Awards, inspiring speaker mark Founder’s Day
By Jim Hynes
Macdonald Campus students, faculty, alumni, staff and guests gathered last week to celebrate the birthday of Sir William C. Macdonald, the visionary who founded Macdonald College in 1907.
The annual event also celebrated seven students and one staff member who displayed exemplary leadership on campus.
“Macdonald staff and students are truly a cut above the rest, and one of the greatest parts of my job is to witness how this community comes together in so many ways to live out that phrase on our crest: Mastery for Service,” said Chandra Madramootoo, Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
The Macdonald Campus Award of Excellence For Administrative and Support Staff was given to Luciano Germani, a dedicated technician in Network and Desktop Services, (IT Customer Services). Students Jonathan Bruderlein, Elaine Chiu, Pamela Lai, Emily McGill, Kreg Millar, Plamen Nikolov, Lindsay Parker, Lorraine Wong were the recipients of the 2009 Gold Key Awards for leadership and excellence in the promotion and development of extra-curricular activities at Macdonald Campus.
Founder’s Day also featured a keynote address by Montreal native and McGill alumnus, journalist David Bornstein (BCom ’85), the author of How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas. Bornstein discussed the emerging “citizens sector” and the creative things ordinary people can do to have an extraordinary impact on the world around them.