Lexia Piccolo has been named the winner of the 2025 VandenHoek Schlachter Pride Award. (Photo: University of Lethbridge)

By David Opinko

U of L student wins award for 2SLGBTQ+ mental health advocacy

Jun 24, 2025 | 1:13 PM

The University of Lethbridge (U of L) is honouring one of its students for supporting members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

Lexia Piccolo has been named the winner of the 2025 VandenHoek Schlachter Pride Award.

“It’s an incredible honour; it means so much,” Piccolo says. “Receiving the news was so affirming; it just made me feel proud that all the work I’ve done is making a difference. It also motivates me even more to keep building inclusive pathways for people who have been pushed to the margins for so long.”

Piccolo is a graduate student in the Faculty of Education and has a background in advocacy, centered on 2SLGBTQ+ youth in her home province of Quebec.

She worked as a public consultation coordinator with Youth for Youth Quebec, hosting town hall-style events for youth at a Pride event and creating safe spaces for participants.

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Her work also includes collecting survey data on mental health needs and experiences from participants across Quebec.

“My findings showed a real lack of support within community organizations, including schools, and discrimination from older populations,” she recalls. “With these results, I wrote a policy brief called The Importance of School Support on the Mental Health of LGBTQIA2S+ Youth that was published, calling to the government and aimed at informing educational institutions or people working in them on how we can better support youth.”

Piccolo is halfway through her Master of Education in Counselling Psychology at the U of L.

Her coursework explores how adverse childhood experiences can impact the relationships and mental health of 2SLGBTQ+ people.

After graduation, she plans to pursue a career as a mental health professional.

Piccolo is the second recipient of the VandenHoek Schlachter Pride Award, which was created by U of L alumni Dr. Kurt Schlachter and Jason VandenHoek.

The endowment fund is matched by the U of L Board of Governors and aims to celebrate academic achievement, reduce financial barriers, and recognize exceptional contributions to advancing equity and inclusion for the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

READ MORE: Lethbridge Pride Fest celebrated at U of L with flag raising

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