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Laurier MSW student Ashton McCormick-Kelly awarded Hilary M. Weston Scholarship
Oct. 7, 2025
Print | PDFAshton McCormick-Kelly has been both a provider and recipient of mental health services, giving her a unique perspective on the gaps that exist in the healthcare system. To position herself as an advocate for change, she is completing her Master of Social Work degree at Wilfrid Laurier University.
In recognition of her academic excellence and dedication to advancing mental health research, the Government of Ontario is awarding McCormick-Kelly a Hilary M. Weston Scholarship. She will receive $7,500 toward her studies. McCormick-Kelly is the seventh Laurier student to win a Weston Scholarship since 2017.
“With so many applicants and only two students chosen each year, I feel proud of myself,” says McCormick-Kelly. “Through my research and work in social services, I hope to bring awareness to borderline personality disorder (BPD), dismantle stigma and provide services where they are needed.”
McCormick-Kelly lives with BPD and pursued social work because of her desire to help others with similar mental health struggles. She completed her social service worker diploma and honours Bachelor of Arts, then became a residential support worker in group and foster homes. In subsequent positions, McCormick-Kelly supported individuals with mental health and substance use issues, performed crisis intervention and facilitated therapeutic groups. Most recently, she was a mental health support worker on an acute mental health inpatient unit at a hospital.
"There is a misconception that individuals with borderline personality disorder are unable to live fulfilling lives and incapable of making an impact. This award proves that wrong.”
Through her studies at Laurier, McCormick-Kelly is connecting her experiences in the field with theoretical knowledge of marginalization. As a queer woman, she is interested in the intersections of identity. Her research is wide-ranging, focusing on women’s contraception, housing services for seniors and mental health treatment for individuals with disabilities.
“Marginalized groups continue to be invalidated and underrepresented and are expected to exist within a social service system that was largely built without their input,” says McCormick-Kelly. “This has led to inadequate services that lack awareness and connection to their histories of oppression.”
McCormick-Kelly says that much of the research used to inform social services and healthcare is conducted in traditional academic spaces “rooted in white, Western, heteropatriarchal systems.” Her own research is inclusive and she “strives to work alongside participants rather than for them.”
“I aim to make space for people who have been removed from, or neglected within, traditional research,” she says. “I want to enable them to have their voices heard and reclaim power that has been taken from them.”
McCormick-Kelly feels energized by her Weston Scholarship and the support it will provide during her final year of the Master of Social Work program at Laurier.
“My Weston Scholarship highlights the importance of providing support for people with BPD, who continue to be misunderstood and underserviced,” she says. “It also validates my personal goals as someone who struggles with BPD daily. There is a misconception that individuals with BPD are unable to live fulfilling lives and incapable of making an impact. This award proves that wrong.”