The BPHE class of 2008 marked the end of an era on June 6th as they gathered at New College’s Wetmore Hall to celebrate the last four years and acknowledge some standout students.

Several exceptional students were acknowledged during the ceremony, led by masters of ceremony Masha Sidorova and Spencer McClung, and memories were shared over refreshments with friends, family, staff and faculty during the reception.

Andrea Shin was in the spotlight as winner of the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology Award, the Governor General’s Silver Medal, the Alumni Scholarship and the Social Sciences and Humanities Awards.

Other awards handed out during the ceremony included:

 The Loudon Award — one of the Faculty’s most prestigious awards. Masha Sidorova and former assistant dean of co-curricular education, services and equity Karen Lewis were this year’s recipients. The two were acknowledged for their outstanding contributions to the advancement of athletics at U of T.

The J. Harry Ebbs Achievement Awards — presented to students who improved their averages by eight percent or more. The 2008 award winners were Sasha Dipnarine, Alexander Kaju, Alana Nugent, Dauren Cloe, Iris Simmonds and Parminder Takhar.

The Alumni Shield — presented annually to the most outstanding male and female graduating students on the basis of character, leadership, participation and scholarship. The 2008 winners were Spencer McClung and Masha Sidorova.

The Mavis E. Berridge Scholarship — given to the graduating student with the highest cumulative academic average who has been admitted to the graduate program in the Department of Exercise Sciences at the Faculty. Sam Liu was awarded with the 2008 scholarship.

 The Barbara Drinkwater Award acknowledges the student who is most committed to the advancement of girls and women in physical activity at the University of Toronto.  Monica Ibrahim took home this year’s award.

Students who achieved a 3.5 grade point average in a full course load are also welcomed into the prestigious R. Tait Mackenzie Society. This year’s inductees were Francisco Colino, Alex Di Battista, Lisanne Marie Dore, Maira Doucas, Sam Esfandiari, Monica Ibrahim, Jonathan Koumaris, Lucida Ling, Sam Xiao Zhou Liu, Jennifer Lunardo, Emily Mirrett, Emily Neff and Sarah Wellman. 

Graduate students Russell Field (PhD), Sheldon Persad (MSc) and Anka Brozic (MSc) were also at the convocation ceremony and were acknowledged for their scholarship at the reception.