SMUSA Charter Day Awards 2021
Photo by SMUSA
Written by Sophie Downie Allen
@sophiecdownie
All photos by SMUSA from past Charter Awards
On April 3rd, 2021, the Saint Mary’s University Students’ Association (SMUSA) held its annual Charter Day Awards ceremony from 6 pm to 8 pm. The event, which usually takes place in person, was held virtually on Twitch. The Charter Day Awards were created by SMUSA as a way of honouring those in the Saint Mary’s University community who are making a difference, both on campus and off. Although the slogan for the Charter Day Awards is “An awards show ‘for students, by students,’” a wide range of people are eligible for a Charter Day award, including SMU students, faculty, alumni, societies, and even non-affiliates of SMU who have had a positive impact on the university in the previous year. Students who wanted to nominate an outstanding member of the SMU community for this year’s Charter Day Awards could do so simply by visiting https://www.smusa.ca and filling out a nomination form.
The 2021 Charter Day Awards began with an opening from the two hosts of the event: SMUSA Vice President Academic Abigayle Winters and SMUSA Vice President External Samantha Graham. After providing viewers with an eloquent land acknowledgement, the hosts reflected upon the significance of the Charter Day ceremony. Samantha Graham spoke to the fact that the awards celebrate and uplift those who have accomplished real change within the SMU community, which is especially important given the challenges that everyone has faced amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in the past year. In anticipation of the awards, and to bring some more light to these unusual times, the hosts went on to showcase a number of positive things which had happened at SMU over the past year. Some highlights included Charisma Grace Walker joining SMU as a full-time African Nova Scotian and Black student liaison and SMU Chemistry students and faculty helping to create a rapid test kit for COVID-19. To end the introduction to the evening and lead into the awards, a virtual address was given by SMU President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, who gave words of congratulations and encouragement to the award winners, graduates, and all SMU students alike.
Photo by SMUSA
The presentation of the Charter Day awards began with those being awarded to faculty and assistants to the faculty. The first award of the night was the Teaching Assistant of the Year award, which is presented to a student who has shown dedication and commitment to being a TA at SMU, and who has worked to actively improve the learning experience of other students. The award was given to Kyle Cook, who has organized numerous events over the past year and has been a passionate advocate for decolonized learning. The next three awards to be presented were the Faculty of Arts, Science, and Commerce Teaching Excellence Awards. These awards are given to part-time or full-time faculty members at SMU who go over and above as educators in the faculties of Arts, Science and Commerce. The winners of these awards were Dr. Cristian Suteanu, Dr. Nicole Conrad, and Dr. Marie-Claire Robitaille, respectively, who have all made themselves accessible and helpful to students over the course of this challenging academic year. The last award to be presented to a faculty member was the SMUSA Award for Overall Excellence in the Field of Education, which is given to a member of the SMU community who displays selflessness and sincerity in improving the academic lives of students, both inside and outside of the classroom. This award was presented to a professor at SMU who has been a tireless advocate for students throughout her long career on social justice issues that affect our education every day: Dr. Rachel Zellars.
After the presentation of the faculty awards, the ceremony moved into celebrating the achievements of current students in the SMU community. The first award to be given to students was the Certificate of Merit and Distinction, which is awarded to any students who deserved to be recognized for their work in SMU student affairs. This award was presented to ten students of various positions and standings within the university community: Kyle Cook, Danielle Cadiueux, Trinity Gadway, Vaibhav Vaibhav, Rupert Ibiko Pelle, Jada Joseph, Hailey Saunders, Cassidy O’Hara, Kevin Mullen, and Salma Maliha Maisha.
The next five awards given out to students were the Student of the Year awards, which are presented to the student who is deemed to be the most outstanding Santamarian amongst their class at five different levels of education: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, and graduate. The Freshman of the Year award was given to Tiffany Jones, an outstanding student in all of her classes and the secretary of the SMU UNICEF society. The Sophomore of the Year award was given to Ishaan Singh, a member of the commerce society and a consistent tutor to other students on campus. The Junior of the Year award was awarded to two outstanding students: Tiera Bartlett and Kritika Gurung, who are both known for their compassion and selflessness in the extracurricular work that they do. The Freshman of the Year award was given to Sarah Bell, the President of the Sobey School of Business Society. The winner of the Graduate of the Year award deserves a special mention in this article, as it was the SMU Journal’s very own Executive Editor Gena Dufour. Not only has Gena helped to expand the SMU Journal over the past year and make it the best it can be, but she was also chosen to write an article about SMU in Maclean’s magazine. Way to go Gena!
Following the presentation of the main student awards, the hosts began to confer the named awards. These awards were presented to a variety of people within the SMU community: staff, students, SMUSA executives, alumni, and members of the public. Each named award is given to a person who embodies certain characteristics or has engaged with certain aspects of SMU student affairs. The individual description for each award can be found on SMUSA’s website. One exceptionally outstanding member of the SMU community, Charter Day host and SMUSA VP External Samantha Graham, even won multiple named awards for her accolades and accomplishments at SMU. The full list of winners is as follows: Samantha Graham, Bryn de Chastelain, Travis Evans, Larissa Ells, Terri Timmons, Tara Kinch from Chebucto Connections, Dana Baker from the Parker Street Food Bank, Victoria McCaig, Emma Carey, Dénis Amirault, Daniel Ingleston, and Abigayle Winters.
Photo by SMUSA
The two biggest awards of the night, the Silver “M” award and the Gold “M” award, were the next to be presented. The Gold “M”, the most prestigious award, and the Silver “M”, the second most prestigious award, are each presented to a graduating or graduate student who has excelled, to an outstanding level, in their extra-curricular activities at SMU. The Silver “M” was awarded to Cerridwen Heron, who plays a vital role in many of the societies at SMU and is also the Chair of the East Coast International Development Summit. The Gold “M” was awarded to Bryn de Chastelain, who faithfully served as the CEO and President of SMUSA over the course of a year fraught with uncertainty and change.
The final two awards of the night were presented to SMU societies by Salma Maliha Maisha, the SMUSA Director of Societies and Engagement. The first award to be given out to society was the Most Improved Society award, which was won by SMU UNICEF for becoming fully operational and hosting many events in their first year of being a society. The second award presented to society, and the last award of the event was the Society of the Year award. This award was given to the SMU Environmental Society, who constantly engaged with their members during the academic year and hosted a number of noteworthy events pertaining to environmentalism, such as professor meet and greets, panels, information sessions, bingo nights, and even a town hall.
Following the presentation of the final award, the Charter Day ceremony was brought to a close with congratulatory remarks from the incoming SMUSA President, Franklyn Southwell, the outgoing SMUSA President, Bryn de Chastelain, and finally the outgoing Chair of the SMUSA Board of Directors, Rami Zokari. The night ended on an enlivened note, evoking the feeling that the Charter Day Awards are an important tradition that serves to boost morale amongst those who have worked tirelessly and selflessly to make the lives of their peers better every day.
Congratulations to all the recipients of a Charter Day award! For more information about the Charter Day Awards, be sure to check out SMUSA’s website at https://www.smusa.ca (also embedded below). For continuous updates about SMUSA and all other SMU content, visit https://www.thesmujournal.ca.