Class Notes

Catch up on classmates, housemates, faculty, and friends.

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Marking career and personal achievements, special milestones and the birth of future Queen's alumni - Class Notes helps you stay in touch with former classmates, housemates, and faculty.

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  • Dr. Jill Price, Class Notes

    2020s

    Dr. Jill Price

    – PhD’24

    Interdisciplinary artist Dr. Jill Price continues her research into UN/making as a creative act within her current exhibition, From There to Here: Walking for Tomorrow, which will be shown at the Art Gallery of Mississauga in May of 2026. For the exhibition, Price used detritus collected from a year of walking and cleaning beaches to create a multi-media installation of sound, video, assemblage, museological display, and text-based art. The intent of the exhibit is to draw attention to the variety of trash that threatens living bodies of land and water. The exhibition was shown at the MacLaren Art Centre, June-October 2025, located in Barrie, Ont. 

    An image taken of the exhibition From There to Here: Walking for Tomorrow at the MacLaren Art Centre, 2025. Jill Price acknowledges the support of the Ontario Arts Council.

  • 2000s

    Ani Colekessian

    – Artsci’07

    Ani received the Jean Royce Fellowship for the research and writing of her debut novel. Blending historical research and creative storytelling, the novel explores how everyday people survive and enable systemic violence. Drawing on her own family history in both the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust, the novel will try to humanize these events through the lens of ordinary lives while addressing questions of complicity, survival, and the social conditions that allow violence to take root. For nearly 20 years, Ani has fought for human rights in Canada and around the world. She recently left her senior leadership and communications role at Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights to focus on the project full time.  

  • 2020s

    Dr. Jill Price 

    – PhD’24

    Interdisciplinary artist Dr. Jill Price continues her research into UN/making as a creative act within her current exhibition, From There to Here: Walking for Tomorrow, which will be shown at the Art Gallery of Mississauga in May of 2026. For the exhibition, Price used detritus collected from a year of walking and cleaning beaches to create a multi-media installation of sound, video, assemblage, museological display, and text-based art. The intent of the exhibit is to draw attention to the variety of trash that threatens living bodies of land and water. The exhibition was shown at the MacLaren Art Centre, June–October 2025, located in Barry, Ont. 

  • 1980s

    Robert Burgman

    – Sc’85

    Robert has been promoted to director of engineering for Ashland, a global specialty chemicals company. He is responsible for managing the company's capital expenditures and overseeing a department that executes large construction projects internationally.

  • 1960s

    Arja Elisabet Hamalainen 

    – Arts'69

    Arja is a retired social worker and teacher, living in Kingston. A member of the Kingston Frontenac Rotary Club for 11 years, Arja was president of the club last year and is currently a member of the ways and means committee, which is involved in fundraising. Arja would welcome hearing from alums.

  • Robert Gardiner and Laura van Wyngaarden, Class Note

    2020s

    Robert Gardiner and Laura van Wyngaarden

    – Artsci’21 and Artsci’20

    Fall 2025

    Robert and Laura have gotten married after dating for over seven years. They met at Queen's completely by chance on St. Patrick's Day 2018 at the corner of University Avenue and Earl Street. Robert was walking down the sidewalk with some friends when he bumped into Laura and her friends. They started talking about a house party that was going on across the street and continued speaking with each other for half an hour, finally exchanging numbers. They went on their first date a week later. They’ve been best friends ever since and now reside in Carleton Place, Ont., where they own a home and are working in their dream careers. They still return to the spot where they met every year.