Fall 2021 Convocation: Business, Humanities, Social Sciences and Arts & Science
(soft music) (hopeful music) (shutter snapping) (crowd cheering) - This is a time like no other. A time when we are conflicted with hope and worry, where the world is on the cusp of a monumental change, yet has been stuck in the cycle of a global pandemic. But this is a time of celebration and pride, looking back over your accomplishments, We are in a time of celebrating you and what you will contribute to the world.
Today is your day. Your day today is a combination of years of hard work. Today is your graduation date. - And while things are not the same as they once were and our traditions recreated anew, it is all done to celebrate you. Welcome to your 2021 virtual convocation celebration. - We're here to acknowledge and celebrate your hard work, your dedication and all of your accomplishments.
(birds chirping) (hopeful music) (shutter snapping) - And we do so in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Santee Smith - Tekaronhiáhkhwa (Picking Up The Sky) Sewatahsí:yohst ken’nikarihwéhsa, ne’ ó:nen enkerihóhetste ne kanonhwaratónhthsera The purpose of the words of Thanksgiving, the Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen is to unite our mind and heart, to acknowledge, give thanks. Affirm interconnections, cultivate compassion and kindness, and to recognize the human responsibility for sustaining and living in balance in peace, with all creation in all of our relations. Now, our minds are one. It's important at this time to acknowledge people who are struggling, who are hurting. Let these words offer serenity to their mind and heart.
Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Onkwe’shón:’a E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give thanks to all people. Our ancestors, our family and friends. Now our minds are one. Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Yethi’nihsténha tsyonhwentsyà:te E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give thanks to our Mother Earth, for she provides us with everything that we need to survive and thrive. Now, our minds are one. Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Kahnekarónnyon E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give thanks to the waters, from the oceans to the streams, to the waters flowing in our body.
Water is life. Now our minds are one. Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Kentsyon’shón’a E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give greetings and thanks to the fish who help to purify the water and provide us with nourishment. Now our minds are one.
Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Yothontón:ni E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give thanks to the plants, from the grasses to the sacred medicines, that help to purify and strengthen our body and our mind. Now our minds are one. Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Otsi’nonwa’shón:’a E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give thanks and greetings to the insects who help to pollinate the plants and teach us how to live in balance with all creation.
Now, our minds are one. Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Tsyonnhéhkwen E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give thanks to our sustenance foods, to the three sisters, corn, beans, and squash. Now our minds are one. Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Wahyaniyóntha E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give thanks to the fruit who help to nourish our body. Now our minds are one.
Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Kontíryo E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give greetings and thanks to all of the animals who sacrifice their lives to help sustain us and teach us to live in balance. Now, our minds are one Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Tsi’ten’okón:’a E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give thanks to the birds whose beautiful song help to uplift our spirit and bring peace and calm to our hearts. Now, our minds are one.
Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Karonta’okón:’a E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give thanks to the trees. We cannot live without the oxygen that they provide. Their roots and sap provide nourishment and cleansing for our body. Now, our minds are one Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Tsyowerawénrye E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give thanks and greetings to the circulating winds who travel the earth, bringing new life and breath. Now our minds are one.
Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Ratiwé:ras E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give our greetings to the Grandfather Thunderers for purifying the air and awakening the earth. Now our minds are one. Tatshitewanonhwerá:ton ne Entyehké:ne karáhkwa E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give thanks to our Eldest Brother Sun who appears each morning to provide sunshine, protection and sustenance for all living things.
Now, our minds are one. Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Ahshenthenhnéhkha wenhní:tare E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give our greetings and thanks to Grandmother Moon for her powerful pull on our waters and connection to women in birth. Now our minds are in one. Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Yotsistohkwarónnyon E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give thanks to the stars and the cosmos for providing us with guidance and direction. Now, our minds are one. Tayethinonhwerá:ton ne Teyonkhiyà:taton E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give thanks to our protectors, our spiritual guardians who provide clarity of mind and peace in our hearts.
Now our minds are one. Tatshitewanonhwerá:ton ne Shonkwaya’tíson E’tho nenyontónhake ne onkwa’nikòn:ra We give thanks and greetings to creation, to the Great Spirit, to the great mystery, and the creative energy that lives in everywhere and in everything. Now, our minds are one. Ta’ e’tho nikawén:nake, ta’ e’tho. The Thanksgiving Address is a daily affirmation which places humanity in context to the immensity of the living universe, and affirms the responsibility of human beings to be humble stewards of the natural world, and to always demonstrate gratitude.
I'm thankful to be here with you today and to share these words before all else. Niá:wen. Thank you. (shutter snapping) (hopeful music) - As you embark on a new chapter in your life, a life as a McMaster graduate, we have been reflecting on what being a Mac grad means to us. As your Provost, it means so much.
