Huston, who graduated with a master\u2019s degree in Classical Studies, earned the highest academic average in all Humanities graduate programs while competing as a member of the Brock Badgers women\u2019s cross-country team and the women\u2019s track and field team.<\/p>\n
Qualifying and competing at both the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and U SPORTS National Championships for both cross-country and track, Huston was named the women\u2019s cross-country team\u2019s Most Valuable Badger at the Badgers\u2019 year-end awards gala.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would argue that being an athlete makes you better scholar, it\u2019s certainly true for me,” she said. “It’s easy to get consumed by your work, so having a sport that requires you to leave your desk keeps your perspective fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n
In January, she was awarded the 2022-23 Brock Badgers Academic Excellence Award, which honours student-athletes who achieve an average of 80 per cent or higher within their program of study.<\/p>\n
Huston chose Brock for her graduate studies because of the immediate support she received from the Faculty of Humanities. Her graduate research explored how modern media reinterprets and communicates ancient myths of enslaved females in classical Greek and Latin poetry.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost importantly, my research asks how we might see agency for these characters despite their marginalization,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/MiriaPelletier_4-1050x700.jpg\")
<\/a>Brock University Board of Trustees member Kevin Magee (BA \u201914), left, presented Miria Pelletier (BA \u201924, BEd \u201924) with the Spirit of Brock medal Thursday, June 13 during the University\u2019s 115th Convocation.<\/p><\/div>\n
Much like Huston, the faculty support and welcoming environment in Humanities left a lasting impression on Pelletier. An aspiring educator, she graduated from Brock\u2019s Concurrent Teacher Education program with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Bachelor of Education (BEd).<\/p>\n
Hailing from the small Ontario township of St. Clair, Pelletier was driven to get the most out of her university experience. While she has always taken academics seriously, she recognized that getting involved would help her hit her stride at Brock.<\/p>\n
Pelletier took a leap of faith in her first year and joined the Brock University Historical Society (BUHS).<\/p>\n
For the next four years, Pelletier forged lasting connections at BUHS, where she became President and helped to return the club to full capacity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy leadership skills flourished because of the support of the History department, especially returning to campus and planning events\u00a0after pandemic-related closures were over,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Pelletier played a key role in several public history projects, including assisting in the creation of an oral history collection preserving the legacy of the Garden City Arena in St. Catharines as part of Brock\u2019s Sport Oral History Archive<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking on this project deepened my connection to the wider Niagara community by gathering memories through the community collecting event and conducting oral history interviews, which is especially important now that the arena has been torn down,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n One of the most impactful experiences for Pelletier was working as a Learning Services peer facilitator for Student Life and Success, which she began in her fourth year and continued while completing her two-year BEd.<\/p>\n