Susan Quinlan, Communication Arts Print Journalism grad of ’06, has won the Peter Gzowski Life Literacy Fellowship from ABC Life Literacy Canada.

The Peter Gzowski Life Literacy Fellowship was developed to create public awareness of adult literacy in Canada by providing one journalist with a financial contribution of $2,000 to research and develop a story on adult literacy in Canada.

Quinlan, who writes for the Prairie Post West newspaper found out this past September she was the successful candidate among the many journalists who applied nationally.

In October she flew to Toronto to accept the fellowship as part of Life Literacy night held at the CN Tower.

Quinlan is working on a series of articles focusing on the growing Low German Mennonite community in southern Alberta and the struggles to access literacy courses.

Quinlan planned to tell the stories of these individuals, primarily farm workers, as they face the daily challenge of acquiring English language skills to better manage their new lives.

Peter Calamai, a judge for the Peter Gzowski Life Literacy Fellowship, says Quinlan has singled out a group that epitomizes the complexity for the literacy challenge.

Isolated, stay-at-home mothers, youth estranged from their peers by language and a vibrant community struggling for support for English-as-a-Second-Language tutoring; simply because the members don’t fit into the traditional definition of immigrants.

“This is a tremendous compliment to someone who has worked really hard at telling stories,” said D’Arcy Kavanagh, communication arts program co-ordinator.

The Peter Gzowski Literacy Award of Merit was founded by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1993 in honour of the late veteran broadcaster and literacy advocate Peter Gzowski.