For Cody, helping others has always been a priority.
“When I was at university in Iran, I would go to hospitals for needy children,” she says. “I couldn’t sleep after, but I felt I had to do something.”
“Gina is an understated superwoman — her work ethic is off the charts,” says Johnny Zuccon, interim registrar at the Professional Engineers of Ontario, where Cody volunteered for nearly 20 years. “You can’t help but be in awe.”
As her business grew, Cody also made a point to be there for her family.
Daughter Tina remembers: “She would prepare dinner, and then spend three to four hours tutoring me in physics. We would be up until midnight sometimes, and she’d be waking up the next day at 5 a.m. to go to work.”
Her daughter Roya adds: “She’d get home every night regardless if she was working out of town. Her rule was that she had to be there by the time I woke up the next day. So she would say, ‘OK, I’ll fly out to the site but I’m taking the red eye home to be there before you get up.’”
Cody is currently a member of Concordia’s Board of Governors and vice-chair of the Campaign for Concordia for the Toronto region. She has also given time to the Canadian Standards Association; the Canadian Condominium Institute; the Professional Engineers of Ontario; and Sketch, an organization that supports young people who are struggling with poverty or homelessness.
Cody’s niece Christine Anahita Bigtashi, an engineering graduate student at Concordia, says her aunt is an inspiration. “Gina always told me to make sure I am doing something I love. She always loved what she did and it helped push her towards her goals. And if she can do it then I can, too.”
This ethos clearly extends to Cody’s alma mater.
“Concordia is a great institution — the level of education is amazing,” says Cody. “My gift is for the next generation, so that more people can succeed like I did. And hopefully, many years from now, there will be a similar donation. Together, we can make Concordia an even better and more amazing university for the next generation.”
Find out more about Gina Cody's $15-million gift to Concordia.