The Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education honoured 25 University of Toronto students with a Dean’s Student Leadership Award for their significant contributions to advancing the Faculty’s mission within and outside of U of T.
2018 DSLA winners with Dean Ira Jacobs and Vice-Provost of Students Sandy Welsh (all photos by Martin Bazyl)
“I’m continually impressed and humbled by the commitment and enthusiasm that our student leaders demonstrate through their involvement with various academic and co-curricular activities,” said Professor Ira Jacobs, dean of KPE. “You leave a very strong impression on the entire U of T community and that’s why the selection committee had such a difficult time choosing from such a wonderful, rich pool of students.”
KPE student Natalie Biancolin started to get involved in extra-curricular activities in her second year of university and realized how much more her community grew. “I started to make networks and connections and it made me want to come to school, because I had friends who were relying on me and I was relying on them. It made my university experience incomparable,” she says.
“Receiving the Dean’s Student Leadership Award as an acknowledgment for all our hard work feels both rewarding and humbling,” she said.
Natalie Biancolin posed with her award and Dean Ira Jacobs (l) and Executive Director of Athletics and Physical Activity Programs (r)
Benjamin Divito’s road to kinesiology was a winding one. Following in his musician parents’ footsteps, he first enrolled in McGill University to study music. Halfway through his studies, he joined the military as a musician, discovered fitness, dropped out of music school and enrolled in kinesiology at U of T, much to his parents’ delight.
“Music is not an easy profession, so I’m really proud that as a student of kinesiology he’s found a focus and this focus has led to him doing really well.” So well, in fact, he, too, was honoured with a Dean’s Student Leadership Award this year.
Benjamin Divito posing with his parents
Complimenting the students on their high spirits, Vice-Provost of Students Professor Sandy Welsh said these awards represent the excellence and dedication of the recipients, who exemplify these values through their day to day actions.
“It’s students like you who make U of T such a wonderful place to be. Your actions enrich our community and improve our students’ experience and well-being,” she said. “Through your achievements, your personal and professional growth, you demonstrate that learning and leadership don’t just happen in a classroom.”
Welsh thanked the students for giving so much of themselves to the athletics and recreation program. “Even though it may have been a bit of hard work along the way, I trust that you had some fun along the way and that you’ve made some life-long friends,” she said.
In addition to the Dean’s Student Leadership Awards, five students received special awards for going above and beyond.
Third year KPE student Ruqayyah Alibhai and fourth year Arts and Science student Clara Rutherford were co-recipients of the Kirkwood Award, presented to a student member of the U of T Council of Athletics and Recreation, or one of its sub-committees or task forces, in recognition of a substantial contribution to the work of the Council and its Committee(s).
“I really enjoyed KPE’s athletics and recreation programming, so I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to contribute in some way and hopefully make it better and help more students get involved, especially in intramurals,” said Rutherford, who was cheered on at the ceremony by her grandparents.
Clara Rutherford with her grandparents
Ruqayyah Alibhai with her mother
John-Peter Bonello, a fourth year KPE student, and John Leung, a third year student in the Faculty of Arts and Science, were the co-recipients of the McCutcheon Award, presented to a male student who provides the most valuable contribution to the administration of athletics and recreation programs in the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education during the current year.
Fourth year KPE student Sing-Yan Ng got the Powell Award, presented to the female student who provides the most valuable contribution to the administration of athletics and recreation programs in the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education during the current year.
The 25 winners of the 2018 Dean’s Student Leadership Award are:
RUQAYYAH ALIBHAI, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
TABITHA AMPONSAH, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
NATALIE BIANCOLIN, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
JOHN-PETER BONELLO, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
REBECCA BURT, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
MICHELLE CAMPBELL, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
NINO CHITADZE, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
BENJAMIN DIVITO, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
RACHEL GOODMAN, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
EMILY HICKEY, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
JESSICA KEMPTON, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
DEBRA KRIGER, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
JOHN LEUNG, Faculty of Arts & Science
ROBERT MACKOWIAK, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
GEROME MANSON, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
JUSTIN MASSA, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
AALAYA MILNE, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
SANDHYA MYLABATHULA, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
SING-YAN NG, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
ROXY O’ROURKE, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
KYLA PYNDIURA, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
CLARA RUTHERFORD, Faculty of Arts & Science
MADALYN TWORZYANSKI, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
AMBAREEN-ROSE VELJI, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
ANASTASIA VLAHIOTIS, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education