USask Nursing alumnus Dre Erwin receives Meritorious Service Decoration
USask alumnus receives national recognition for his work supporting youth mental health in northern communities through creative, community-led initiatives.
University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Nursing alumnus Dre Erwin (BSN’04), has been awarded the Meritorious Service Decoration (MSM), one of Canada’s highest civilian honours.
Awarded through the Governor General of Canada, the honour recognizes individuals who have performed a remarkable deed or activity that brings honour to Canada.
Erwin’s path to nursing began with an intense shift in perspective after serving in the Canadian Armed Forces infantry. A defining moment during a live-fire exercise, paired with caring for his grandmother, drove him to pursue a career focused on healing.
Registered Nurse Dre Erwin working in the field. Credit: Submitted.
Since graduating from USask, Erwin has built a 20-year nursing career in communities in Saskatchewan, including Regina and Moose Jaw, working across emergency, intensive care, and primary care settings.
He currently works in the post-anesthesia care unit in Regina and is preparing to return permanently to northern primary care nursing in Sandy Bay as a Registered Nurse-AAP (Advanced Authorized Practice).
Alongside his work as a registered nurse, Erwin has combined his commitment to a healing profession with a passion for photography. After navigating personal hardships, photography became a powerful outlet in his own healing journey.
“When you look through a camera lens, the chaos of the world blocks out, all you focus on is the beauty right in front of you,” said Erwin.
“Eventually, you start seeing the beauty, even without the camera in front of you.”
Dre Erwin (second from right) and the Pinehouse Photography Club. Credit: Submitted.
Erwin’s photography ultimately became a tool for helping others, particularly youth in northern Saskatchewan struggling with mental health.
His informal photography sessions expanded into what is now the Pinehouse Photography Club, an experience that gives youth a safe and creative outlet to open and explore their emotions.
From the photography club website, Dre is quoted:
“I know what it is like to navigate the depths of grief and despair. I have been there, and I can tell you firsthand: photography saved my life. It gave me a reason to look up when I was struggling to find happiness looking down."
"My work isn’t just about capturing beauty; it is about ensuring our youth are heard and providing them a safe path forward. I learned how this practice could save me, and now I am dedicated to showing how it can change the lives of others.”
The initial impact of the photography club was immediate.
Through partnerships with local clinics and mental health social workers, the program helps to identify and support youth who would have otherwise gone unnoticed.
Erwin’s work has extended beyond clinical care into storytelling and advocacy for the communities he is part of.
He wrote a children's book titled, 'The Little Boy Who Found Happiness in the Most Unusual Place,' based on one of the kids from the club and his journey through pain and suffering after losing his father, and how he discovered healing through photography.
“This wasn’t just my project; it belonged to the community,” said Erwin.
As he prepares to move back to northern Saskatchewan, Erwin is also establishing new initiatives, including a local pickleball league to support youth engagement and wellness.
Through the help of the recovery room nurses at the Regina General Hospital and people across Saskatchewan, Erwin will be bringing donated shoes, phones, clothing, and cameras with him to Sandy Bay.
The Meritorious Service Decoration highlights the impact and importance of Erwin’s work, and the role nursing can play in being an instigator for change.
Erwin is the only registered nurse from Regina to have ever received this medal, and just the second registered nurse in Saskatchewan’s history to earn it, with the previous recipient having been recognized over 20 years ago.
“This is an incredible validation for the nursing profession,” said Erwin. “It shows our profession is heavy-hitting, essential, and capable of leading national conversations on community wellness.”
Erwin hopes to write more books in collaboration with First Nations and Métis youth and have them shared in schools in northern Saskatchewan and across Canada.
Meritorious Service Decoration lapel pins. Credit: Submitted.
“If this national recognition helps save even one kid's life or inspires one community to reactivate a forgotten program, then that is what the medal truly means."
Erwin encourages nursing students to bring their own passions into practice, advocate for their patients, and to not be afraid to do things differently.
“Nursing is an absolutely amazing, limitless profession. Go out there and make it look incredible!"
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