SAPL celebrates its first U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian student-athlete

Allysen Stachiw  says she first developed a love for the rough-and-tumble sport of rugby back in high school. 

And this passion led to her becoming the first student-athlete with the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (SAPL) to reach Academic All-Canadian status with U SPORT. 

 “Going into high school, I played on the high school soccer team in the fall and was eventually directed by the women's rugby coach to come and try out,” says Stachiw, a second-year student in the Bachelor of Design and City Innovation (BDCI) program. 

“I ultimately fell in love with the rugby culture, environment and fast-paced gameplay, as well as the analytical and decision making side of it. As a top-tier goalkeeper all my life, rugby just fit my brain.”   

In November, UCalgary honoured 180 Dinos student-athletes across 25 sports with an Academic All-Canadian distinction from U SPORTS, the governing body for university sports in Canada. The 180 honourees represented one third of all Dinos athletes and is the fourth highest number of student-athletes to be honoured in UCalgary’s history. 

To receive Academic All-Canadian status is no easy feat, besides excelling on the field, rink or court, student-athletes who achieve an academic average of 80 per cent or better for the academic year while representing their institution on a varsity team. 

While choosing an undergraduate degree, Stachiw was ultimately drawn to SAPL’s transdisciplinary programs.

“(I was) good at sciences and maths, but engineering wasn’t fitting with my desire to create,” she says. “I came across architecture and the BDCI program. I had already looked at other programs with a path to architecture. But, when I saw the BDCI, it just met everything I was looking for. It was here in Calgary, offered a direct path to architecture, and just sounded a lot more fun and engaging than some of the other programs I looked at.”

Taking six classes each semester while balancing rugby practice and competition, Stachiw is no stranger to thriving under pressure. 

“Honestly, rugby is what helped me take six classes each semester. (It’s) weird, but when I was working on projects, I never felt like I needed a mental break because rugby provided that mental break,” says Stachiw.

“Sports have always helped me stay more focused. Exhaustion from all of it was a good thing. It kept me close to home and always ready for bed at the end of the day. Time management and prioritization of projects also played a huge role in my success.”

Alberto de Salvatierra, SAPL’s associate dean (undergraduate), emphasizes the innovative nature of the BDCI program, which bridges the disciplines of architecture, planning and landscape architecture, requiring students to work rigorously and think outside the box.

“Various core course streams with BDCI additionally provide advanced methodological frameworks for a design, studio-based education,” de Salvatierra says. “The complex and rigorous nature of the curriculum makes it uniquely challenging, requiring the cultivation of skills, both analog and digital, across more than one dozen different software programs, for example. Allysen exemplifies the type of student we wish to attract to the BCDI program; those passionately committed to their education and their interests outside the classroom.”

Stachiw hopes to continue playing rugby at a high level and achieve a nationals berth for the team. “We showed good promise toward the end of this season,” she says. “I am also looking forward to (the team’s) upcoming rugby trip to Japan as it provides great opportunity to explore a place I have never been and play some high-level rugby at the same time.”

As for her academic career, Stachiw wishes to continue to grow in the BDCI program and eventually graduate into SAPL’s Master of Architecture program.

It is indisputable that Stachiw will continue to thrive both on the pitch and in the studio. “Don't ever let anyone tell you, ‘You can't,’" she says. “Ignore the voices; strive for excellence.”