To me, a Mac grad is full of innovative and life-changing ideas that will have an impact on our local communities and reach the corners of the globe. Congratulations and good luck. (dramatic music) - To me, a Mac grad is ready for anything. You're empowered with critical thinking and inquiry based learning. You're ready for the challenges you'll face and being a Mac grad means you'll face them head on.
(birds chirping) - To me a Mac grad can see the inner workings of the world around them and how people and nature can coexist in harmony. That you'll rise to the challenge to restore the damage facing our global environment. (hopeful music) - To me, a Mac grad is determined. Determined to try new ways of thinking, determined to make mistakes and learn from them, and determined to inspire those at home and at work. Warm congratulations to our 2021 McMaster University graduates.
(shutter snapping) (hopeful music) - You're our newest Mac grads. Now let's officially welcome you into our community of scholars. (dramatic music) (shutter snapping) (shutter snapping) - Madam Chancellor, on behalf of the McMaster University Senate, I present to you these candidates in absentia, in order that you may confer the appropriate degrees upon them and I bear witness that they are worthy and suitable.
- Graduands, by my authority and that of the McMaster University Senate, I have the great pleasure to admit those in absentia to their individual degrees at McMaster University, with all the rights and privileges pertaining to those degrees. My sincere congratulations to you all. Io ianereh - [Narrator] We now present to you the following graduates of the degree, Doctor of Philosophy. Sarah Elizabeth Duignan. Xiao Ling.
Jodie Lobana. Mariam Munawar. Armagan Ozbilge. Fae Ellene Amiro.
Kelly Anne Nisbet. Camille Jefferson Simardone. Nisha Bhavana Eswaran. Barbara Dawn Ferguson. Erin Janette Ramlo.
Megan Heather Suttie. Brandon Joseph Cordeiro. Emily Rosebush. Jorge Humberto Sanchez Perez. Pannipiti Arachchige Suneth Chamika Wijeratne. Jeremy Cohen.
Mark Fraser Novak. Brian James Bailey. Christine Carey. Allison Sonali Fabianne Leanage.
We now present to you the following graduates of the degree, Master of Business Administration. Anmol Singh Anand. Sheeba Arifeen. Meaghan Laurel Ariss.
Kaitlyn Bennett. Kasey Bennett. Rawan Beyhum. Susan Guylaine Bodner.
Aneta Bojarowicz. Kyle Bowen. Joshua Wayne Bradbury-Wiseman. Brandon Vincent Cantwell. Lauren Carter.
Nima Chaeechi. Sreecharan Challa. Heidi Chau. Samreen Chopra. Matthew Christopoulos.
Caroline Clement. Andrea Clennon. Laura Driscoll. Julia Alicia Fagnani.
Gregory Farrar. Anchal Gawri. Amritpal Singh Gill. Jason Green. Joshua Matthew Green.
Ravi Halani. Kathir Haran. Justin Jaipargas. Ashantha Jayalath.
Jordon John. Daniella Marie Johnson. Souradeep Khasnobis. Heather A. Kiteley. Kara Lee Klemp. Sujay Kulkarni.
Robin Kwan. Olha Lakhotska. Paula Lanza. Elisabeth Laratta. Jennifer Nicole Larson.
Jason Kin Pui Law. Simone Si Man Leung. Yee-Sum Leung. Adam Levinson.
Shahnawaz Lodhi. Julie Maranda. Jordan Wayne McClanahan. Adam McKillop. Michael Joseph Merko. Elena Miroshnichenko.
Mohamed Nazzali. Quoc Thang Nguyen. Mark Aaron Nussli.
Monica Viviana Panetta. Aneri Patel. Ritesh Patel. Mariam Paul.
Kim Pho. (gentle music) Sebastien Stephane Prat. Wayne Andrew Purboo.
Mehr Rajput. Tracy Anne Riley. Samuel Rogers. Olga Sanakoev. Nita Sandhu.
Airo Claudio Santos. Solomon Kekeli Semavor. Heather Ann Shipley. Maria Sial. Melissa Jane Sinclair.
Christina Nicole Smith. Julia Soye. Natalie Stogdill. Dongmei Sun. Jennifer Sung.
Julia Kristine Taylor. Stefan Gian-Carlo Toral. Gregory Trought.
Sivani Vinayagamoorthy. Jennnifer Kirsten Warren. Nathan Williams. Colin Elliott Wood. Yousuf Zaki. Juliette Zhang.
We now present to you the following graduates of the degree, Master of Health Management. Bara Alawi. Mohamed Anan.
Liana Bested. Adrienne Georgette Coucill. Heather Leigh Foster. Julia Katherine Gordon. Ozioma Rose Jones.
Sarah Louise Nostedt. Amanda Stacey Pauley. Bhawandip Sandhu.
