Editor’s Note: As we celebrate African Heritage Month in February, we’re proud to spotlight some of our own people, Black culture, contributions and history.
Here, we meet third year StFX sociology student Janelle Colley of East Preston, NS. During her time at StFX, Ms. Colley has been positively impacting the campus community. She is currently the co-president of the StFX BLACC Student Society and this year helped StFX education professor Dr. Wendy Mackey in organizing Black Excellence Day, which brought over 350 Black high school students and chaperones to StFX in November.
StFX student Janelle Colley making a positive impact on campus
Janelle Colley, a third year sociology student from East Preston, NS, has stepped into a leadership role on campus and is working to make a positive difference as she serves as the co-president of the StFX BLACC Student Society.
Ms. Colley also recently helped StFX education professor Dr. Wendy Mackey organize Black Excellence Day, which in November 2024 brought a delegation of Black high school students and chaperones 350-people strong from across the province to explore StFX during a day-long event that exposed students to academic program offerings, student supports, and campus life.
As a speaker at the event, she was one of a panel of current StFX students who shared their respective transition to university experience with the high school students.
Ms. Colley says a desire to help the BLACC Student Society grow and to create awareness of it for other students as a place to go and to meet and connect with other people was one of the reasons she decided to take on the executive role.
The mentorship aspect also appealed. “I like that I know I’m helping somebody else.”
The BLACC Student Society plans a number of activities and events through the year, including study sessions and movie nights, provides resources, and helps to bring people together and to foster a feeling of inclusion. It also helps support both Black students as well as the activities of the StFX Black Student Advising Office.
Academically, Ms. Colley has been enjoying studying sociology and learning about the world around us.
“I’ve made some good relationships with some of my sociology professor, which I’m grateful for,” she says. One such professor is Dr. Patricia Cormack. Ms. Colley says she enjoys her teaching style. “I take all her sociology courses.”
Ms. Colley also highlights Dr. Mackey who “has helped me in countless ways, personally and in school, to navigate life here. She’s been such an angel to me.”
After coming to StFX for a high school rugby competition, Ms. Colley says she chose to attend the university as she liked the campus and the feeling at the school. “I loved that it was small, and it seemed like a close-knit school. I enjoy that it is community based.”
She says the experience has been great so far and it’s been nice to meet and make friends with people from as far afield as Spain and Ukraine.
She also appreciates the opportunity to explore and to get to know another Nova Scotia small town, particularly its local hiking trails and drives by the water.
At StFX, she also works with the Saputo Centre’s guest services team, and she is a student member on the committee for the African Heritage Month dinner at Sodexo, helping with everything from the menu to the décor to advertising the event.
She says African Heritage Month in February is an important opportunity to bring awareness “to how far we’ve come and how far we have to go, to highlight the good, the bad, and everything else in between of what we have endured and continue to endure.” There is still much work to be done, and it is important for everyone to be aware that minorities should not be treated as anything less, she says.
Ms. Colley encourages everyone to attend the scheduled events throughout the month. “The events are not just for Black people. They are for everyone to learn and to celebrate.”
