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Don’t be shy, bring on the award!

It’s time to nominate a Concordia mover and shaker for an Alumni Recognition Award
October 28, 2013
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By Scott McCulloch


There are a handful of champions and perhaps too many unsung heroes who deserve recognition — so say laureates of Concordia’s Alumni Recognitions Awards.

“Concordia has a lot of amazing individuals who need to be recognized,” says Eric Moses Gashirabake, BA (poli. sci.) 12, winner of the 2013 Outstanding Student Award. “At the end of the day, the selection committee needs to come up with a winner.”

The annual accolades, presented by Advancement and Alumni Relations (AAR) and the Concordia University Alumni Association, acknowledge exceptional individuals in eight categories.

Eric Moses Gashirabake
Eric Moses Gashirabake, BA 12, winner of the 2013 Outstanding Student Award | All photos: Concordia University

Know a deserving Concordian? “Nominate them by November 30,” urges AAR alumni officer Nancy Wada. “Outstanding individuals ought to be put forward.”

Recognition can be a moving experience. “I was honoured and surprised,” recalls Nancy Curran, events coordinator for Hospitality Concordia, who captured the 2013 Outstanding Staff Award. “I started to cry to tell you the truth.”

Nancy Curran 2013 Outstanding Staff Award winner Nancy Curran, events coordinator for Hospitality Concordia

Yet laureates — united in their modesty — wonder if back-office personnel sometimes get overlooked.

“Some of our technical staff don’t have a high profile,” says Martin Pugh, chair of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. “Yet they’re the ones who keep things running in the background.”

Pugh, who scooped the 2013 Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching, adds: “I’m sure there are people in the department who deserve awards and people keen to nominate them.”

AAR development officer Sarah Kenny, who nominated Space Concordia president Nick Sweet, an engineering student, says: “There are loads of deserving people who’ve never been nominated.”

Curran, whose brothers drove from Ottawa to hear her acceptance speech, may have a solution. “You should always have something you want to improve.”



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