As the university’s 105th convocation quickly approaches, I feel I must take the time to instill one last piece of knowledge on the grads of 2012. Some of you may know this, but indulge me for a moment.
Reunion 2012 happened on Saturday, September 29 and what a success! This year we welcomed over 7000 alumni, staff, faculty, students, and community members on campus for a wide variety of events. I’ll go into more detail but would like to start with some background first.
Now you’re probably wondering why the Office of Alumni Relations would need, or want, to start a blog. Good question. The answer is simply because on top of all the fabulous events we host around the world, we have a ton of neat things to share with you.
Working in Alumni Affairs means that we are all relatively well-versed with the proper usage of what, as it turns out, is a pretty confusing word. I wanted to write this blog entry to address the proper use of this mysterious noun and at the same time, perhaps save some innocent souls from the scourge of incorrect usage.
First things first, we’ll get the obvious out of the way.
Addy Cameron-Huff (BSc '09, Biomedical Sciences) has developed software for a U.S. presidential campaign, and a new online portal tracking the political process at the Ontario Legislature. He also runs a software and app development firm called Summerhill Design.
Charmaine Hammond's (BA '95, Social Development) dog, Toby, is the basis for two books: Toby the Pet Therapy dog & His Hospital Friends, and Toby Says Be a Buddy, Not a Bully. In honour of Toby's recent passing, Charmaine is launching A Million Acts of Kindness - Toby's Global Mission. The goal is to bring kindness to the forefront in family, community, workplace, and ultimately, the world.
Canada's first ever Golden Energy Globe World Award was won recently by Doug McClenahan (BASc '77, Systems Design), for initiating the Drake Landing Solar Community project.
William Pawlowsky (BA '86, Slavic Studies) writes political commentary for Ukraine Business Online. One of his pieces recently caught the eye of a blogger with The New York Times.
Steve Matusch (BASc '91, Systems Design Engineering), co-founder of Ionic Engineering, was honoured with the 2011 Ontario Professional Engineers' Engineering Medal for Entrepreneurship.
Paul Whittaker (BASc '84, Mechanical Engineering), co-owner of Engineered Lifting Systems & Equipment Inc., talks about his company's new new "brains over brawn" approach.