When Pamela Agada was name Dalhousieās International Student of the Year at the Dalhousie Impact Awards, she received the honour a little sheepishly.
āIām like āoh, my godā and I can see myself acting the fool on the camera,ā she says. āIt was a really long walk to the stage.ā
While the award wasnāt a complete surprise, Ms. Agada hadnāt even expected to be nominated originally. āThe first person who nominated me was my friend Camille Outerbridge from Bermuda,ā she says. āI was like, āWhy would you nominate me?āā¦ I felt really, really touched that anybody would notice the things I do, because I do them for myself.ā
Ms. Agada is the vice-president of the Dalhousie African Studentsā Association, a member of Dalhousie Equestrian and Dal Dance, a volunteer at the International Centre, a Black Student Advising Centre mentor, and also a receptionist and a building attendant with security services ā and thatās just the shortlist.
āThis isnāt even half of what I do,ā Ms. Agada notes of the summarized achievements which earned her the International Student of the Year Award, although sheās not interested in bragging: āI donāt want to make it seem like, āDoes this girl studyā?ā
Easy to get involved
Ms. Agadaās commitments are so diverse partly because trying new things at Dal is easy: āI like the fact that there are so many societies on campus that one can get involved in,ā she says.
Her interest in equestrianism, for interest, is relatively new. āThe first time I got on a horse, I screamedā¦ you donāt scream on a horse,ā she warns. āIf a horse gets freaked out, youāre in trouble.ā Sheās come a long way since then. These days, āI want to be very confident to know how to ride a horse, how to saddle a horse, how to take care of a horseā¦ being in charge of a beautiful animal that can easily kill me.ā
In contrast to her recent interest in equestrianism, dance is Ms. Agadaās lifelong passion. āMy mom would tell you that I learned how to dance when I learned how to walk.ā She started with ballet, and before long, āI was in every dance group in my elementary school.ā Ms. Agada appreciates the intangible rush she gets from dancing.
āWhen Iām dancing Iām in my own zoneā¦ I have no care in the world. I donāt care if I have a 100-page paper due the next dayā¦ I can play music in my apartment and dance until Iām exhausted.ā
In the winter semester, however, everything else takes a backseat to Ms. Agadaās responsibilities to the African Studentsā Association ā including the major job of organizing African Night. āI became an exec in my first year,ā Ms. Agada says of her involvement with the association. āI went to the meeting as a studentā¦ and came out as an executive, which was very, very shocking to me!ā She plans to remain a member of the DASA for the rest of her university career, and even after graduation.
Commitment to global mental health
Ms. Agada is double-majoring in psychology and international development. Her home is in Nigeria, but sheās been living in Canada since high school, where she attended an international school in Hamilton, Ontario. Her subsequent choice to attend Dalhousie was largely influenced by its proximity to the ocean, which reminded Ms. Agada of the city she grew up in Nigeria. āWith all the friends Iāve made, itās been a good time,ā she says of her university experience.
Once she graduates from Dalhousie, Ms. Agada would like to continue graduate work āanywhere in Canada ā Dal, Vancouver, Nunavut, New Brunswick.ā Her long-term goal is to āget back home and try and better my countryā¦ mental health in Nigeria would be an issue to meā¦I think itās not just Nigeria, but a lot of African countries, they really donāt know the value of mental health.ā
And while she acknowledges that helping an entire nation think about mental health in a new way is pretty ambitious, thatās just her style.
āPeople who know me know that when I set my mind to do something, I will try my very best to accomplish that thing.ā