Ryerson University issued the following announcement on June 26.

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Photos: Ryerson Gold Medallists with President Mohamed Lachemi at Convocation 2018 ceremonies: Kyle Cheung; Joseph Thomas Sayers; Daphne Chan; Thejvir Bhattii; Seyed-Shahriar Riazi; Catherine May. Photos by Clifton Li.

The Ryerson Gold Medal is the university’s highest honour, given to students with both academic excellence and outstanding community involvement. How does it feel to receive a Ryerson Gold Medal? What does it take to become a top student? What memories and achievements make the experience worthwhile? We asked six of this year’s Gold Medallists to share their insights.

(Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Science)

What does receiving the gold medal mean to you?

Receiving the Ryerson Gold Medal and the Board of Governors Leadership Medal reminds me that some of life’s biggest successes can follow some of its biggest failures. I had a rough time starting out at Ryerson and was put on academic probation. From those failures, the lessons I learned about motivation and perseverance helped me excel once I found out what I was passionate about. I have my current supervisor and mentor Dr. Sabatinos to thank for that. She looked past my initial failures and gave me the chance to work with her. Every day she reminds me that it doesn’t matter what path you take as long as you put everything you’ve got into it. She is one of the hardest working people I know. She also cracks the best jokes!

What advice would you give students entering their first year?

My advice to students entering their first year is to be yourself. Figure out what it is that interests and motivates you and immerse yourself in it. Ryerson offers so many types of clubs and extracurricular programs—go out and get involved with something! It wasn’t until I started exploring Ryerson outside of the classroom that I began to feel like I was getting the whole university experience.

What do you wish you knew when you started undergrad?

Professors are normal people too! Say hi and introduce yourself. Many of them have great stories about when they were students too.

Do you have any favorite classes/teachers, and what made them stand out?

One of my favorite classes and professors was organic chemistry with Dr. Bryan Koivisto. Through the course of two undergraduate degrees at Ryerson I have had the opportunity to work with some exceptional people, Dr. Koivisto being one of them. This is a professor that takes the time to learn everyone’s name every year in a class of over 200. Students huddle around his desk during office hours, sometimes lingering after their questions have already been answered just because they don’t want to miss what he said next. He is involved with so many programs that aim to help students succeed and flourish, and he never seeks out recognition for it. He was definitely one of the most effective mentors I had the privilege of learning from while at Ryerson.

What is your proudest accomplishment at university?

The thing I’m most proud of accomplishing at university is my second undergraduate degree. Coming back to university as a mature student and starting all over when many of my friends were moving forward with their lives was definitely challenging.

What are your future plans?

I am hoping to continue with the sciences in medical school. Beyond that I know that I want a career where I can provide the quality of mentorship that I received while attending Ryerson.

Joseph Thomas Sayers

(Public Administration and Governance, Faculty of Arts)

What does receiving the Gold Medal mean to you?

When I arrived at the Mattamy Athletic Centre to prepare for Convocation 2018, I was handed the medal for the first time and said, “This is a nice addition to my collection.” After sharing a chuckle with staff, I noted that my ancestors were given three medals from King William (1786), King George (1812) and Prince Edward (1859) for peace, war and co-existence respectively. The medals were stolen from my great grandfather’s home in 1921. After listening to my late uncle's stories about the medals, I began a search in 1992 that tracked the medals down in 1994, and it took me another 10 years to repatriate the medals from a Canadian museum. I like to think that receiving the Ryerson Gold Medal for academic success and community service completes the circle for myself, family and community, and starts a new chapter in an exciting future of truth and reconciliation.

What do you wish you knew when you started undergrad?

I wish I would have known to use Ryerson support services early on in my undergrad year. There are many great people there that want you to succeed. Let them help you.

What advice would you give students entering their first year?

Understand that their time at Ryerson will pass by quickly. Be in the moment for each class, lecture and extra-curricular activity.

Did you have any favourite classes/teachers, and what made them stand out?

The late professor Jacquie Chic taught me a year or so before she passed. She was passionate about her work, the law, and a civil and just Canadian society for everyone. She was a great role model that will be missed.

What is your proudest accomplishment at university?

I'm most proud of the friendships and support I received from my fellow students and faculty. I would not have been awarded the medal if didn't have awesome people around me to challenge, provoke and inspire me to want to do the best I was capable of.

What are your future plans?

I just completed my first year of the Professional Masters of Public Administration program at Queen's Graduate School. I'm scheduled to complete my master’s in 2020 and would like to teach public administration and governance from an Indigenous paradigm.

Daphne Chan

(Creative Industries, Faculty of Communication and Design)

What does receiving the Gold Medal mean to you?

I applied for Canadian citizenship at the beginning of my fall semester and received the letter inviting me to take the citizenship test in late May. Around the same time, I was notified I’d been chosen as the FCAD gold medallist. The timing has made me especially conscious of how important access to opportunity has been in my life, and it’s a reminder to me to be grateful for such opportunities.

