Melanee Thomas, who led the University of Lethbridge Students' Union as President in 2002-03, is the recipient of the Students' Union Alumni Achievement Award for 2012.

Thomas, originally from the Granum area, graduated from the U of L in 2003 with a degree in political science (Great Distinction)

She went on to achieve her masters in political science with a specialization in Canadian Politics from the University of Calgary in 2006, and completed her PhD in political science at McGill University in 2011.

Now back in Alberta, Thomas is an assistant professor at the University of Calgary in the political science department. Prior to her position at the University of Calgary she was The Skelton-Clark Post Doctoral fellow in the Department of Political Science at Queen's University.

"The reason we chose Melanee as the recipient for the ULSU Alumni Achievement Award is we were blown away with the success she has had in her academic career, and the fact that she was highly-esteemed by her co-workers and colleagues at the ULSU," says Shuna Talbot, the SU vice-president, internal.

Among numerous awards, Thomas received a Young Woman of Distinction award from the YWCA in 2003 and a Federation of Canadian Municipalities' (FCM) 2005 scholarship for her research into how gender influences the participation of women and men in politics.

She also has direct political and election experience as a candidate for the NDP in the Lethbridge Riding during the 2004 federal election.

Outside of academics, Thomas is also an accomplished runner and maintains an interest in music, having studied piano at the ARCT level with the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.