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Over 200 graduating students, faculty members, and staff came together at Federation Hall to celebrate the incredible Class of ’23 last week! Attendees indulged in delicious food, heard from past Environment valedictorians, and took group photos to mark the occasion.
We were fortunate to have several engaging speakers at the event, including Environment and Business ’21 Alumnus Lauren Petropoulos, and Planning ’22 Alumnus Jaskaran Dhillon. With witty humor and inspiring life lessons, the past Environment Valedictorians provided the Class of ‘23 with heartfelt advice on how to navigate the professional world after graduating. Professor Bruce Frayne, the Faculty of Environment Dean, also addressed the soon-to-be alumni.
Alumni Lauren and Jaskaran speak to the Class of '23.
Dean Bruce Frayne addresses the Class of ’23.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the evening, was the presentation of the fun awards. Every year, we ask graduating students to nominate their peers and favorite Environment faculty and staff for fun categories, and the winners of the nominations receive a framed certificate.
Sophia Richardson recieves award for the KI student most likely to integrate the most knowledge. To her right is Professor Rob Gorbet.
Class of ’23 Planning students.
Congratulations to all of the Grad Send-Off fun award certificate winners!
- The SEED student most likely to have Neil Craik defend them after a protest - Jahanvi Desai
- Planning student most likely to build something on their property without checking the by-law first - Zyan Khan
- The KI student most likely to integrate the most knowledge - Sophia Richardson
- The INDEV student most likely to continue seeking life advice from Karen Robertson - Duncan Willis
- The SERS student most likely to wear hip waders at a job interview - Carla Kolar
- The GEM student most likely to get lost using a map - Bhavesh Sheemar
- The AVIATION student most likely to fly a Cessna for the rest of their life - Mahir-Ul Jamee
- The GEOMATICS student most likely to build a homemade LIDAR sensor - Paramvir Singh
- The Graduate student most likely to change their research question again - Trang Le
- The graduate student most likely to spend all hours of the day in the Grad House - Giulia Cricenti
- Favorite Faculty winners: Steve Murphy, Michael Wood, Katie Plaisance, Clarence Woudsma, Brent Doberstein
- Favorite Staff winners: Tiffany Chen, Alan Anthony, and Kim Boucher
Students also wrote down a favorite memory form their time at Waterloo. Five years from now, the Class of ’23 will have an opportunity to reflect on these memories when they are revealed at their 5-year reunion.
Finally, the event concluded by taking class photos and hitting up the Photo Stars photo booth. Groups posed with their new awards or with their favorite faculty and staff. All the photos from Environment Grad Class Send-Off 2023 are now available for participants to download.
Thank you to everyone who attended. We look forward to continue celebrating the class of '23 at spring and fall convocations.