What do you wish you knew when you started undergrad?

Nothing in particular. The things I learned over the course of my undergraduate career arose out of specific circumstances and experiences and mistakes. To divorce those lessons from the contexts in which they happened would make them less meaningful, I think.

What advice would you give students entering their first year?

Be empathetic to university faculty and staff. Being cognizant of the time and effort they put into preparing course materials, designing curricula, etc. allowed me to be more understanding of aspects of my education I felt dissatisfied with, and motivated me to engage with their work with the same levels of dedication they put into it.

Did you have any favourite classes/teachers, and what made them stand out?

MPC 210 (Intro to Visual Culture) with Dr. Owen Lyons, and CRI 100 (Intro to Creative Industries) and 200 (IP Issues in the Digital Age) with Dr. Jeremy Shtern.

I’m interested in graphic design, communication, and cultural studies. MPC 210with Dr. Lyons was the course where all those interests intersected the most meaningfully for me. He planned lessons very coherently, such that it was easy to synthesize materials across weeks and connect theoretical concepts with their applications in the real world.

CRI 100 and 200 are the two foundational courses in first year Creative Industries. Dr. Shtern’s take on those courses were valuable introductions to the rigors and expectations of a university education. I went on to work as his research assistant for the rest of my undergrad, and his faith in my abilities are a large part of why my undergraduate career has been such a formative experience.

What is your proudest accomplishment at university?

Co-founding the student publication Kaleidoscope in my third year. That year I had school, two part-time jobs, and Kaleidoscope, and I’m fairly sure Kaleidoscope took up 50 per cent of my time and energy. There were quite a few challenges along the way, so I learned a lot about working in a creative team (a serendipitous complement to my degree).

What are your future plans?

To work in branding and design, and to pursue postgraduate studies in design research and strategy.

Thejvir Bhattii

(Accounting and Finance Co-op, Ted Rogers School of Management)

What does receiving the Gold Medal mean to you?

For me, the Gold Medal is something that sums up everything that I have done these past five years. It is something that rewards all those late nights I’ve spent as well as all the nights my girlfriend has had to wait for me for student group events, conferences, networking nights, and case competitions. While I was never really expecting to be rewarded for all those things, I am happy to receive it, and it is definitely a memorable way for me to end off university.

What advice would you give students entering their first year?

I’d say get involved in both the community and at university as much as you can. I started joining student groups and attending networking events as soon as I got into university and this really helped me to not only grow my resumé, but also grow my personal self. Nowadays, a lot of job opportunities come from your referral network, rather than an online application. If a student begins cultivating relationships through events and conferences in their first year and maintains them, their network will be significantly larger than one who only starts in his/her graduating year. Only because I became involved early was I able to focus on doing much more in my later years, allowing me to take on more growth opportunities to improve myself.

Another thing I’d recommend is to always put your best foot forward. There were many opportunities that I’ve never even heard of or knew about, but because I gave my 100 per cent in everything that I did (no matter how small), I was approached for many really cool opportunities and things somehow ended up working out.

What do you wish you knew when you started undergrad?

I’ve always enjoyed talking to people older than me so I can hear their response to questions like this. I was always inquisitive since my first year of university and aimed to do things that people I’ve talked to said they regretted not being able to do. I’ve put my best foot forward in everything that I did and was able to do as much as my capacity allowed me to do, while maintaining a balance in my life. So, I’m happy to say that there isn’t really anything that I wish I knew and wasn’t able to do.

Did you have any favourite classes/teachers, and what made them stand out?

While we have many classes that teach us the necessary skills to be successful when doing our jobs, I personally found the CMN 314 – Professional Presentations class to be the most useful as it focuses on one’s soft skills. Regardless of which industry a student goes to once he or she graduates, presentation and communication are most often part of the role. This class is a pure presentation-based class that requires students to not only present, but also mark each other’s presentations.

The structure of this class really allowed me to embed what was being taught into my personal self. It really teaches you to look at one’s body language, tone of voice, hand gestures, and even movements. The downside of this is that I’ve never really been able to enjoy a presentation the same anymore as my mind subconsciously picks out all these “common mistakes” whenever I watch a presentation.

What is your proudest accomplishment at university?

Back in my first year of university, I was asked by my Chinese professor (Prof. John Stowe) to participate in a provincial Chinese proficiency competition for non-Chinese students. It was very close to exam season, but I thought I’d give it a try anyways. With only a little over a week’s worth of practice at that time, I ended up placing third and was determined to try again.

The following year, I was able to secure the first-place spot. As a result, I was sent on an all-expensed trip to Hunan, China for 14 days to represent Ryerson University internationally against 97 other countries worldwide. This competition was aired on Chinese national television and it was watched by over 300 million people worldwide.

While representing Ryerson at this competition was a proud moment, the best part for me was definitely being able to meet and make friends with all these smart people from 97 other countries.