Lakhvir Sanghera. Carli Rae Villeneuve. We now present to you the following graduates of the degree, Master of Arts. Sarah Caitlin Paust. Hayley Celina Madison Welsh.
Robyn Michelle Bachmeier. James William Bader. Piero D'Alonzo.
Jonah Alexander Halili. Mackenzie Leonard Hilton. Heva Zacharell Olfman. Alexis Carlota Cochrane. Shannon Elizabeth Dales. Rebecca Lynn Denyer.
Sarah Alexandra Hanlon. Calvin Thomas Hillis. Amanda Maria Jarvis. Erica Rzepecki.
Liana Marissa Shaw. Xintong Wu. Elizabeth Anne Bloomfield. Anthony David Damiao.
Justine Lahey. Isabel Mary Margaret Macfarlane. Jacqueline Marissa McNeill. Adrianna Grace Michell.
Rachel Ziff O'Brien. Kleis Rondos-Duchesne. Katrina Anne Vogan. Tyler Hallson. Taninder Singh Johal. Natalya Louise Kautz.
Yaoyao Li. Haoxiang Ma. Kasturi Rawool. Victor Rego. Yi Shi. Jiaze Sun.
Ziyue Wang. Esolim Florine Adom. Jie Bai. Sameer Kaur Dhami.
Paul James Dupre. Tasnim Rahman Fariha. Sean Han-Bit Ibbott. Shivaji Koirala.
Songyao Li. Jiawei Liang. Yijun Lin. Yuchen Ma. Ryan David McDonnell. Robert William McKercher.
William John Rannachan. Jiageng Wang. Xiaoyun Wei. Ziyang Xu.
Li Yang. Zoe Georgia Uldall Zwaigenbaum. Steven Brown.
Cassidy Leone Burr. Braden Paul Higgins. (slow music) Leen Jaber. Carolyn Elizabeth MacDonald. Megan Elizabeth McLennan.
Andrew Joseph McWhinney. Albana Stafa. Milena Talovic. Megan Taylor White.
Emma Patricia Wood. Emily Bryce Gula. Emiliya Krichevskaya. Dana Lahriga. Fariha Abedin. Kusum Bhatta.
Taylor Kathleen Boissonneault. Vivian Ambo Foncham. Ronak Karami.
Paria Rahimi. Roya Roostaeichigani. Magnolia Hamzeloee.
Ryan Hart. Matthew Leonard Ross Healey. Calvin Sorush Khalesi.
Jordan Taylor Lentinello. Zahra Belosch. Martha Rose Cassidy-Neumiller. Shanice Colley. Megan Lisa Devoe. Nicole Rachel Goulet.
Mutaz Khider. Christian Aguasin Ladores. John Orji Okoronkwo. Aderewa Rekiat Olumide. Arwa Ahmed Mohammed Osman. Alison Parry.
Ibrahim Fatah Saber. Rohit Sharma. Xiaoyan Sheng. Alanna Bernadette Wilson. Rachel Antonia Dunsmore. Laraab Nawaz.
Melissa Marie Ricci. Olivia Elizabeth Virag. Nicholas Brandt Anderson.
Quinn Anderson. Kevin Patrick Dempsey. William John Durie. Antoine Hans Fougere-Ramsamooj. Kiersten Breann Hepditch.
(slow music) Sarah Elizabeth Hodge. Daria Karam. Jade Aidan Laird-Umanetz. Paula Diana MacPherson. Matthew Jacob Monrose. Mika Lynn Patterson.
Jesse Aaron Staats. Alisa Vitelli. Jordan James Zivanovich. Brock Denes Bodo. Rajbeer Kaur Grewal. Richard Paul Ulysse Hines.
Tyler Austin Lamb. Mackenzie Millar. Erik Blake Martin Sagmoen. Arian Kyra Sammy.
Ananna Syed. Irene Wachira. Enzo Guerra. Alexander Michael Neal Loehndorf. Lindsay Taylor Old.
Siddharth Suresh Raman. Jordan Alexander Vaters. Anthony Baciu. Chantalle Elizabeth Byrne. Nicole Josephine Fiorillo. Brenna Friesen.
Kennedy Elizabeth Fung. Meghan Rose Hachey. Joshua Michael Afonso Masotti. Rida Mohsin.
Domenico Alessandro Pasqualino. Brenda Passariello. Anisha Prasad. Jonas Brandt.
Jessy-Lee James Lacher. Vindra Vanessa Moonilal. Syeda Meher Taban. Rory Tasker. Rose Adusei.
Rachel Caroline Bipatnath. Robert Blauer. Ciara Maureen Corrigan.
Emma Ann Ewart. Stephanie Amanda Hayes. Kanitha Iyampillay.
