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OCAD U student leaders recognized with an overwhelming 80 nominations

A photo of a group of OCAD students at the Student Leadership Awards

On March 21, 2023, OCAD University recognized and celebrated the many student leaders who are dedicated to supporting our vibrant campus community. This year a record 80 nominations were received for the awards, almost double previous numbers.

This year’s dinner featured delicious Ojibway-style food and beverages provided by chef Shawn Adler of the Pow Wow Café in Kensington Market and was held at St. George by the Grange church. The event recognizes those who have volunteered their time and energy towards representing student perspectives, supporting peer wellness programming, increasing student food security, providing community for marginalized students and so much more. The program of the evening included musical performances by Caitlyn Gui and Lorrie-anne De Leon of O Capella student group, and a poetry reading by Creative Writing student Avi Sol.

Arpit Nigam, Brent James, Bojana Tudorovic
Peer mentor Arpit Nigam, Campus Life Coordinator Brent E. James and peer mentor Bojana Tudorovic. 

Long-serving Peer Mentors were celebrated for their ongoing commitment to supporting first-year students. Arpit Nigam, Bojana Tudorovic and Donald Zhu received four-year commitment pins, and Daniel Shui, Holly Bygrove, Ivy Chen, Jessica Lui, Juliana Montes de Oca, Katherine Mendonca, Mehnaz Lamia, Ratiba Aanoosh, Samira Nassiri, Sara Khalil-Bayley, Sarah Lodge, Swara Patel, Tusharika Arora and Ziqi Guo were recognized with three-year commitment pins.

 

Peer Mentor Excellence Awards
These awards, supported by Alumni Relations, acknowledge those Peer Mentors who have made outstanding contributions, supporting new and first-year students with their transition to OCAD U, and helping build community.

Nominees:

  • Tasnimah Ahmed
  • Elif Asal
  • Khushi Jetley
  • Mehnaz Lamia
  • Sanya  Mathur
  • Anna Petrosyan
  • Lei (Yuna) Zhang
     

Congratulations to Sanya Mathur and Lei (Yuna) Zhang, Peer Mentors since 2022!

Sanya Mather, a third-year Environmental Design student, was celebrated by her peers for how relatable she was, sharing her experience as an international student, and how she helped them appropriately prepare for the Canadian winter weather. Sanya helped mentees build social connections by encouraging them to participate in Welcome Squad events, and helped with course registration and learning how to navigating other processes and systems at the university.

Yuna Zhang is a fourth-year Material Art & Design student whose peers described her as a bridge between her mentees and the university’s services and departments. Her work leading tours to Toronto Island, MOCA and the ROM, and helping run a Lunar New Year celebration made them feel recognized and included, and like they had a home away from home. Yuna’s peers also spoke of her work holding events like a clothing swap to support an on-campus, circular economy.

Lei (Yuna) Zhang and Sanya Mathur
Peer Mentor Excellence Award winners Lei (Yuna) Zhang and Sanya Mathur.

Student Group Leadership Award
This award, supported by Alumni Relations, is presented to a student group leader who excels, above and beyond, in their leadership role. Through facilitation and involvement, the leader demonstrates outstanding contributions, commitment and support to their group members and the OCAD University community.

Nominees:

  • Elif Asal, RenderED
  • Pixel Heller, Almeda Collective
  • Bhavana Jalali, OCAD Hindu Student Association
  • Khushi Jetley, OCAD Hindu Student Association
  • Samantha Kline, OCAD U Jewish Club
  • Jason Mendiola, Shoes Off Collective
  • Tir Tabandeh, OCAD Storyboard Circle
  • Aysia Tse, Shoes Off Collective
  • Rita Tsetsekas, O Cappella
     

Congratulations to Tir Tabandeh for their work leading OCAD Storyboard Circle, an animation club, open to all forms of animation, that provides resources, opportunities and skill-strengthening opportunities for its members.

