UBC’s Okanagan campus community is saddened to learn of the sudden death of Devyn Gale, a third-year School of Nursing student.
Devyn, working as a B.C. wildland firefighter this summer, lost her life battling a wildfire near Revelstoke on Thursday, July 13. She was 19-years old.
“Our UBC Okanagan campus is devastated,” says Dr. Lesley Cormack, Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of UBC’s Okanagan campus. “We extend our sincere condolences to Devyn’s family and friends, including all who knew and loved her in our community.”
Dr. Marie Tarrant, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Development, says that her fellow students, faculty and staff in the School of Nursing have been notified of Devyn’s passing.
“As a student in the third-year nursing student cohort, Devyn had strong connections with her fellow students and her instructors,” says Dr. Tarrant. “Her loss is deeply felt in our School of Nursing community and beyond.”
“The fact that Deyvn was putting herself on the frontline to fight wildfires and also working towards a nursing career on the frontline of our healthcare system speaks to the strength of her character,” adds Dr. Cormack. “We will all need to take time to mourn her loss.”
UBCO School of Nursing encourages students and others who are impacted to seek support from one another, from faculty and from available resources as needed. The nursing faculty will connect fellow third-year students with Student Wellness in the coming days.
On and off-campus supports include:
- Campus health counselling: 250-807-9270 or book online: https://ubcohw.inputhealth.com/ebooking#new (within BC only)
- UBC Student Assistance Program (available 24/7): https://students.ok.ubc.ca/health-wellness/student-assistance-program/#how-to-access
- Kelowna crisis line (available 24/7): 1-888-353-2273
The University kindly requests that media respect the privacy of the grieving family at this time.