Mariam Jajo. Zoe Lea. Marija Lukic. Sarah Masri.
David Daniel Petrina. Brandon John Reimer. Emily Louise Marie Richard. Sara Jane Roberts. Vergil Welcome.
Prairie Skye Young-Brown. We now present to you the following graduates of the degree, Master of Communications Management. Nigel Paul Allan. Erin R. Brophy.
Julie Hiroz. We now present to you the following graduates of the degree, Master of Science. Ali Ugur Koc. Nadia Lana. Carla Elizabeth Weigel.
Roxana Guidalupe Aranha. Aidan Giangregorio. Diego Monteverde Suarez. Farid Ahmad Omar. Victoria Pui Yu Wong.
(slow music) We now present to you the following graduates of the degree, Master of Social Work. Vida Acheampong. Brittany Allan.
Stephanie D'Odorico. Ruby Alejandra Dawn. Vincent Salvatore Farrauto. Justin John Hamilton.
Tajseem Hussain. Ashael Renica Hylton. Tess Olivia Kosakowski. Teresa Lorraine Michell. Jenna Elaine Mitchell. Amanda Rose Nemec-Bakk.
Lacey Jasmine Ricard. We now present to you the following graduates of the degree, Bachelor of Arts Honours. Adebukola Adedeji. Egehan Akalin. Kareem Al-Khatib. Caitlyn Alegbe.
Sara Amiri. Shyla Anderson Terry. Rehana Babakarkhall. Manuela Adwubi Baffour. QinYi Ban.
Matthew Vincenzo Barone. Claudia Basurto. Jacob Marcus Bianchi.
Camryn Grace Cumming Brown. Salma Iman Brown. Meerab Qayyum Butt. Adam Emmanuel Cesare.
Qicong Chen. Randall Curtis Conrad. Vanessa Maria Cordiano. Yakdehikandage Ruchithra Gimhani Costa.
Najib Dababneh. Victoria Monique De Freitas. Harsimran Kaur Dhanoa. Yu Ding.
Theodore Ross Donaldson. Wenjing Dong. Samantha Douglas. Cheyanne Brynne Doxtador. Cayla Renee Edwards.
Mustafa El-Jnainati. Dwayne Antonio Fernandes. Cole Andrew Mills Friyia. Madison Christine Galloway-Rowland. Khaleel Al-Rahmaan Gandhi.
Tamera Shae-Lynn Gordon-Linton. Ruchika Gothoskar. Xiaofan Gu. Katharine Ann Hotte-Havenaar.
Shuangshuang Hu. Ethan Edward Humphreys. Caleb Meengun Kewayosh.
Zainab Hoor Khan. Miriam Leonorah Valerie Kingvisser. Jessica Nicole Koppens. Yongrou Lai. Zain Anil Lapsley.
Wai-Ting Nicola Lau. Kexin Li. (slow music) Jiulin Liu. Zhou Lu.
Arooba Manzoor. Robert Geoffrey John Marshall. Emily Catherine McDonald. Darcy McKinty. Lindsay Elizabeth McNabb.
Meryl Mary Mechery. Chanel Alyzee Castaldi Minichini. Zuhal Mostamandi. Olivia Maxine Nadeau-Lupinsky. Aqsa Nazir. Kim Thien Nguyen.
Erin Danae Nichiporuk. Veronica Louise Nichol. Monika Michiko Niinuma Schonner. Kathleen Jane Olejnik.
Oluwatofehinti Oloketuyi. Haley Anne Owens. Satvir Singh Parmar. Yongqi Peng. Yanfeng Qiao.
Anushay Reimoo. Beatriz Samantha Papa Rodriguez. Katherine Olivia Salley. Taylor Sherwood. Neal Skinner. Jordan Taylor Tepsa.
Kayla Thompson. Karrissa Jessicca Destiny Tobin. Claire Justina Maureen Toews. Zofia Uren.
Grada Johannah Verrips. Qi Wang. Yuqing Wang.
Aleda Blossom Wedekind. Stephanie Wickens. Elizabeth Marguerite Williams. Yixuan Xu.
Zhijie Xu. Rui Qi Yang. Jiahao Ye. Robyn Alexandrea Yee.
Evan James Zaritzky. Nadine Zarour. Yaqin Zeng.
Ao Zhang. Zhouyao Zhang. Yuxin Zhou. Shulin Zhu.
Yuan Zhuang. Ashley Paige Zimmerman. We now present to you the following graduates of the degree, Bachelor of Social Work Honours. Ella Feitelberg Jenkyn.
Sadie Anne Lantz. Kenneth Paul McIntosh. Laela Shibli.
Carrie Anne Vanderform. Larissa Alicia Wright. We now present to you the following graduate of the degree, Bachelor of Arts Honours.