A fourth-year Experimental Animation student, Tir received many resounding nominations recognizing their tireless work to connect OCAD U Storyboard Circle’s members with each other, and with opportunities. Their peers spoke about the work they did producing the short film, Mourning Routine, how it helped prepare fourth-year students for thesis, and how it helped them know each other in a way they couldn’t just through class interactions. Tir’s dedication to inclusiveness shone through in the nominations we received, with their peers citing their commitment to the use of colour-coded pronouns on Discord helping to prevent them from being misgendered, and the creation of policies against discrimination for the group.

Mehnaz Lamia, Rey Tabandeh, Deanne Fisher
OCAD Student Union Academic Affairs Director Mehnaz (Mia) Lamia, Student Group Leadership Award winner Tir Tabandeh and Vice-Provost, Students & International Deanne Fisher. 

Peer Wellness Excellence Award
This award, supported by the President’s office, celebrates an OCAD U student who demonstrates passion and commitment to promoting student wellness. With a collaborative and inspiring spirit, this student fosters inclusive, brave engagement, empowering BIPOC student voices, to support student wellness, build community, and encourage connection.

Nominees:

  • Pauline Aksay
  • Jessica Zhu

Congratulations to Pauline Aksay, a third-year Experimental Animation student who has been involved in the Student Wellness Centre’s Peer Wellness project since its earliest days. Pauline has made immeasurable contributions that inspire reflection, resiliency and hope. Her ‘Let’s Talk’ series covered topics such as the positive and negative impacts of COVID-19 on students’ social lives; seasonal impacts on mental health; and discussions on how students celebrate milestones and navigating adulthood in a time of virtual learning and isolation. Pauline is dedicated to empowering marginalized community members, and is committed to brave anti-oppressive practice, to building supportive relationships, and in recognizing and mentoring others.

Jennifer Robinson, Pauline Aksay, Ana Serrano
Dean of Students Jennifer Robinson, Peer Wellness Excellence Award recipient Pauline Aksay and President & Vice-Chancellor Ana Serrano.

Student Employee Excellence
The Student Employee Excellence Award, supported by the RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers and OPSEU Local 576, acknowledges the considerable contributions made by OCAD U student employees — also known as monitors — towards the operations of the University, by recognizing their employee excellence, achievement, leadership, and skills development.

Nominees:

  • Tusharika Arora
  • Charlize Ga
  • Sina Hojatzadeh
  • Carmen Mahave
  • Bianca Nam
  • Rhea Nambiar
  • Samira Nassiri
  • Carol Rodriguez Allende
  • Claire Ross
  • Nicholas Sagar
  • Ali Sheikh

Congratulations to Sina Hojatzadeh, who works as Hot Lunch Coordinator for the OCAD Student Union. A third-year Environmental Design – Interior Design student, Sina leads a team of five cooks who plan and deliver a vegan, pay-what-you-can community drop-in lunch every Tuesday and Thursday on campus. Sina has had an indelible impact on students’ sense of food security through his work on the program, as well as at events like the SU’s Winter Feast. During this time of unchecked food and other cost inflation, he has found ways to stretch budgets and reliably prepare healthy, culturally and dietary-need responsive — and of course delicious and desirable — food for our students.

A photo of Sina Hojatzadeh, Connie Arezes-Reis and Julian Higuery-Nunez
Student Employee Excellence Award winner Sina Hojatzadeh with Connie Arezes-Reis, Director, People Strategies, Julian Higuerey Nunez, President, OPSEU Local 576.

Indigenous Student Leadership Award
This award, supported by the OCAD U Indigenous Student Centre, recognizes an outstanding Indigenous student who has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills. Nominees will have actively participated in and contributed to the Indigenous student community at OCAD U, exemplifying a commitment to supporting its growth and development.

Congratulations to this year’s recipient, Sierra da Silva-Canadien, a fifth-year Photography student who is Mohawk and Portuguese. Sierra was recognized for her work creating a welcoming environment to students who visit the Indigenous Student Centre, and how her kind demeanor, creativity and positive attitude has especially helped our newest Indigenous students feel at home. Sierra’s ability to hold space and support peers during challenging conversations is to be commended. Sierra is also recognized for the contributions she made to Wáhlu Noondaaptóone: I talked from far away, where she shared her experiences with prospective students, and at Indigenous Wellness Week, where her contributions included exploring Indigenous approaches to practicing Mindfulness.

