Participating in the creation of this Scholarship has been a gratifying way to show my appreciation for Dr. Keenan’s commitment to teaching and philosophy.  The scholarship has also been the perfect channel to express my own enthusiasm towards philosophy.  An enthusiasm which I owe to Dr. Keenan, whose classes were always a place of intellectual freedom and discovery.  Unlike so many other classes, where what I learned distanced me from the world outside the university, Dr. Keenan’s classes helped me feel the relevance of philosophy in practical life.  He found a way to bring his student’s passion for knowledge to the surface, resulting in vibrant debates and discussions.  With Brian, I felt as though philosophy was not an escape from the rest of the world, but a very integral part of it.  So, it is for me, and I assume many who have had the privilege of learning philosophy from Dr. Keenan, that leaving those philosophy classes felt like a step in the wrong direction.  Luckily, even after I finished my degree at the University of Winnipeg, I was able to work on this scholarship with the remarkable friends I made there.  From our joint effort to acknowledge Dr. Keenan’s contribution to philosophical education, I am excited and hopeful that this scholarship will help a philosophy student achieve their goals.

Now, after recently graduating with my Honours in philosophy from the University of Winnipeg, I am currently completing a M.A. at Concordia University.  My further educational goals will be encompassed in my hope to show the relevance of philosophy in all spheres of life.

Even when he's making fun of you, Brian Keenan has a kind of accessible humility to him.  In class, this allows for open, honest and productive discussion.  In social settings, it puts everyone at ease.  Dr. Keenan's casual, but entirely serious approach to his intellectual pursuit is what has directly and holistically influenced every aspect of my life.  His uncanny modesty and approachability communicates that Philosophy is a very human project and regardless of our level of apathy, education or social status, it is something that we are already and continuously engaged in.

I am so privileged to be a part of a project that encourages these same ideals by way of making undergraduate programs more accessible and promoting Philosophy as a serious intellectual pursuit.  Graduating Adv. BA from the University of Winnipeg in 2007 with a Major in Philosophy, my interests in Political Philosophy and Philosophy of Education persist and I intend on pursuing a Post-secondary degree depending on my current employment with Manitoba Public Insurance.  Philosophy has been so crucial in my own development, and I can only hope that this project might further enable others to engage in its dialogue.

I am very fortunate to have this opportunity to participate in the Dr. Brian M. Keenan prize, a scholarship that honours both an extraordinary teacher and the quite ordinary discipline to which he was committed – Philosophy.  Brian Keenan is sharp as a tack.  Sitting in one of Professor Keenan’s classes, it was impossible not to be moved towards the possibility of Philosophy and all that it entails.  As such, as one of Professor Keenan’s students I had the opportunity to become a more reasonable and a more charitable person, an opportunity for which I will always feel a substantial debt of gratitude.

On a personal note, I have completed my honours Philosophy degree at the University of Winnipeg and am currently in my second year of medicine at the University of Manitoba.  In part an extension of Professor Keenan’s classes, I am interested in Philosophy as a precondition for public health and healthy communities, and intend to pursue graduate studies in this area.  I am truly grateful for Professor Keenan’s emphasis on the possibility of philosophical dialogue and I look forward to continuing engagement with and encouragement of this dialogue through participation in the Dr. Brian M. Keenan Prize.

My life has been twice effected by Brian Keenan's professorship, substantially and in the most positive of ways.  As a child I was raised by parents who had a fairly keen interest in philosophy, which I learned later was principally inspired by my mother's participation in philosophy classes with Professor Keenan at the University of Winnipeg.  Later, during my own foray into academic life, I sought Keenan out and am privileged to have taken several classes with him.  Keenan's quick wit and love of philosophy are infectious, and his contention that philosophy holds the promise to better people and persons has had a profound impact in my own life.  As a result I am enthused to have the opportunity to take part in honouring this fine gentleman, as well as my obvious obligation to him.

I have completed an Honours Degree in Philosophy at the University of Winnipeg, and am currently in the process of applying to several Master of Arts programs, and seeking funding through SSHRC as well as others.  I am most interested in metaphysics and epistemology, and more specifically the relation between them.  I have been privileged and honoured to receive the Dr. Victor Y. Shimizu Kant Prize 2010, the Dr. David Owen Memorial Scholarship in Philosophy 2008, the Dr. Victor Y. Shimizu Kant Prize 2007, and the Sydney Gallis Memorial Scholarship in Philosophy 2006.  As a working student, I can appreciate the significance of monetary awards, and hope that The Brian M. Keenan prize will contribute meaningfully to the recipient's endeavours in philosophical life.