Juliana Jade Duimstra. We now present to you the following graduates of the degree, Bachelor of Music Honours. Sarah Marie Elgersma. Insun Kang. Monika Kohlmaier. We now present to you the following graduates of the degree, Bachelor of Commerce Honors.
Kevin Michael Ah-Chuen. Shehbaz Ibrahim Ahmad. Furqan Amjad. Jason John Athan. Shaan Singh Nicholas Babrah. David William Baker.
Mitchell James Boyd. Anton Ivan Buretic. Dusty Marty Burr. Ashton Nicholas Castellino. Nanxu Chen. Yunqing Chen.
Xiaoqing Cheng. Sahil Chhabra. (slow music) Jacob Quinn Condon.
Roshni Dhansa. Alexander Vittorio Di Pietro. Jamison Albert Lee Dilks.
Thomas Alexander Downton. Nathaniel John Edwards. Aviva Mariam Giblon. Zhihao Han.
Troy Isaiah Henry. Hafsa Iqbal. Brett Jared James Jackson. Syeda Tahreem Jamal. Erfan Jamalifar.
Nathan Jatou. Daniel Jelic. Mudrika Joshi.
Jasmeen Kaur Kalsi. Bryce Andrew Koomans. Joshua Hamilton Landrigan. Hunter Jordan Lee. Michael Legge.
Jia Lu Li. Linlin Li. Yunxiang Li.
Andy Ka Fai Liu. Jiayuan Liu. Kefeng Liu. Yuchen Liu. YongChen Ma. Griffin John Macleod.
Stuti Malhotra. Amber Malik. Joao Pedro Zurdo Mandelli. Kenneth Joseph Pecyna. Adam Alexander Peterson. Dusan Petrinjac.
Fernando Quiroga-Trivino. Arhem Rana. Anthony Joseph Sebanc. Meroosha Selvananthan. Michael Humphrey Lam Shaw. Haidar Ali Sial.
Sarina Singh. Luxshuman Sutharsan. Maria Tasneem. Cooper Adam Ross Trevail. Gurteg Singh Uppal. Yuchen Wang.
Lindsay Devon Wolanski. Yixuan Wu. Yixuan Wu. Stanley Zi Long Xu. Aws A. Zadain. Siyuan Zhang.
Xuanyi Zhang. Zhenrui Zhang. Jiaying Zhao. Jingqi Zhao. Yilin Zhong.
We now present to you the following graduate of the degree, Bachelor of Arts and Science Honors. Shanthiya Baheerathan. We now present to you the following graduates of the degree, Bachelor of Arts. Devin Agnew.
Jude Al Baldawi. (slow music) Vanessa Grace Bielecke. Teresa Catherine Brown. Changqing Cao. Weiheng Chen.
Zhe Chen. Brooke Elizabeth Clairmont. James Clark.
Tyler Alexander Clute. Christina Alora Cote. Curtis Parker Cottingham.
Amanda Crossdale. William Patrick De New. Brian Duong. Anthony Mark Dushenko. O. Alexander El-Hamad.
Erin Flynn. Caitlin Angela Giordano. Blake Albert Hain-Gladman. Lynn Hamida. Lang Han. Bayly Anne Hepburn.
Juo-Ping Huang. Amy Imrie. Fawziyah Abdulrasheed Ali Isah. Allison Jadeski. Nabil Jalbout.
Abdul Samad Karimzadah. Shane Keil. Mohammed Faraaz Khan. Jaskaran Singh Khatra.
Theo Welles Korstanje. Paula Krochak. Braden R. Lam. Sarah Lampman. Rona Lauta.
Xintong Lin. Xinyang Liu. Denver Long.
Giselle Fiona Lute. Samantha Ly. Alexander Abraham Malek. Geoffrey Allan Marchioli. Katherine Elizabeth Millard. Nicholas Mulas.
Jasmine Maryanne Muzi. Anisa Ali Noor. Steluani Jozef Odesho. Anu Ohri. Mingfeng Pan.
Kathryn Anne Maxwell Paquette. Kristen Diane Peck. Olivia Dora Pezzelato. Sijia Quan. Connor Donald Fredrich Quinton. Tatyana Yasmeen Remani.
Rida Rizvi. Brooke Marie Robinson. Jacquelynn Lila Rose-Markowiak. Zheng Shen. Noor Shmara. Vivian Shuang Si.
Eric Andrew Smith. Megan Sonke. Surega Sritharan. Kunal Sudan. Sarah Suleman. Thomas Edward Suttie.
Wyatt Jonathan William Taylor. Victoria Vigee Thambiah. Thivyha Thiruvathavooran. Iris Kwan Yee Wai. Shoujie Wang. Tingli Wang.
Tanner Mackenzie Wilson. Rachel Lara Wolfe. Mackenzie Kate Wright.
