On June 5, McMaster University will host the 2025 Alumni Awards, a celebration of alumni whose achievements reflect the university's values of integrity, innovation and impact.
This year's Alumni Awards ceremony will recognize 19 individuals in six award categories.
Albert Lager Prize for Student Initiative
This award, named for three-time McMaster graduate and longtime McMaster Alumni Association volunteer Albert Lager, recognizes current students for leadership, service and community involvement. This year's honourees are:
- Maddie Brockbank '19, '20 (Faculty of Social Sciences) is a leader in gender-based violence prevention who has volunteered with organizations including Interval House and the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion.
- Vidhi Patel (Faculty of Science) has made notable research contributions to mental health and addiction studies while also developing youth-focused educational materials on gaming and gambling risks.
- Julia Vo (DeGroote School of Business) is a leader in student advocacy and community outreach who has organized the Movember 5K Charity Run and served as co-chair of the Canadian Marketing League.
- Sarah Woods '25 (Faculty of Engineering) was a key leader of the McMaster Women in Engineering Society where she launched events like the International Women's Day Gala and mentored future engineers through outreach programs.
Arch Award
This award honours recent graduates for innovative accomplishments and community impact. The 2025 Arch Award recipients are:
- Morgann Book '24 (Faculty of Social Sciences) is Canada's most-followed book content creator on social media, having built a global literary community through TikTok and her podcast Off The Shelf.
- Jason Ribeiro '12 (Faculty of Humanities) is the president of the Calgary Surge basketball team who also has a track record of extensive work in economic development, educational consulting and community building.
- Fatima Babakura '18 (DeGroote School of Business) is the founder of Timabee, a luxury accessories brand, and Yerwa Secrets, a fragrance company that empowers women entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
- Paige Dickie '11 (Faculty of Engineering) is a Canadian leader in responsible AI development. She holds more than a dozen patents and recently joined the AI-focused venture capital firm Radical Ventures as a vice-president.
- Kareem-Anthony Ferreira '12 (Faculty of Humanities) has earned international acclaim for his paintings that explore Caribbean identity and family history. The list of collectors who own his work includes basketball superstar LeBron James.
McMaster Engineering Young Alumni Leadership Award
- Giuseppe Marcantonio Del Gobbo '13 (Faculty of Engineering) is a leader in climate resilience and structural engineering who has led major initiatives at Arup and Hatch, and is a mentor and advocate for young professionals in his field.
McMaster Community Impact Awards
These awards recognize alumni who have made a positive difference in their communities. This year's recipients are:
- Doreen Johnson '81 (Faculty of Social Sciences) is long-time anti-racism advocate in Hamilton, including leadership roles with the Hamilton Black History Council and the Multicultural Health Coalition.
- Andrea East '80 (Faculty of Health Sciences) established a 40-year career as a family physician at Six Nations of the Grand River where she helped launch vital health programs and championed Indigenous health equity.
- Alex Young Soo Lee '16 (Faculty of Health Sciences) is enhancing accessibility and equity in medical education. He has also worked in Indigenous health and in international health equity through roles with the UN and WHO.
Alumni Gallery
The members of the McMaster Alumni Gallery are McMaster graduates who have made interesting or important contributions to society. This year's gallery inductees are:
- Bonnie Stevens '74 (Faculty of Health Sciences) is a ground-breaking researcher in pediatric pain management, a key leader at SickKids and the University of Toronto, and a champion for research-based clinical care.
- Henry Wong '73 (Faculty of Health Sciences) and Sylvia Wong '69 (Faculty of Social Sciences, posthumous) have been philanthropists and community leaders for decades, establishing bursaries, scholarships and learning programs at McMaster and for cultural and medical institutions in California and China.
- Frank Scremin '94 (Faculty of Engineering) is a consultant and leader in the airport management sector, having guided the award-winning redevelopment of New York LaGuardia's Terminal B.
- David Adames '92 (Faculty of Humanities) is the chief executive officer of the Niagara Parks Commission and a former Hamilton civic leader who was the chief executive of Tourism Hamilton and the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.
- Ruth Geurts '80 (Faculty of Social Sciences) is an innovative social service educator who has developed community programs internationally in Haiti and in Southwestern Ontario with a focus on social justice and Indigenous communities.
Honorary Member
From time to time, the McMaster Alumni Association (MAA) recognizes individuals who are not McMaster students or graduates, but have still made exceptional contributions to the university and the MAA. In 2025, the association is awarding Honorary Membership to:
- David Farrar, McMaster's President and Vice-Chancellor since 2019, has displayed exceptional leadership during challenging times and his unwavering support of alumni engagement and university advancement has been crucial to the reinvigoration of the university's external relations activity.
The 2025 Alumni Awards ceremony takes place on Thursday, June 5 on campus in L.R. Wilson Hall. Click here for information and tickets.
