- Ways to give
- Where to give
- News & impact stories
- Engage Magazine
- Engage: Summer 2025
- Message from the Vice-President, Advancement and Alumni Engagement
- Meet Alison Shaw, Executive Director, SFU Climate Innovation
- Protecting Canada’s aquatic ecosystems
- Red Leafs swim star propelled by donor support
- Creating space for women to thrive in STEM
- Continuing a legacy of artistic innovation
- Going the extra mile: Sue Porter
- Going the extra mile: Kris Nordgren
- Going the extra mile: Barbara Mitchell & Andrew Wister
- How to plan to reduce taxes on your estate: Part three in a three-part series
- Chasing a dream
- Engage: Winter 2024
- Message from the Vice-President, Advancement and Alumni Engagement
- Improving avalanche safety for backcountry adventurers
- Meet Dr. David J. Price
- Archive of beloved CBC show Writers & Company comes to SFU
- Alumnus succeeds courtside with donor support
- More than 42 million thanks!
- Following a different path
- How to plan to reduce taxes on your estate: Part two in a two-part series
- SFU's endowment
- Engage: Summer 2024
- Message from the Vice-President, Advancement and Alumni Engagement
- People of SFU: Meet Annette Santos
- Supporting land-based learning for Indigenous business students
- New award nurtures artists to push creative limits
- Meet the physicians helping lead the journey to B.C.’s new medical school
- Bridging continents for critical international climate research
- Addressing the urgent human health impacts of B.C. wildfires
- Uplifting students in need
- Preserving Vancouver’s community-engaged art history
- Fostering global perspective: A Q&A about paying it forward with alumnus Allan Merrill
- Raising the bar to improve food security for students
- Meet SFU’s 2024 Outstanding Alumni Award recipients
- SFU news and research
- The bold and the Bard
- Inspiring future leaders: a charter alumnus’ legacy
- How to plan to reduce taxes on your estate: Part one in a three-part series
- Gibson Art Museum construction progresses; design earns national recognition
- In Memoriam: Cathy Daminato
- By the numbers
- Engage: Winter 2023
- Message from the Vice-President, Advancement and Alumni Engagement
- People of SFU: Meet Erin Biddlecombe, Senior Director, Student Affairs
- Doing good
- Making dreams come true: One couple's investment in our future
- Five questions to ask when planning a charitable gift in your will
- Healthy food for healthy minds
- Supporting Indigenous and Black scientists
- Part of the bigger picture
- Bridging human connection in the world of immersive technologies
- Bringing equity into the health promotion space
- Transforming the future of cancer
- The singing janitor
- SFU news and research
- Building community and compassion through coffee
- SFU’s endowment: advancing an inclusive and sustainable future
- Message from the Vice-President, Finance and Administration
- Thank you for your impact!
- Engage: Summer 2023
- Message from the Vice-President, Advancement & Alumni Engagement
- People of SFU: Meet Chris (Syeta’xtn) Lewis, Director of Indigenous Initiatives and Reconciliation
- The first graduates of SFU
- By the numbers: investing in the future
- SFU donor community helps student-athlete run through adversity
- Supporting students in hard times
- Through their words: Mathew Fleury
- Through their words: Ashley Kyne
- Through their words: Kali Stierle
- Through their words: Julie Seal
- Strengthening legal services excellence in B.C.
- Coming to SFU: an innovative new hub for the arts
- The power of reciprocity: A Q&A with Ian and Yvonne Reddy
- Transforming Indigenous art education at SFU
- Embracing the SFU student experience
- When charity truly begins at home
- Shaping a more inclusive future in tech
- Propelling diversity and innovation in higher education
- SFU news and research
- Achieving your philanthropic goals with stock options
- In memoriam: Ron Cliff
- Engage: Summer 2025
- Impact of giving
- Engage Magazine
- About us
- Give now
Legacy after great loss: Chris Friesen's story
Christian 'Chris' Friesen's early life was filled with adventure. He grew up exploring his family's lush acreage in Langley, visiting nearby relatives in the Fraser Valley, making memories on road trips to Disneyland and the Grand Canyon, camping along the Oregon coast and even ziplining with mom Ingrid, dad Randy and older brother Max.
Adventure soon gave way to passion and dedication. Active in many sports and driven to succeed, Chris chose to focus on box and field lacrosse in Grade 9. After participating in the Burnaby Mountain Selects' summer camp at SFU, Chris was inspired by coaches and student-athletes to be the best in both sport and school. From that pivotal moment forward, he hit the books and trained hard. One of his crowning achievements was being named to the All-star Team for B.C. at the National Field Lacrosse Championship in September 2009 (pictured right). Although Team B.C. didn't win, Chris was honoured to be one of the tournament MVPs.
A few months after the championship game and midway through Grade 11, as letters of interest from multiple universities in Canada and the U.S. began to arrive, Chris passed away suddenly in March 2010.
Chris' incredible accomplishments as well as his kindness and compassion were mirrored back to his family through the outpouring of support received in the days and weeks following his passing. To honour his legacy, family, friends, coaches and teammates came together to establish an endowed memorial award for SFU students demonstrating high standards of performance on the lacrosse field, as well as exemplary leadership and teamwork.
Chris' life was cut short, but for his family, this award at SFU keeps his memory alive and shares his remarkable work ethic, talent and winning spirit with grateful student-athlete recipients for years to come.