Tongzhi Wu. Xiaojie Xue. Tongtong Yang. Fan Yu.
Kunzheng Yu. Niyao Yu. Jeffrey Brian Yu Tim Lun. Fuqi Zhang. Mingjun Zhang.
(slow music) Xinyue Zhang. We now present to you the following graduates of the degree, Bachelor of Social Work. Ashlee Logan Anderson.
Mikhaila Suerte Bernales. Virginia Chambers. Hayley Anne Clin. Tamarah Leigh Corrigan.
Carly Gouthro. Oluwakemisola Kelly. Kristin Lioktsis.
Olivia Marie Mancini. Jennifer Lynn Mercuri Hourigan. Sana A. Minhas. Omar Tariq Mirza. Shalom Ariyike Odutayo.
Calvin Prowse. Brianne Michelle Schinkel. We now present to you the following graduates of the degree, Bachelor of Commerce.
Sam Nicholas Frisina. Kyle Gubernat. We now present to you the following graduate of the degree, Bachelor of Arts and Science.
Abigail Rose Griffiths Mazurek. (upbeat music) - We continue the celebrations with messages from your dean, honorary doctorates, and valedictorian. Congratulations to the class of 2021. Your dean and faculty celebrate you. - Congratulations and welcome to your 2021 virtual convocation.
- Today we celebrate this milestone in your lives. - You have accomplished so much and shown resilience and adaptability during challenging times. - As the world undergoes immense change, we know that your passion, creative ideas, and hard earned skills will serve you, and all of us, well.
- As you embark on your next chapter you'll encounter societal, economic, and political challenges. - When you do, remember your foundation and all that you've learned here at McMaster. - Consider how your skills can be applied in new and innovative ways. - Focus on transforming business and society for the better. - Explore and learn from other people's stories.
- Reach across disciplines and collaborate with others. - Harness new ways of thinking and doing. - Feed your curiosity and never stop asking questions. - And enrich and uplift the communities around you. - Thank you for being part of our campus community.
- And for making McMaster such a vibrant and energizing place to be. - We are proud of your accomplishments. - We can't wait to see all the ways you'll make our world brighter.
(upbeat music) - Honorary degrees are a longstanding tradition of recognizing the local and global impact of our great community leaders. We recognize them today and begin with a reflection between our Chancellor, Santee Smith and President and Vice Chancellor, Dr. David Farrar. - When we're awarding an honorary degree, it's for extraordinary achievement. It could be local, it could be national, it could be international. But it is the achievement that in granting this degree will inspire our students, our graduates at this point, to go out and leave and do something equally extraordinary. - I think the role of honorary degrees as well is to inspire students, but it's also to look at an individual's journey, to be able to see some of the decisions that they made.
And for a lot of them, what contributions they've made to society, to their community. Many are offering their gifts of knowledge. And I think that's just a way of showcasing and highlighting the importance of individual contributions to humanity. - Yeah. - The impact of an honorary degree to McMaster is to acknowledge achievement, but also to acknowledge a journey of going from academic into your life and work. So from my perspective, as a Haudenosaunee person, it is our belief that everyone has a gift.
And once you find your gift, you hone it, you develop it, and then you're to share it. And so I think that's really important when we look to honorary degrees, the impact that they have in sharing their gifts with others. - Their gift by coming and accepting an honorary degree also brings honor and distinction to the university. They provide us with the inspiration that we're looking for.
They provide our students with the inspiration. Honorary degree recipients are special people. They're exceptional people. A Canadian university has recently announced that they're giving an honorary degree to one of the Toronto Raptors, to Kyle Lowry.
And in giving the degree, they're giving it for the contributions he's made to underrepresented or at-risk groups in Toronto and also in Philadelphia. They are also giving it to him for his contributions to Black Lives Matter and the Black Lives Matter movement. There was a reporter that asked Kyle, "What kind of doctorate will you be getting?" And he kind of smiled and then said, "I'm getting a Doctor of Greatness." And I think that that's actually what honorary degrees are about. They're celebrating somebody who's done something great, and they're passing that on to our students. - Yes, I think that's also looking forward to the list of honorary degrees representing the diversity of the McMaster campus and many different nations, many different disciplines, different ways of studying and ways of working and developing your career.
So I think it's inspirational. - Absolutely is inspirational. (upbeat music) - Harold Brathwaite was a groundbreaking educator, community leader, and a member of the McMaster Class of '69. He taught at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels and served as a secondary school principal with the Halton District School Board. He became superintendent for French language schools in the Toronto District School Board and then associate director of education.
