More than 4000 graduating students will be recognized at the 44th Convocation ceremonies of Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning to be held June 12 - 14 at the Doon campus in Kitchener. In conjunction with the ceremonies, President John Tibbits will present a number of College-wide honours.
Faculty member Jim Galloway of the School of Engineering and Information Technology will be recognized as the 2012 recipient of the Aubrey Hagar Award for Teaching Excellence, Conestoga’s top faculty honour. Galloway is a welding and fabrication manager with 30 years of industry experience and a 1982 graduate of Conestoga’s Welding Engineering Technician program. He returned to the College in 2000 to assume a faculty position in the Welding and Manufacturing Engineering Technology programs, and is described as an exceptional educator whose commitment to excellence, competence in learning design, creativity and humour leave a lasting impression on the students he teaches
The award is named for Aubrey Hagar, a distinguished member of the Conestoga community for more than 20 years, and a member of the College’s founding Board of Governors. It will be presented at the Convocation ceremony held on Tuesday, June 12 at 3:00 pm.
Also at the Tuesday afternoon ceremony, a team of five students from the Architecture Construction Engineering Technology program will be presented with the Conestoga College Mastercraft award. Established by former College President Kenneth E. Hunter, this award recognizes outstanding technical achievement by an individual or a student team in the creation of a program-related technical project.
For their project, the students - Joseph Abela, Julianne Campbell, Steven Kolkman, Kaitlyn Patchett and David Pawelko - designed a six-storey student residence based on a client’s needs. The project included the creation of a full design package, a set of working drawings and a laser-cut, hand-assembled scale model. Judges remarked on the outstanding quality of the team’s work, from the detail in the drawings and build design, to the consideration of environmental impact and appropriate costings.
The James W. Church Award will be presented to Catherine Sauder of Kitchener at the 3:00 pm ceremony on Thursday, June 14. Established by Conestoga’s founding president, the award recognizes excellence in a combination of areas: achievement in learning, concern for the dignity of the individual and a personal contribution of benefit to society.
Sauder is graduating with high distinction from the Recreation and Leisure Services program. As well as earning a cumulative grade-point average of 3.98 over the course of the two-year program, she has also made tremendous contributions to the program, to the College, and to the community through her leadership, her dedication and her commitment to others. Her instructors remark on her dedication to learning, her efficiency, creativity and perseverance, and her commitment to excellence. They also cite her warmth, her compassion and her ability to make a positive impact on everyone she meets.
For more information about Spring Convocation, including a detailed schedule, visit the Conestoga website at: www.conestogac.on.ca
For media inquiries, contact Brenda Cassidy, Corporate Communications Manager, 519-748-5220 ext 3336 or bcassidy@conestogac.on.ca