00a0and excited for more.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From sport fields to international classrooms to fast-paced corporate environments, Shelby Steward (BPhEd \u201911, BEd \u201912) has paved the way for positive social change through her community leadership and commitment to education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":105267,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[119,40,1],"tags":[3333,1167,32,98,11988,14892],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105263"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105263"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105272,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105263\/revisions\/105272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}