Conestoga news

November 23, 2017 10:33 AM

Conestoga graduates nominated for Premier's Awards

Six Conestoga graduates have been nominated for the 2017 Premier’s Awards. Established in 1992 and presented annually, the awards honour and recognize the social and economic contribution that Ontario college graduates make to the province and beyond. 


Conestoga graduate Michael Carpenter, pictured third from left, has been nominated for a 2017 Premier's Award. Carpenter, vice-president Engineering at Famebit, recently relocated to Mountain View, California with his team -- also Conestoga graduates -- to work at Google's YouTube.

This year, 118 graduates from Ontario’s 24 colleges were nominated in six categories: Business, Community Services, Creative Arts and Design, Health Sciences, Recent Graduate and Technology. 

Conestoga’s nominees include:

  • Kirsty Bradley-McMurtrie, Law and Security Administration, 1998; director, Safety and Security, Conestoga College
  • Michael Carpenter, Computer Programmer/Analyst, 2003; vice-president, Engineering, FameBit
  • David Frazer, Business Administration - Management, 1997; national vice-president, Key Accounts, Manulife Bank of Canada
  • Sarah Martin, Paramedic, 2009 and Practical Nursing, 2011; Registered Practical Nurse and co-founder, Little Footprints, Big Steps International Development Organization
  • Rachel Schousten, Videography, 2012; host, Toronto's Morning Show, The Weather Network
  • Peter Shannon, Broadcasting - Radio and Television, 1991; founder and president, Memory Tree Productions Inc.

Past Conestoga winners include Tahani Aburaneh, CEO of Tahani Developments Inc.; Chameli Narain, president and CEO of Symcor; and Marianne Walker, president and CEO of Guelph General Hospital.

The 2017 Premier’s Awards gala will take place on November 27 at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto. More information and a full list of 2017 nominees is available through Colleges Ontario.