Mount Allison honours graduates
2013-03-25 09:37:12

The annual Mount Allison University grad banquet was held in March with a number of major awards recognizing students’ academic achievements and community involvement during their years at Mount Allison.

The Francis S. Allison Award went to drama student Jenifer Boyce of Moncton, NB. The award is the top honour a female graduating student can receive. It recognizes outstanding achievement academically as well as in other areas such as sports, class projects, service to the University, development of character, and leadership. Boyce’s activities include Shinerama, The Argosy, Orientation, Relay for Life, Catalyst and Positive Space, as well as being involved in at least 10 different dramatic productions in various roles. Boyce also extended her activities in the Town of Sackville, volunteering at the Winter Carnival, the Red Cross, and Sackville’s 200th birthday celebrations.

Biology student David Summerby-Murray of Sackville, received the Don Norton Memorial Award, which honours the top graduating male student who makes the greatest overall contribution to University life. Summerby-Murray has been involved in a number of activities throughout his university career including: Orientation, Shinerama, and B.O.D.I.E.S. He has served as a teaching assistant, a resident assistant, and Leadership mentor for his peers while coaching swimming and soccer to children from the Sackville community. Summerby-Murray is also a varsity athlete, Mount Allison ambassador, and student registration helpdesk assistant. He has been involved with the Mount Allison Students Union (MASU) in numerous roles.

Chemistry student Stephen Bradford of Amherst, NS collected the 2013 Charlie Hunter Award, which is presented to a student who has shown exemplary student leadership and demonstrated commitment to student involvement and engagement. Bradford has been involved in the award-winning Mount Allison Shinerama campaign for the past four years, most recently as assistant chair and with Mount Allison’s Habitat for Humanity chapter as vice-president, fund raising. Bradford’s activities also include: Relay for Life; MASU campus life committee; MASU safety and security committee; University academic judicial committee; Board of Regents student affairs committee; VP advisory’s committee on the duration of dons’ contracts; University orientation committee member. He also served as President and social chair of Edwards House.

The 2013 Gil Latter Memorial Award, which honours a student who has volunteered their time and demonstrated an outstanding contribution to the Sackville community, went to global health and psychology student Chris Vizena. Vizena, of Osgoode, ON has been involved in a number of organizations, both on and off campus, coaching minor soccer, volunteering in the local hospital and nursing home, tutoring fellow students, as well as Global Brigades, Shinerama, and Relay for Life.

Caroline (Xiao Tong) Wong of Singapore collected the Barritt-Marshall Award, given annually to an individual who has actively and passionately worked to promote the quality of experience for international students at Mount Allison. With devotion to many international programs and initiatives on campus, Wong has served as an international orientation facilitator, been involved with the International Centre’s Mentorship Program, worked on the MASU International Committee, and served on the executive of MOSAIC – Mount Allison’s multicultural society.

Four Gold A Awards were also presented at the banquet. They recognize students who have made outstanding contributions to the University community. This year’s recipients are Laura Boyd, Patrick Joyce, Stephen Spence, and Michael Watkins.

The graduate banquet is also an opportunity for each department to honour its most deserving student. The winners of this year’s departmental awards are: Natasha Bani-Sadr (anthropology); Reanna Laltoo (biology); Emily Robinson (Canadian studies); Jeremy Bourque (chemistry); Michelle McLauchlan (biochemistry); Chelsea Greene (classics); Allen Fowlis (Commerce); Crystal Chettiar and Chelsea Dickie (drama studies); David Evans (economics); Caroline Wong (English); Jessica (Jess) Palmer (Fine Arts); Leanne Gaudet (art history); Rachel Singleton-Polster (geography); Naomi Martz (environmental studies); Alicia Cassidy (environmental science); Lea Foy (history); Christian Fiddick (mathematics/computer science); David White (French); Courtney Dickie (German); Blair Ellis and Janet O’Brien (Music); Monica MacDonald (philosophy); Aaron Martin (physics); Sonja Luck (political science); Kristina Mansveld (international relations); Kathryn (Katie) Miller and Timothy (Tim) Wingate (psychology); Oudai Al-Tabbaa (religious studies); Bianca Gomez (sociology); and Courtney Young (women’s and gender studies).

Twenty-eight Leadership Certificates were awarded to students in recognition of their extensive co-curricular involvement on campus and in the local Sackville community during their time at Mount Allison. This year’s winners include: Jenifer Boyce; Laura Boyd; Stephen Bradford; Robert Burroughs; Rachael Coon; Anna Doucette; Veronika Fitzgerald; Zoe Frolking; Robert Harris; Yanhan Hu; Patrick Joyce; Jacob Lavigne; Carly Levy; Patrick Losier; Sean McGilley; Alyssa Patterson; Wray Perkin; Seth Pickard-Tattrie; Palak Satija; Paras Satija; Sowmya Sharma; Stephen Spence; David Summerby-Murray; Chris Vizena; Michael Watkins; Caroline Whidden; Ariel Yip; and Courtney Young.

The Class of ’33 Award was also presented in March at the MOSAIC Banquet. The award is presented annually to two international students in their second or third year, in recognition of their leadership, extracurricular involvement, and commitment to promoting cross-cultural awareness and understanding. This year’s recipients are Mitali Sharan, New Delhi, India and Haruho Kubota, Rokunche, Japan.

Photo caption: Members of the Class of 2013 were honoured at the annual Grad Banquet, held in March at Jennings Hall.