A photo of Francine Peltier, Sierra da Silva-Canadien and Reagan Kennedy.
Francine Peltier, Coordinator, Indigenous Community Outreach, Indigenous Student Leadership Award recipient Sierra da Silva-Canadien and Indigenous Student Centre Student Success Coordinator Reagan Kennedy.

Diversity & Equity Excellence Award
This award, supported by OCAD Student Union, Office of Diversity, Equity & Sustainability Initiatives and the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students & International, acknowledges an outstanding student whose advocacy and leadership promote and advance human rights, equity and social justice.

Nominees:

  • Elif Asal
  • Ali Brown
  • Nancy  Correia
  • Afreen Masood

Congratulations to our two winners this year, Ali Brown and Nancy Correia!

Ali Brown is a third-year Drawing & Painting student who has amplifyied student voices on accessibility, neurodiversity and disability justice. Ali is recognized for her work organizing an open letter to the University about inclusive modes of course delivery, her participation in round table discussions, her contributions to the Disability Community & Culture Group, her work as a class assistant, and advocacy and activist work beyond the University, through the 2SLGTBQIA+ community and with Niagara Region Pride Prom. She is described as a culture maker who finds ways to create conversations around access, disability, neurodiversity in a way that brings students together in community, and generates a collective voice for advocacy. Ali is dedicated to advancing pathways of access, and for challenging normative classroom practices that exclude disabled students has helped form an empowered disability community at OCAD U.

Nancy Correia is a third-year Illustration student and is the BIPOC representative at the OCAD Student Union. Nancy’s many resounding nominations describe the broad impacts she has had through her contributions to strong representation, a culture of healing and inclusivity, and enhanced programming for students from marginalized communities. Nancy is dedicated to promoting diversity, to advancing social change and to fostering an inclusive culture at OCAD U. Her nominators wrote of her work hosting the ‘Mehndi and Personal Identity’ workshop as part of the For a Collective Home exhibition, her organization of workshops for Black History Month, her involvement with the Shoes Off Collective, and of course the BIPOC Healing Space initiative she developed.

Victoria Ho, Nancy Correia, Ali Brown, Laiba Malik
Coordinator, Sustainability Initiatives Victoria Ho, Diversity and Equity Excellence Award winners Nancy Correia and Ali Brown, and OCAD Student Union Director of Equity & Diversity Laiba Malik. 

Excellence in Student Leadership Award
This award, supported by Office of the President, aims to recognize the outstanding contributions of student leaders across the university in a variety of contexts, including but not limited to representing student perspectives in positions on OCAD U committees, working groups, task forces, governance bodies (such as the Senate or Board of Governors), or through publications, advocacy groups or the Student Union.

Nominees:

  • Elif Asal
  • Leanna Barwick
  • Luz Paczka Giorgi
  • Mehnaz Lamia
  • Tusharika Arora

Congratulations to fourth-year Digital Futures student Leanna Barwick! Leanna’s great care, thoughtfulness, research, and her ability to create a welcoming environment for students who are new to governance enhances the work she does representing student perspectives on OCAD U’s Senate and Board of Governors. Leanna is described as a great mediator between students and administration, and her nomination impressed upon the jury her contributions and perspectives towards the development of OCAD U’s new Academic & Strategic Plan. Leanna’s advocacy led to the creation of a committee of student representatives from OCAD U Senate, the OCAD U Board of Governors and OCAD Student Union, which has strengthened the student voice at our highest levels of governance. The work Leanna has done has also helped establish a standing Student Matters agenda item at Senate, an important achievement that ensures there is space held for student concerns in what can sometimes be an intimidating environment.

Deanne Fisher, Leanna Barwick, Ana Serrano
Vice-Provost, Students & International Deanne Fisher, Excellence in Student Leadership Award recipient Leanna Barwick and OCAD U President & Vice-Chancellor, Ana Serrano. 

Congratulations to all nominees and 2022 award recipients. Thank you for all your contributions to the OCAD U campus community!

A very special thank you to all our jury members, presenters and supporters, on behalf of the Campus Life office.