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From left to right: Dean Fiona Kelly, Chiara Concini, Connor Meeker, Dustin Edwards

Chiara Concini earns the 2025 Horace Harvey Gold Medal in Law

The medal is awarded to the top graduating student

During her undergraduate studies, she became interested in studying and practicing law — language rights in particular. She wanted to gain a better understanding of the field. She decided to pursue her JD at the º£½ÇÉçÇø so she could remain connected to the Franco-Albertan community.

For Chiara Concini, ‘25 JD, some of the most important moments of her time at the º£½ÇÉçÇø Faculty of Law came outside of the classroom. The recent graduate thinks back on these memories and how they shaped her studies and success.

This year, Concini is the winner of not only the Horace Harvey Gold Model in Law, the most prestigious award for a graduating law student, but was also awarded the Alberta Premier’s Silver Medal, awarded to the student who achieves the highest academic standing in the Faculty of Law, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, or Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. She says she is humbled by these honours.

“Both medals are a testament to the unwavering support I've had throughout law school from my family, the º£½ÇÉçÇø's phenomenal faculty members, and my incredible friends,” she says.

Concini enrolled at the º£½ÇÉçÇø in 2020. She began studying at the university’s French-language campus, Campus Saint-Jean and, during her studies there, grew interested in law and wanted to gain a better understanding of it — particularly language rights. After completing two years of political science and history, she was accepted at the Faculty of Law’s JD program.

Looking back on her time at the Faculty of Law, Concini says she feels the experience helped her find her passions and shaped her legal career. Some of the best parts of a post-secondary education come from outside of the classroom, she says. This took the form of conversations — even debates — with classmates and professors, and she urged current and future students to seek out these opportunities. They’re what makes law school so special, she says.

Concini also recalls how her conversations with professors during office hours fed her curiosity.

Also outside of class, Concini served as a member of the Alberta Law Review, and volunteered with Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Alberta. Mooting, similarly, played an important role in her education. She took part in two national moots on behalf of the º£½ÇÉçÇø, won the Brimacombe Selection Moot in 2023 and received the Beverley McLachlin Prize for the Top Female Oralist at the Gale Cup in 2024.

According to Concini, mooting was instrumental in honing her research and writing skills, and in the process of learning how to manage stress. Mooting is also where she met some of her closest friends, and provided an opportunity to learn from them and the coaches.

Concini is currently clerking at the Supreme Court of Canada with Chief Justice Richard Wagner. This is something of a rarity, considering the Supreme Court regularly selects clerks from the ranks of third-year law students and recent grads, but Concini was selected after her second year.

Thanks to her time and the people she met at the Faculty of Law, Concini’s interests have developed. While she is still passionate about language rights law, she is also interested in criminal, administrative and constitutional law, among other areas. Going forward, she hopes to pursue graduate studies and become a legal academic — giving her the chance to research and explore her interests and give future law students the experience she had at the º£½ÇÉçÇø.

Connor Meeker recognized with George Bligh O’Connor Silver Medal in Law

Law school wasn’t always the plan for Connor Meeker, ‘25 JD. He had a bit of a roundabout journey to enroll at the º£½ÇÉçÇø Faculty of Law, but his hard work seems to have paid off, as the recent graduate is the recipient of this year’s George Bligh O’Connor Silver Medal in Law.

“I feel very honoured. Law school is a lot of work, so it is very gratifying to receive this sort of recognition. I also feel very thankful for everyone in my life who supported me through the process, especially my partner, family, friends and professors,” he says.

Meeker graduated from the º£½ÇÉçÇø with a bachelor of arts (honours) in drama in 2018, and also completed a concurrent certificate in Interdisciplinary Leadership Studies through the Peter Lougheed Leadership College. After graduating, he worked in the arts for a time before deciding he wanted to change gears.

Law was appealing, he says, to be able to help people, engage in intellectually challenging work and work in a field with diverse opportunities. He also knew that the Faculty of Law has a strong reputation in academics and campus life.

Meeker’s time at the Faculty of Law was a positive one, and there were many opportunities for experiential learning. In his first year, he took the Wahkohtowin Lodge's "moose camp" course in Aseniwuche Winewak Nation near Grande Cache. There, he learned Cree legal principles through the process of tanning a moosehide with members of the community.

He also took the oceans law course in the summer of his second year. This took him and his classmates to Bamfield on Vancouver Island where they learned about pressing and fascinating topics like polar governance, conservation of marine resources, extended continental shelf claims and even piracy. Meeker also got the chance to break out his acting chops, having participated in the faculty’s Law Show live performance event.

The recipient of various other awards — such as the Chief Justice S Bruce Smith Prize — and having held various jobs during his degree, Meeker is excited for the future. Currently, he is completing a clerkship at the Court of King's Bench of Alberta and will finish his articling at Witten LLP. After that, he hopes to work as an advocate for the legal rights and interests of Indigenous Peoples.

Dustin Edwards receives Judge’s Bronze Medal

Dustin Edwards, ‘25 JD, has wanted to be a lawyer since he was young. Though his life initially took him on a different path, he graduated from the º£½ÇÉçÇø Faculty of Law this year, and received the Judge’s Bronze Medal for 2025.

Edwards currently holds a bachelors of science and a masters of education, both of which he received from the º£½ÇÉçÇø, in 2012 and 2018, respectively. After graduating, he worked in student services at the º£½ÇÉçÇø for around 10 years. One of his first jobs was at what was then called the Student Awards Office, and one of his first tasks was providing support during convocation, including the preparation of medals for the medal recipients.

“Winning this medal feels like a really beautiful full-circle moment as I leave the º£½ÇÉçÇø behind and move into this next stage of my career,” he says.

It was when his husband decided to embark on a masters in speech language pathology, also at the º£½ÇÉçÇø, that Edwards decided to work toward his long-abiding goal.

“Watching him enter into a profession that he truly loved rekindled my passion for law,” he says. “The rest is history!”

Among fond memories of faculty, staff, and his fellow students, mooting stands out in his memories. He placed third in two national mooting competitions, the Gale Cup and the Canadian Client Consultation Competition, and received recognition for his performance in various others

“I was so lucky to get to work with several incredible teammates through the mooting program,” he says.

Edwards was also, at various times, a member, vice president, and president of OUTlaw, a 2SLGBTQ+ student organization at the Faculty of Law. There, he helped raise thousands of dollars in support of various groups, developed advocacy materials, and worked to create a safe space on campus for incoming and current law students.

Throughout his degree, Edwards received the Chief Justice Fraser Scholarship, the Odishaw Family Prize in Aboriginal Law and the Chomicki Baril Mah LLP Prize in Civil Procedure, among others. Further, he was a writing fellow for LAW 405: Legal Research and Writing and was a research assistant to former Faculty of Law Dean Barbara Billingsley.

Currently, Edwards is clerking at the Court of Appeal of Alberta under the Hon. Justice D. Pentelechuk. After this, he will finish articling at Bryan & Company LLP. He hopes to build a civil litigation practice in Edmonton — though he says he has learned to not overplan for his future career since it is important to be flexible and take opportunities to learn and grow as they come.

Edwards was the first person in his family to pursue a university degree. He recalls coming to the Faculty of Law with no connections within the legal profession. He credits members of the Faculty of Law for creating opportunities to connect with the legal community at every stage in the law school journey

Edwards is grateful to his friends, family, and cats for supporting him as he navigated law school and his career transition. "I am so lucky to have a group of people around me that keep me grounded. I couldn't have gotten through the last three years without them,” he says.