The British Columbia Historical Federation (BCHF) is pleased to announce the winners of its 2023-24 W. Kaye Lamb Award for Best Student Works.  

The $1000 first prize in the third-and fourth-year category was awarded to Megan Yaskow for her submission “Wilderness to Wonderland: Prince George’s Anxious Ambition and the 1958 British Columbian Centennial.” 

Megan is a third-year history major at the University of Northern British Columbia. Born and raised in Prince George, her work has been focused on British Columbian history with specific interest in social history, heritage studies, and energy history. Experience working at both the Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum and the Northern BC Archives has sparked specific research interest in museums and public history. Megan plans to continue her research of museums and memory through a Master’s Degree in History. Megan is currently working at the Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum.   

For the 2023-24 year a $750 runner-up prize for the third- and fourth-year category was awarded to Amanda Payne for her submission “No Place for a Walk: Sex Work, Crime, and Community in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood during the 1980s-1990s.”

Amanda is a fourth-year student at the University of British Columbia, completing her BA in Anthropology with a minor in History. She also works part time at the UBC Lab of Archaeology Archives where she helps process historical records related to archaeology in BC. She is currently preparing her application to the Master of Arts in History program at UBC. 

The W. Kaye Lamb Award is presented annually to outstanding post-secondary student essays and projects relating to the history of British Columbia. The award has been presented since 1988, initially known as the BCHF Scholarship. It was renamed the W. Kaye Lamb Award in 2001. In 2004, the BCHF introduced two award categories: one for students in their first or second year of study, the other for students in their third or fourth year of study.  

The awards were presented on May 4, 2024 at the BCHF’s annual general meeting and award gala dinner in Chilliwack, BC, on the unceded traditional territory of the Stó:lō people.

Amanda Payne accepts her award in Chilliwack on May 4.