When the Peel District School Board chose Mr. Brathwaite as its director of education in 1994, he became the first Black person to lead a board of education in Canada. After retiring in 2002, Mr. Brathwaite
served as senior advisor to the president of Seneca College and as executive director of the Retired Teachers of Ontario. Mr. Brathwaite was an active volunteer with organizations including the Art Gallery of Toronto, the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund Canada, the United Way of Peel Region, and the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education.
Mr. Brathwaite received numerous awards for his contributions to the community and to education, including the Peel Board's Education Champion Award, the Canadian Black Achievement Award Education, the Harry Jerome Award, the UNICEF Volunteer Award, and the Urban Alliance on Race Relations Award, and in 2006, he was named to the Order of Ontario. McMaster University previously recognized Mr. Brathwaite with induction into the Alumni Gallery and with the Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award for the Arts. The Peel District School Board named the Harold M. Brathwaite Secondary School in Brampton in his honor.
Harold Brathwaite sadly passed away on May 31, 2020. Although it is unusual for McMaster to confer honorary degrees posthumously, it is a great privilege to recognize Mr. Brathwaite's contributions to education and his communities by conferring upon him the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
Thank you. - By the authority of McMaster University Senate, I have the great pleasure to posthumously confer upon Harold McDonald Braithwaite a degree, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa in McMaster University with all the rights and privileges pertaining to that degree. - Hello everyone. Well, here you are at the end of one adventure and about to set forth into the next. You made it. Braving the range of classes, from early morning to late evening, you made it.
Through what we both know were always riveting lectures, and all nighters to study for exams or finish last minute papers, you made it. Was there anything else? Yes, well, I guess there was that global pandemic that stopped the world for a year, put everything on hold, and totally transformed the way you had to conduct the last year and a half of your university experience. But guess what, you made it. And now as you stand on the other side of an incredible challenge, on the precipice of grown-up life, there's so much to be excited for and nervous about that I can imagine that you want some guidance right now. But that's more ours parents' gift. The only advice we can offer comes from watching their example.
And when it comes to our dad, here are four of the best. - One, being smart as good, very helpful. Dreaming big is important and inspirational. But there will never be a substitute for hard work. Two, don't ever stop learning.
Education makes you a citizen of the literate world, one that is full of so many interesting facts and discoveries, enough for 100 lifetimes. They will make up a patchwork quilt of who you are over the course of your life. Three, treat everyone you meet with respect, regardless of their job or the status society says they have. And four, finally, value your family, whether they be fashioned by friendship or blood, because they will carry you through the good and bad in life.
Although Dad isn't here, I know he'd be very honored and proud, not only to receive this honorary degree, but to be a part of your graduating class, as honored and proud as my sister and I are to accept it for him. Thanks to you and McMaster University for this moment. So with that being said, let the two of us join together in the other voices that are going to say to you today. - Congratulations Class of 2021.
- Don McLean has dedicated himself to protecting our environment and improving democracy in Hamilton. He was the chair of Friends of Red Hill Valley, the organization that worked tirelessly to protect the only green corridor between the Niagara Escarpment and Lake Ontario in East Hamilton. Then in 2001, he co-founded Environment Hamilton and served on the organization's board of directors for nearly a decade.
Mr. McLean also founded Citizens at City Hall, CATCH, in 2004 to report on city council meetings. Mr. McLean has also served on the steering committee
for the Hamilton Chapter of the Council of Canadians, as a director of the Conserver Society of Hamilton & District, as a founding member of Hamiltonians for Progressive Development, and as chair of the Hamilton 350 Committee for real action on climate change. Professionally, Mr. McLean has taught for Athabasca University, the University of Waterloo, and the Six Nations Native University Access Program. He managed the Red Hill Valley Biological Inventory Project, served as an executive director of the Friends of the Don East, and held managerial roles with the Citizens for a Sustainable Community and Environment Hamilton. Mr. McLean was recognized with the Hamilton Environmentalist of the Year Award of Merit and then the Dr. Victor Cecilioni Environmentalist of the Year Award.
A recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, he has also received the Independent Media Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the Hamilton Gallery of Distinction. To those accolades, it is a privilege at add the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, in recognition of Don McLean's contributions to the Hamilton community as an environmentalist, teacher, advocate, and community leader. Thank you. - Don McLean, by the authority of McMaster University Senate, I have the great pleasure to confer upon you the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, in McMaster University with all the rights and privileges pertaining to that degree. - This will take less than five minutes. So beyond offering my sincere thanks to all those responsible for this honour, let me begin with a curious fact.
This university, McMaster, which is granting me this honorary degree, actually arrested me three times for political activism on campus. In particular, for distributing a flyer opposing steep increases in the tuition fees of foreign students. What gives? What should we make of this? What's the lesson here? I'd suggest that it shows that the illegals can become the honoured. I'd also advise from experience that getting arrested isn't nearly as scary as you may have been told.
