On Monday, August 25, the St. Mary’s University community came together to celebrate an exciting new chapter for inclusive education with a special Meet and Greet event. Hosted at the university, the gathering welcomed Trisa Soroski as the inaugural Executive Director of the new Woitas Centre for Inclusive Education. This event marked a meaningful milestone in the university’s ongoing commitment to inclusive education, made possible by the extraordinary $7 million gift from Clayton and Linda Woitas.
In a heartfelt speech, Trisa Soroski shared not only her gratitude and vision for the Woitas Centre but also her personal journey, one that is filled with years of service, a deep passion for inclusion, and a sense of calling that led her here, just as she was preparing to retire after 35 years with the Calgary Catholic School District. She reflected on how the announcement of the Woitas Centre sparked something in her, a spark of hope and renewed purpose. “This is what all my work over the years had been preparing me for”, she said, expressing how deeply this opportunity resonated with her values and experiences.
The Moment of Inspiration
Trisa spoke about her days in the classroom, sharing a powerful story of her first kindergarten class, where, on the second day a young student bolted out of the school, where she then sprinted after him in a panic. That moment marked the beginning of a lifelong commitment to understanding, supporting, and advocating for every student’s needs. Not through changing the child, but by changing the environment around them. “It never once occurred to me that this child didn’t belong in my classroom,” she said. “You modify the environment, the lessons, the strategies — not the child.”
That belief that every student is a unique gift, created in God’s image, and deserving of love and dignity has remained central to her philosophy of inclusion. It’s also the driving force behind the vision for the Woitas Centre: to equip pre-service and practicing teachers with the tools and knowledge to design classrooms that work for all students, no matter what their background, learning needs, or diagnoses.
The Future of the Woitas Centre
Trisa outlined some of the exciting work already underway at the Centre. This includes:
- The full redesign of EDCM 301- Introduction to Curricular Design, one of the first education course students take at St. Mary’s. The course now centers around the Universal Design for learning framework and emphasizes experiential, playful approaches to pedagogy. Collaborating with former course instructors Dr. Harrison Campbell and Hyacinth Schafer, and alongside sessional instructors Allison Paull and Rachel Gustafson, Trisa has helped develop a new master syllabus that will shape the way future teachers think about inclusion from the very beginning of their careers. This work is already gaining recognition, with an invitation to contribute to a forthcoming publication on playful pedagogy in higher education.
- Beyond the classroom, the Woitas Centre is already finding ways to connect with the broader community. In partnership with the Education Students’ Association, the Centre is supporting a school supply and sensory backpack drive happening on October 3. This initiative aims to prepare up to 200 backpacks for local public and Catholic Schools, with some specially curated to include sensory supports for students who need them. It’s a small but powerful way to raise awareness around diverse student needs, and to get St. Mary’s students actively involved in inclusive outreach.
- Woitas Week (WoW): A new initiative put forward by Dean Laurie Carlson Berg will be launched in December provide additional professional development for first-year education students, especially focused on inclusive strategies, and create a space for collaboration and reflection following their first practicum placements.
- The Woitas Centre is in the process of hiring additional support to help bring its broader vision to life. The Center is embracing initiatives like “pop-up” professional learning events and plans to build a virtual innovation hub, a centralized online space for inclusive teaching strategies, K-12 resources, and real-world examples from the field.
Trisa Soroski closed by affirming the Woitas Centre’s mission: to ensure every child has a classroom where they can thrive. She ended with a touching poem, “Maybe God Flaps” by Sophie Killingley, celebrating the joy and beauty of neurodivergence- a moment that captured the event’s spirit of gratitude, hope, and inclusive vision. More than a formal welcome, the meet and greet celebrated the powerful impact of the Woitas family’s generosity and the Centre’s commitment, under Trisa Soroski’s leadership, to driving meaningful change in education.
From left to right: Dr. Scott Morrison, Interim President, St. Mary’s University, Clayton Woitas, Linda Woitas, Trisa Soroski, Executive Director, Woitas Centre for Inclusive Education, Gary Strother, Board Chair, St. Mary’s University.