On April 1, U of T Engineering students were recognized for their outstanding leadership and service at a celebration hosted by the U of T Engineering Office of Advancement, the Engineering Society (EngSoc), and the offices of the Vice-Dean Undergraduate and Vice-Dean Graduate.
The students honoured at this annual event have worked tirelessly to enhance their fellow students’ experience through clubs, design teams, mentoring, community-building, and more.
Alumnus Bill Jones (EngSci 6T8, UTIAS 7T0, pictured third from left above) joined the festivities representing his father, the late L.E. (Ted) Jones, Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering, after whom the L.E. Jones Award of Distinction for contributions to the arts is named. This year’s winner was Liam Krestow (Year 4 ChemE).
University of Toronto Student Leadership Awards (UTSLA)
Five graduating EngSci students and one alumna were among the 18 U of T Engineering winners of the UTSLA.
Lauren Altomare has fostered growth in others in executive roles, including Co-President, for Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), a 300+ member organization that organizes networking events, a national conference, and may other professional development opportunities for students.
She was also co-lead of UTBIOME, where she led a team developing laser-integrated endoscopes, and has served as an advisor for iGEM Toronto. In addition to numerous mentoring roles across the Faculty, she also served as Head Writer for Skule Nite 2T4.
Vedant Gupta co-founded the Engineering Drama Society to create new opportunities for diverse student theatre, and served as it’s Executive Producer for its inaugural musical, Spring Awakening, at Hart House Theatre. The group has become an important link between engineering students and the university’s wider arts community.
Previously, Vedant was the Producer for Skule Nite 2T5, and played several key roles during Frosh Week, including as Orientation Chair.
As Secretary General of the U of T Model United Nations Conference Harvi Karatha led the group to become the largest Model UN Conference in Canada, with over 1,350 high school and 250 U of T student participants.
She also served in leadership roles in Engineers Without Borders U of T Chapter, U of T’s Investment Banking Club, and the U of T Engineering Students Consulting Association, and served as Co-President of DECA UTSG.
Lincoln Macdonald is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the Engineering Drama Society, and Vice-President of the U of T Drama Coalition. He was also Captain of the Human Powered Vehicle Design Team.
Through roles such as Manager of SUDS and other community-based activities he helped create a safe space outside of class where students could develop skills and grow as individuals.
Serving in several executive roles, including as Co-President, for You’re Next Career Network (YNCN), Michelle Sun (Year 4 EngSci) led a team of 60 students to run career fairs and other events for over 2,000 students. Her previous work as YNCN’s Business Development Director led to 70 companies joining the biggest career fair of the year and one of the most important employer events for U of T Engineering students.
BME PhD student Ruonan Cao (EngSci 1T9 + PEY) has advanced STEM education and strengthened student communities through impactful leadership in U of T Discovery and the Biomedical Engineering Students’ Association. She led a team of over 30 U of T student mentors to deliver STEM programming for over 150 high school students, helped develop capstone-like projects for high school students, and supported delivery of three on-campus skill days to inspire the next cohort of STEM enthusiasts.
Engineering Society Awards (EngSoc)
Year 1 EngSci student Ammar Hasham was one of the recipients of the EngSoc Centennial Award, which is presented to one U of T Engineering student each in Years 1 & 2 who demonstrates commitment and dedication to the Engineering Society through extra-curricular activities.
EngSoc Design Team Association Director of the Year was awarded to Michael Atkinson (PEY EngSci), and graduating student Abdullah Fawzy (Year 4 EngSci) was named EngSoc Valedictorian.
Read about all of the winners in the U of T Engineering News.
See more photos from the Engineering Student Leadership Reception on Flickr.