And that standing up for unreservedly for justice can transform a crime today into common sense tomorrow. Students today have been dealt a pretty rotten deal. Planet on fire, elites that would rather make more money than do something serious about climate, about inequality, about poisoning the air, water, and soils, and the devastation of the natural world that is basic and crucial to the life of humans and all other species. Of course, it is officially illegal for you and me to force radical change. But do we have a choice? The climate catastrophe is already causing thousands of deaths every year, mostly among brown, black, and indigenous people who have done the least to cause it, and it is far from the only global disaster barreling down upon us. We have reached and we have passed the point where the benefits of our economic system are clearly outweighed by its ugly consequences.
Now the elites are on the defensive, offering promises of change while desperately trying to continue on the same path. On the climate emergency, where the basic science has been understood for over a century, they started with straight denial. Then there was confusion spread as to whether the change was actually important. That was followed by confusion of what or who is causing it. And that three decades ago, it was officially recognized by the real world summit that climate change is human-caused. And since then we've had 26 conferences of the parties, the so-called COPs that you saw earlier this month.
Then the focus became so-called safe future temperature increases rather than how fast we must cut emissions. That was five years ago in the Paris Accord, which was such a dishonest, greenwashed document that it never even mentioned the words oil, coal or gas. I've lived through most of this, and you have at least witnessed a good deal of it. The current confusion tactic is net zero by 2050.
That's a promise that we're going to wait three more decades to stop making climate change worse. That's like responding to the pandemic with a promise to provide a vaccine in 30 years. It's also a pledge so far in the future that no decision maker today can be held responsible. 30 more years of obscene profits and lifestyles that are already killing the planet.
We know what needs to be done. We've known it for a long time. Right here and now you can start by requiring your board of governors to stop using $37 million of university investments to prop up the fossil fuel sector. If it's not okay to fry the planet, then it's not okay to make money off frying the planet. Not now, not ever.
A minimum first step would be to donate every penny of this blood money, including that already collected, to international climate relief. So more than ever before, each of us must drive real change. If we don't act with passion and make justice the centerpiece of our lives, we're morally bankrupt and impose an increasingly hellish future on the rest of the planet.
(slow music) - Next, you will enjoy the enthusiasm and energy from your own valedictorian. I congratulate them alongside the entire Class of 2021. - Good morning, President, Chancellor, deans, honorary degree recipients and award winners, faculty, staff, alumni, friends, families, and to the graduands of the Class of 2021.
Congratulations, we did it. As a daughter of immigrant parents, I'm very honoured to stand before you today to reflect on our collective journey at McMaster University. We have accomplished all of this despite the additional demands, challenges, adjustments, and compromises placed on us these past few years. However, all that hard work has finally paid off and we're ready to take the next big step in life, and that we're here today to celebrate our triumphs, achievements, victories, and the journey on which we have all embarked towards our future destinations. Throughout our degrees at McMaster we have also had the opportunity to develop our critical thinking skills, broaden our knowledge, challenge ourselves, and engage in the community around us.
During my time at McMaster I've had the privilege to complete my PhD. I met so many wonderful people and felt welcome and part of McMaster community. I also felt a sense of pride as I saw McMaster University students, many wearing their jumpsuits, advocating for different causes and organizations which will greatly impact our greater community. While I'm sad to leave, I know this is my time and the skills, knowledge, friendships, and life lessons I have learned will be with me forever. As we reflect back together, we have learned a lot in terms of academics, but we also have learned from our friends who may have come from very different backgrounds.
And what will stick with you is the legacy that McMaster has left on you. And perhaps, maybe the legacy that you left on McMaster. Although it's easier said than done before the pandemic, some of us have had those late nights with our friends studying in Mills, or maybe learning when to avoid the Student Centre 'cause it was just so busy, during this past pandemic, especially, we have had to work harder and under difficult conditions, probably more than any time in the history of McMaster. Some of us may never forget how we would wake up five minutes before a Zoom class, and of course, maybe wearing our pajamas. At the end of the day, the good or bad experiences will allow us to grow more than ever before and will help us move along in our lives and conquer things as we never have before as McMaster alumni.
This is just one stepping stone in life as we move along to complete our dreams and goals. The skills that you have developed and the personal achievements that you have made throughout your degree will prepare you for your next steps. There will be struggles, but you're ready to conquer them.
Don't ever give up. And when you leave here today, be proud, celebrate what you have accomplished, and look forward with an eye how you too can be the inspiration for others. Congratulations again, Class of 2021. - This concludes your virtual 2021 convocation ceremony. Please visit registrar.mcmaster.ca/convocation-2021 to continue your celebrations.
From all of us, congratulations, and welcome to our community of McMaster scholars. (triumphant music) (slow music)
2021-11-29 07:33
