We are proud to share that Britney Achu, a member of our research group, was featured by the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Science for her honours project, Beyond Representation, supervised by Professor Alison Flynn. Here is part of the story:
“What happens when equity frameworks leave the page and enter the chemistry classroom? That was the question behind Beyond Representation, the honours project of Britney Achu, a recent biomedical sciences graduate at the University of Ottawa, supervised by Professor Alison Flynn.
Britney gathered the perspectives of chemistry professors, teaching support staff and BIPOC undergraduates to see how critical race theory and culturally responsive pedagogy are understood and experienced in practice. She found encouraging signs that many professors are working toward more inclusive learning environments. Many students, however, described a gap between institutional intentions and their everyday experiences, and felt that progress was too slow. In response, they built their own support systems through student-led clubs and peer tutoring.
“I was so happy,” she recalls. “I never missed a lecture. I sat up front every day. I asked questions.” What may have seemed like a small moment became a powerful example of how representation can shape students’ engagement, confidence and sense of belonging”
Britney presented the work in May 2026 at the Empowering Women in Organic Chemistry (EWOC) symposium, part of the Canadian chemistry and chemical engineering conference in Toronto, where she received the EWOC EastCAN Oral Presentation Award.”
Read the full story