Third-year undergraduate nursing student James Ehiagwina has been named a 3M National Student Fellow, making him one of only 10 undergraduate and diploma students from across Canada to receive the national recognition for leadership and advocacy in health care and post-secondary education.
The fellowship honours up to 10 students who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and a commitment to enhancing education and society.
For Ehiagwina, the fellowship – presented by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE) and sponsored by 3M Canada – marks the latest chapter in an already promising career.
As he works toward his goal of becoming a pediatric oncology nurse practitioner, Ehiagwina has made a significant mark at York University. He serves as president of the Canadian Black Nurses Alliance (CBNA) York University chapter – a former two-term cohort representative for York’s Nursing Student Association – and also as a student senator and a student success peer mentor with the Black Excellence at York University team.
Through these roles, he has championed diversity and inclusion in nursing and represented student interests in academic and policy discussions. He has a particular passion for mental health advocacy – especially within refugee and newcomer immigrant communities.
Ehiagwina has demonstrated that passion not just on campus, but also in the community. He has advanced youth mental health advocacy as a member of the National Youth Council and the Black Advisory Youth Council for Kids Help Phone. His work there led to an invitation to take centre stage at the Digital Mental Health International Congress in Ottawa in 2024, where he shared insights on how to better integrate technology into mental health services.
The 3M National Student Fellowship isn’t the first award Ehiagwina has received.
In 2025 alone, he earned a Robert J. Tiffin Student Leadership Award, the Nicola Lamanna Oncology Nursing Scholarship from the Registered Nurses’ Foundation of Ontario and an 1834 Fellowship, which supports 20 high-potential Black youth each year as they develop skills and pursue civic leadership roles. In 2024, he also received the RBC Future Launch Scholarship for Black Youth, awarded to just 20 students nationwide.
As a 3M National Student Fellow, Ehiagwina will further his advocacy and leadership with a two-year STLHE membership and full funding to attend the STLHE annual conference, taking place June 10 to 13 in Saskatoon, Sask.
Ehiagwina’s recognition as a 3M National Student Fellow is a testament to his wide-ranging impact as a scholar, leader and advocate. From championing student voices at York to influencing national conversations on youth mental health, he has exemplified the kind of changemaking leadership York strives to cultivate. As his already distinguished career continues to gain momentum, Ehiagwina stands as a powerful example of how York students are shaping the future of health care and beyond.