Queen's student Heather Bilkes checks out the "Who is She?" campaign posters at the Ban Righ Centre.

Last September, Heather Bilkes returned to school as a mature student and found a welcoming community of peers at the Ban Righ Centre.

“I was truly overwhelmed, not only by the classes and the workload, but also by the culture of the university itself,” says Bilkes, a student in the School of Nursing’s post-RN program. “There was so much I didn’t know.”

At the Ban Righ Centre, Ms Bilkes found a place where she was accepted.

“Together we empower each other to go out and be the very best we can be,” she says.

Today, the Centre launched its "Who is She?" campaign. The initiative gives people the chance to honour a woman who has made a difference in their lives. Well-known participants in the project include former Kingston and the Islands MP Flora Macdonald and respected journalist Mary Lou Finlay.

Ban Righ Centre Director Barbara Schlafer was moved by the show of support at the launch; dozens of members of the Queen’s community came out for the event.

“I really appreciate all of you and the work that we’ve done here,” Ms Schlafer says.

Shera Lumsden also spoke about how the Ban Righ Centre helped her as a mature student.

“Without this home to meet in, I would not have as many friends as I do now,” she says. “Not only am I accepted, I am valued because the Ban Righ Centre understands my dreams and goals and why getting a university degree is so important to me.”

Members of the community are invited to participate in the initiative by creating a tribute to an important woman in their lives.

For more information on the campaign, visit the Ban Righ Centre’s website.