More than 1400 graduating students will be recognized at the Fall 2014 convocation ceremonies of Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning to be held on Saturday, November 1 at Bingeman’s Conference Centre in Kitchener. In conjunction with the ceremony, President John Tibbits will present a number of College-wide honours.
The 10:00 a.m. ceremony will recognize more than 700 graduates from Conestoga’s Business & Hospitality, Continuing Education, Health & Community Services, Liberal Studies and Media & Design programs. Three special awards will be presented at the ceremony.
The Governor General’s Medal is awarded to the graduating student who achieves the highest composite academic grade average for all courses in a diploma program. This year’s award will be presented to Rachel Bender of Cambridge, who completed Conestoga’s Business - Marketing diploma program in Spring 2014, earning straight A+ grades in every course through two years of study, graduating with an average of 97.6 per cent. She is currently working in a marketing and administration role at Grand River Natural Stone while continuing her studies on a part-time basis.
The President’s Scholar Award will be presented to Josiah Thorogood of Cambridge. This award recognizes the graduating student from a four-year degree program who achieves the highest composite academic average for all courses. Thorogood completed the Bachelor of Community and Criminal Justice degree program in Spring 2014, graduating with an average of 92 per cent. He is currently a scholarship student at the University of New Hampshire’s School of Law in Concord.
Faculty member Tom Bishop from the School of Media & Design will be presented with the Aubrey Hagar Distinguished Teaching Award, which recognizes a faculty member for outstanding contributions and leadership in the teaching and learning process. Bishop, a Registered Graphic Designer and founder of Ampersand Studios, began his teaching career at Conestoga in 2005. He has developed curriculum and taught in a number of programs in the School, including Graphic Design, Design Foundations and Media Foundations as well as the new Design degree program launched this fall.
Students, faculty and staff members from across Conestoga describe Bishop as a role model, whose warmth, energy, enthusiasm, compassion and love for teaching serve as an inspiration not only for his students, but for his colleagues as well.
The 2:00 p.m. ceremony will recognize more than 700 new graduates from Engineering, Information Technology and Trades & Apprenticeship programs. Two special awards will be presented.
Danish Gupta, Hemanth Kona and Pranav Maharaj from the Mobile Solutions Development graduate certificate program will receive the Conestoga College Mastercraft Award, which recognizes excellence in program-related technical skills. The group developed a mobile web application that can create accurate Earth Mat Design information on-site, providing specialized output to meet user needs. The new app reduces design time, increases productivity and decreases sources of errors for engineers working in the field.
Conestoga’s Award of Merit, which recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to society, to our community, or to Conestoga through accomplishments in a particular area of study, will be presented to Tony Martinek.
Martinek joined the faculty at Conestoga in 1970 and served in a series of progressively responsible roles, eventually becoming Principal at Doon Campus as well as Dean of the School of Engineering Technology.
Through his career, Martinek has worked with industry, community and academic partners across Canada and around the world to foster collaboration and applied research, and to advance project-based learning in engineering education.
For more information, visit the Convocation website