After four years of throwing herself into everything Laurier Brantford has to offer, this inspiring grad is ready to write her next chapter.
May 11, 2026
When graduate Mya Baxter takes the podium as a host of the Laurier Stedman Prize awards celebration on May 27, it will be a full-circle moment.
Having volunteered on the organizing committee of Laurier Brantford’s prestigious writing competition throughout her four years pursuing an honours BA in Criminology, Baxter’s connection to the contest dates back even further: it served as her introduction to the university.
Six years ago, she entered a short story in the Laurier Stedman Prize as a grade 10 student at Simcoe’s Holy Trinity Catholic High School. Two years later, she entered again, this time placing in the top 10 — and determined to become a Golden Hawk.
“By the time I’d written my second story for the Laurier Stedman Prize, I knew I wanted to go to Laurier Brantford,” Baxter says. “Through the competition, I met some of the amazing people who work on campus and got a sense of its vibrant, small community feel, which is something I really wanted for my university experience.”
Arriving on campus in the fall of 2022, Baxter dove into her studies. A lifelong fan of crime documentaries and novels, the Criminology program was a perfect fit, one she enriched with minors in both Human Rights and Law and Society. She went on to earn Dean’s Honour Roll recognition every year.
Among the academic highlights of her undergraduate career was a directed studies course supervised by Associate Professor Andrew Welsh, associate dean of the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences. Working independently, Baxter researched the intersection of artificial intelligence and child sexual exploitation, a subject she pursued with depth and rigour that impressed her supervisor.
“Mya’s very good at not just finding information, but synthesizing several different sources on one subject and sorting out what the overall take-home message is,” says Welsh. “She’s a strong writer. She’s very collaborative and very good with feedback.”
That directed studies project earned Baxter third place in the podcast category at ACERS, Laurier Brantford’s annual Academic, Creative and Engaged Research Showcase, which gives undergraduate researchers a platform to share their findings with the broader campus community. The experience opened a door to a voluntary research assistant role with Welsh, helping compile data for a book he’s writing on the history of film censorship.
With Welsh’s backing, Baxter also served on the Laurier Advisory Committee on Teaching and Learning, advising on academic policy and curriculum and adjudicating campus awards, including the Teaching Excellence Awards.
Baxter rounded out her undergraduate experience with an internship through Laurier Brantford’s new interdisciplinary UU 400 course, which placed her with the City of Brantford’s Corporate Security and Bylaw Division. There, she helped build and implement a crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) program offering grants to downtown small business owners to address vandalism and improve safety, a project formally launched in April 2026.
“A lot of what we learn in university is theory,” says Baxter. “To be able to apply it to something concrete is really powerful.”
Academic achievement, impressive as it is, only tells part of Baxter’s story. She arrived at Laurier Brantford, by her own admission, “very shy and not very confident” and discovered a community that fostered her personal growth.
In her third year, an exercise habit she’d developed to help focus her study sessions led her to try out for the Brantford campus women’s varsity cross-country team. She made the team and competed at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) level for two seasons, recently being named Women’s Varsity Cross Country MVP at the annual athletic banquet.
Being a varsity athlete, in turn, opened another door: a role as a peer academic coach in Laurier Brantford’s Student Success Services, where she supported varsity athletes navigating the demands of university life. She led study halls, facilitated workshops on active learning strategies — cue cards, practice tests and other techniques she found useful herself — and held one-on-one appointments with both athlete and general student populations.
Mitchell Higgins, a learning consultant in Student Success Services who supervised Baxter in this role, says her enthusiasm and commitment to the Laurier Brantford community is genuinely contagious.
“She inspired first-year students, incoming students and staff alike,” he says. “I’ve been here for a decade, and she inspired me too. I was so fortunate to have her on the team.”
Perhaps the most inventive example of Baxter’s campus contributions came from her role as president of the Laurier Brantford Cheese Enthusiasts, a club she revived after it had gone dormant for about a year. Spotting an opportunity, she merged her club leadership with her peer coaching work to create “Say Cheese for Success,” a campus event at which students discussed academic strategies with coaches and learning consultants, then treated themselves to a slice of cheesecake customized with their choice of toppings.
Held twice during the 2025-26 academic year, the event reached more than 200 students, making it one of the most successful Student Success initiatives on campus. Baxter won the Students’ Union Club President of the Year award — for the second time — in recognition of the innovation.
In March 2026, at the annual Student Leader Celebration, she was presented with the Golden Hawk Spirit Award, recognizing the individual who best embodies what it means to be a Laurier Golden Hawk.
“Because it’s such a small campus, you almost feel like you have an obligation to contribute as much as possible,” says Baxter. “Your actions have big waves — it’s a ripple effect.”
Higgins was thrilled to see Baxter receive the honour.
“It was the perfect award for her,” he says. “She is always giving back to the campus community and truly bleeds purple and gold.”
Throughout her undergraduate career, Baxter never lost her connection to the Laurier Stedman Prize (LSP).
As an undergraduate, she served on the LSP planning committee, helping organize the short story competition, reaching out to participating high schools and weighing in on everything from the format of the awards celebration to the colour of the flowers on the tables. She also sat on the prize jury, helping determine the ranking of the top 10 finalists — an experience she describes as humbling.
“For some students, putting these words onto paper is an expression of who they are,” says Baxter. “It’s a privilege to be able to read what they have to say.”
“She is always giving back to the campus community and truly bleeds purple and gold.”
Mitchell Higgins, learning consultant, Student Success Services
According to Associate Professor Lisa Wood, coordinator of the English program and the LSP, Baxter’s contributions to the event over the years have been invaluable.
“Mya’s insight as a former competitor is really useful in helping to determine the shape of the competition and the award ceremony, but I think it’s her energy that’s been the most impactful on our committee,” says Wood. “She’s like a bright light in every room she comes into.”
That energy will be on full display on May 27, when Baxter will deliver a speech to the nearly 200 guests expected at the LSP awards celebration.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the reactions of those who win, and their families’ reactions too,” she says. “For some students, the prize money is an amount that can really change their academic journey — help fund university, college, whatever path they might be taking. It is significant.”
Less than two weeks later, on June 9, Baxter will cross the convocation stage herself, with her mother, father and brother in the audience. The symmetry is not lost on her.
“It really has closed the loop,” she says. “That’s how I was introduced to Laurier Brantford, and I’m ending off on the same note. It was the best decision I have ever made. And it all started with the Laurier Stedman Prize.”
This fall, Baxter will continue her journey at Laurier Brantford, returning to pursue a Master of Arts in Criminology. It’s a decision she made with confidence.
“I didn’t apply anywhere else,” she says. “I know Laurier is the place for me. It’s helped me find myself in so many ways.”
Baxter is looking forward to deepening her engagement with criminological theory, refining her quantitative research skills and connecting with other graduate students. She also hopes to help plan next year’s Justice, Crime and Deviance Conference as a graduate student organizer.
Higgins has no doubt she will thrive. “Mya has such a bright future,” he says. “She’s going to knock that degree out of the park. She loves the research aspect — that is her lane.”
Wood agrees and believes the qualities that defined Baxter’s undergraduate experience will continue to serve her well.
“She has so much to offer, whatever arena she finds herself in the years to come,” says Wood. “I just hope she keeps being Mya: the enthusiastic, dedicated, energetic and thoughtful person that she is.”
Laurier Brantford is more than a place of learning — it’s a hub where community and campus come together. From award programs like the Laurier Stedman Prize to student-led projects that strengthen local organizations, Laurier is making a real impact in Brantford every day. Sign up for the Campus Connections Brantford e-newsletter to stay on top of upcoming events and inspiring stories.
