Elyse Maxwell RGD

This February, the RGD thanks Virginia Quist RGD for her contributions to the RGD community. How long have you been volunteering with the RGD, and in what capacity? I started volunteering a couple of years ago by judging for the RGD Student Awards, and then participated in the mentoring initiatives where an RGD Member mentors a group of students through a project for their portfolios, as well as doing one-on-one mentoring with newer RGD Members.

Skip to main content We are delighted to recognize the confirmed sponsors for the RGD’s 2026 Student Awards — a program that has supported emerging designers since 1998. Since its inception, the RGD has distributed more than $436,000 in cash prizes in recognition of student excellence across Canada. Each year, the Student Awards shine a spotlight on outstanding work from post-secondary design students and provide an important bridge into the professional community.

The RGD Membership has its privileges! As co-chair of the Membership Committee, I want to share some of the amazing resources and benefits that Membership provides and encourage all RGD Members to take advantage of them. If you’re not an RGD Member yet, now’s the time to join! It’s hard to shake that yearning for learning new things, especially at this time of year when students are heading back to school. The RGD has you covered with a wide array of webinars.