Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/609048
FALL 2015 simon 39 (IGALI) THE CANADIAN PRESS OLYMPIC GLORY Former SFU wrestler and criminology student Daniel Igali credits SFU for support- ing his academic, athletic and philanthropic pursuits. R W ROY MIKI Roy Miki has never been afraid to speak his mind, but channelling his convictions through poetry is how he has made his most significant contributions to Canadian society. The son of Japanese-Canadian immigrants who were interned on their Winnipeg farm during the Second World War, Miki had early experiences with discrimination that would later form the basis of his award-winning writing. He completed his master of arts and doctor of philosophy degrees at SFU, and stayed on as a professor while playing a key role in the Japanese redress movement. He has received the Governor General's Award for poetry and is a member of the Order of Canada, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a member of the Order of British Columbia. W Canadian dance pioneer Grant Strate founded York Univer- sity's department of dance, then came to SFU to direct the Centre for the Arts until 1989, and the Summer Institute of the Contemporary Arts until his retirement as a professor emeritus in 1994. A member of the Order of Canada and recipient of an honorary doctorate from SFU, he passed away in early 2015. W Most people would love to find a cure for cancer, but only a handful of people actually get to do it. Steven Jones, pro- fessor of molecular biology and biochem- istry at SFU, is one of those people. The 1994 SFU master of science grad now leads the largest bio- informatics group in Canada at the Genome Sciences Centre, part of the BC Cancer Research Centre. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. DANIEL IGALI Winning gold for Canada at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, was like coming full circle for Daniel Igali. Born and raised in one of Nigeria's poorest towns, Igali grew up literally having to wrestle for food with his 20 siblings. In 1994, Igali arrived in Canada to compete in the Commonwealth Games as the African National Champion. He stayed in B.C., gaining refugee status, and applied to SFU for its wrestling program and School of Criminology. As a member of the Clan wrestling team, Igali won 116 consecutive wrestling matches. "SFU sup- ported me in all facets of my development," says Igali. As he stood on the podium a few years later to accept his Olympic medal, Igali honoured his adoptive country by draping himself in the Canadian flag, then placing the flag on the ground and dancing around it, securing his place in Canadian history. Winning Olympic gold helped pave the way to Igali's next big dream: giving back to his hometown. "Aside from my education and sports, SFU was also very influential in my volunteering and charity endeavours," he says. Over the course of six years, with support from SFU, Igali established a foundation and successfully raised the $600,000 necessary to build a state-of-the- art school in his village equipped with 11 classrooms, a gym, an auditorium, a library, a computer room and a six-room accommodation complex. "As a young man growing up, my community greatly supported my ambitions to be a decent wres- tler," says Igali. "By engaging my community now, it helps to inspire and propel the ambitions of many young men and women who otherwise would have settled for peasant fishing and farming." C H A MP IONS , INNO VATORS , DOERS + C H A NGE M A K ERS