Held on June 14 at Hart House, the Faculty’s Annual Mentorship Appreciation Banquet honoured the guidance and dedication that the Professional Placement Program mentors have shown to KPE students throughout the year.
Keynote Fergie Jenkins, the only Canadian baseball player in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, spoke about how mentors have contributed to his success in 284 Wins and over 3,000 Strikeouts. The retired #31 Chicago Cubs player drew from his 18 years of experience as an MLB player, sharing his insight on what mentors can do to inspire greatness in others.
The Hart House Music Room was packed with over 85 attendees at the largest KPE Mentorship Appreciation Banquet to date, reflecting the growing success of the Faculty’s Placement Program. Mentors from health-care facilities, professional sports teams, research institutions, fitness organizations, start-ups, schools and community centres gathered to celebrate over 240 student placements at the undergraduate and graduate level.
“It was amazing to see so many mentors from different organizations,” said Josephine Agudo, supervisor of staff development, Kensington Health Centre, “It was a bonus to hear the wise words of Fergie Jenkins.”
Themes of experience and opportunity were brought up frequently throughout the night, through MC, Jozef Agtarap’s remarks, and presentations from Lamia Aganagic, recent BKin graduate and Toria Vair, current Master of Professional Kinesiology student. Both students reflected on how their placement experiences connected academic theory to practice and created new opportunities for them.
“The KPE Professional Placement Program is a true partnership between our Faculty and our strong network of mentors,” said Professor Ira Jacobs, Dean of the Faculty. “This year’s Mentorship Banquet was an important recognition of the extraordinary growth and success of the community of partners that have so generously agreed to volunteer their time and work experience to inspire and guide our students during their workplace placement experiences.”