This week, five Loyalist College alumni were among the remarkable individuals nominated for the 2024 Premier's Awards. Celebrated for their outstanding vision, leadership and impact, the Loyalist nominees joined a distinguished group of college graduates honoured at Ontario's Higher Education Summit for their work in driving economic growth and creating meaningful change locally, nationally and globally.
Presented annually by Colleges Ontario, the Premier's Awards highlight the contributions of Ontario's college graduates across seven categories: Business, Community Services, Creative Arts and Design, Health Sciences, Recent Graduate, Skilled Trades, and Science, Technology and Engineering.
"With vision, integrity and a passion for using their skills in service of others, our Premier's Awards nominees are having a profound impact in their respective fields," said Loyalist College President and CEO Mark Kirkpatrick. "Their achievements serve as inspiration for the next generation of Loyalist students, demonstrating how they can leverage their education to confront today's most pressing challenges."
President Kirkpatrick also emphasized the broader significance of recognizing college graduates, adding, "The Premier's Awards are an annual reminder of the essential role college graduates play in shaping Ontario's economic, social and cultural success. Their contributions span every sector, fostering healthier communities and building a more prosperous future."
The Premier's Awards were presented on Nov. 25 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. Loyalist College's nominees included:
Health Sciences Category: Laurie French
Nursing, 1987
Laurie French is working to de-silo health care in Ontario and introduce a collaborative and seamless delivery model that builds community, responds to local needs and recognizes that health is impacted by poverty, homelessness, social isolation and the average person's inability to navigate a non-system to get their needs met. As President and CEO of Providence Village, the registered nurse and health administrator is drawing on a career that has always put patients first, and her deep experience at the intersection of community and health.
Skilled Trades Category: Jade Murphy
Welding and Fabrication Technician, 2020; Welding Techniques, 2019
Jade Murphy holds history in her hands. As a welder and restoration technician working on some of Canada's most important heritage buildings and monuments, she does the careful and respectful work of ensuring the work of the generations before her will continue to exist for future generations. In only four years since graduating, she has learned and worked to restore, repair and conserve both the architectural and artistic history of Canada, while working with historians, conservators and leading experts in the specialized work of heritage preservation.
Community Services Category: Mike Shoreman
Public Relations, 2007; Advertising, 2006
When a neurological disorder robbed Mike Shoreman of his mobility and independence, it marked the end of his paddleboarding business. However, the mental toll very nearly ended his life. Fighting back, he uses the tools of his training in public relations to take on the client of a lifetime: Canadians struggling with mental health. He became the first disabled person to cross the Great Lakes via paddleboard, filmed a multi-award-winning documentary of his journey, wrote two books and countless articles, and is an in-demand educator whose focus is not the one-in-five suffering, but on how the other four can help.
Creative Arts and Design Category: Kenneth Jackson
Journalism - Print, 2003
Kenneth Jackson is an investigative reporter for Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) whose dogged determination to get to the bottom of a story, and whose empathy for those whose voices are unheard has made him a multi-award-winning force of nature. A four-year investigation into the tragic harm done to children in the Indigenous child welfare system not only brought light into darkness but changed policy and perceptions at all levels. Meanwhile, his so-far eight-month series examining the suspicious deaths of two young Mohawk men has caused the Chief Coroner to re-open the investigation in June 2024 after the families' concerns were overlooked.
Recent Graduate Category: Amanda Felske
Cannabis Applied Science, 2019; Chemical Engineering Technologist, 2005
There are few recent grads who are handed the keys to an empty warehouse and are told to build a quality control program from scratch. More daunting still, it was in a highly regulated industry that had only just become legal. Amanda Felske's job as Senior Chemist was to ensure that the cannabis-infused beverages her company produced had exactly the correct amount of THC, and that every process from extraction to finish was documented and tested. The entire industry's credibility and viability weighed on getting everything right, because nobody wanted to be the first one to get it wrong.
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