What are your future plans?

I will be writing my level 1 CFA exam on June 23, after which I will begin looking for a full-time role.

Seyed-Shahriar Riazi

(Chemical Engineering Co-op, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science)

What does receiving the Gold Medal mean to you?

Receiving the Gold Medal was a pure moment filled with emotions that I can’t describe with words. I felt that all my efforts were worth it and that I have the potential to do more. My motto from the first day when I entered Ryerson’s Introduction to Engineering course was that I need to focus on using this experience to create a difference, during the lifetime that is upon me. By setting a goal for myself and keeping my eye focused on it, without getting too distracted by the sidetracks of life, I was able to develop a plan for reaching it.

What advice would you give students entering their first year?

I advise first-year students to understand what they want to do in life. Do they have enough passion for doing something useful in this world? They shouldn’t put too much pressure into overthinking what will make them happy in life. If this overthinking takes too long, it will distract you and waste your time. So take it easy, open your mind, do your research, and act fast to get on the beautiful highway to success. Like Leonardo da Vinci, one of my influences, says: “All knowledge begins with feelings, a feeling, a passion.” I’m sure everyone has the ABILITY to do something big, it’s just the PASSION and feeling that will ignite the power to do what you set your mind to. I also recommend finding influences and people who trigger your senses to work harder in becoming who you want to be. Also, never forget to take breaks, release your stress through activities, and enjoy every day because they will all turn into your best memories.

What do you wish you knew when you started undergrad?

When I started my undergrad, I wish I knew the most efficient way to study is to form study groups; have maximum focus in the lecture; and try my best to complete every topic in the same week that it was taught.

Did you have any favourite classes/teachers, and what made them stand out?

My favourite course experiences include the Chemical Engineering capstone course called Plant Design, which was an experience that enabled me to understand and interconnect all the concepts that we had learned throughout the years. Since I planned on entering the health-care field, I really enjoyed learning about the human physiology and anatomy with Dr. Charlotte Youngson, who Ryerson is very lucky to have.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank some of my excellent professors and department staff who played a very significant role in helping me succeed. First of all, Dr. Farhad Ein-Mozaffari, my professor for Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering and Plant Design supervisor, is the best inspiration. Due to his excellence in conveying the material, while always being fair and approachable, he is the type of professor who students want to impress. So, thanks for setting your expectations high and pushing me to do better.

I also owe a huge thank you to Dr. Dae Kun Hwang, my professor and research supervisor, who not only provided me with the opportunity to become involved in hands-on microfluidics research, he also supported me in numerous award applications, school admissions, and job references. I don’t want to forget to thank my awesome program co-ordinator, Louise Lichacz, for always having my back and informing me of every opportunity that was available. Finally, I had the best experience at the Student Learning Support's math centre with my supervisors, Deidre Lam and Aleksandra Kulesza, who created the best work environment for student leaders to be able to both develop and apply leadership skills within their session.

What is your proudest accomplishment at university?

I have had many proud moments during my undergrad. Becoming involved in research at St. Michael’s Hospital, with the support of NSERC and the Dean's Research Award, and submitting the research paper of creating a tunable multi-planar nano-wrinkled surface platform, as an undergraduate student, was one of the most rewarding experiences. Additionally, being able to complete several science courses, at the same time as all my engineering course, and eventually being accepted into dental school was my boldest achievement. I also will never forget the great feeling of accomplishment when I found out that I have won the Ryerson Gold Medal.

What are your future plans?

I plan to start my professional degree at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Dental Medicine. I have always wanted this career path even before entering Ryerson; however, to expand my exposure, gain design experiences, and think differently than the majority of people entering the dental field, I chose engineering as my undergraduate degree. By learning about pharmaceutical processing and technology, bioengineering, thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, and many more topics, I plan to bridge the engineering and dental field together, while also being able to provide excellent care to the public.

Catherine May

(Fundraising and Management Certificate, Chang School of Continuing Education)

What does receiving the Gold Medal mean to you?

For me, the Gold Medal is a wonderful recognition of all the support my family gave to me so that I could pursue further education at The Chang School, while juggling my other responsibilities.

What interested you in pursuing continuing education?

After 20 years working as a television producer, I was looking for a change. I had done some fundraising while I was the board chair at Ernestine's Women's Shelter. I decided to enrol in the Fundraising Management program to help professionalize my skills, hoping that I could get a job!

Did you have any favourite classes/teachers, and what made them stand out?

I only had six teachers in my program and they all gave me something valuable to take away.

What are you proudest of that you accomplished?

I'm proud that 30 years into my working life, I took a chance on something new!

What advice would you give people considering pursuing continuing education?

It can be a lot of work, but find a way to make it work for your schedule!

Original source: https://www.ryerson.ca/news-events/news/2018/06/a-q-and-a-with-ryersons-gold-medallists/