June 1, 2012

Preparations are in full swing for Friday’s convocation at Medicine Hat College.

A total of 583 students will graduate from certificate, diploma and applied degree programs, with another 171 apprentice students completing studies at MHC this spring.  Approximately 395 of these students plan to attend convocation, and will cross the podium in two separate ceremonies on Friday, June 1. The 10:00 a.m. ceremony will see grads from the divisions of adult development, business and arts. The 2:00 p.m. ceremony will honour graduates from the divisions of health studies, science and department of trades. The ceremonies will take place in the MHC gymnasium.

Several awards will be handed out at the ceremonies, including the prestigious Honorary Applied Baccalaureate Degree, Student of the Year, Instructor of the Year, and the Governor General’s Academic Medal. 

The 2012 Honorary Applied Baccalaureate Degree will be presented to Roy Wilson, a former instructor at MHC and current school board trustee for Medicine Hat School District #76. Wilson touched countless lives during his time as an instructor, and continues to do so with his work on the school board and many other volunteer activities.

The MHC Student of the Year award will be presented to Anare Roqara, who is studying to be a petroleum or chemical engineer at MHC’s Brooks Campus. He became a full-time student in the fall of 2011 after a ten-year career with the military. Roqara’s nominators sited his talent to move forward and embrace a new idea, ability to obtain the necessary skills to make it work, and readiness to tackle and conquer any obstacles along the way as main contributors to the award nomination. 

Rory Mahoney has been named MHC’s Instructor of the Year. He is an instructor and coordinator of student affairs in visual communications, whose passion is motivating students and helping them realize their potential. The impact of Mahoney’s knowledge, kindness and willingness to go above and beyond has been life-changing for students. 

This year’s recipient of the Governor General’s Academic Medal is Aimee Rideout, a practical nurse graduate. The medal was created in 1873 to encourage academic excellence across the nation. It is awarded to the student who receives the highest overall average upon graduation from a diploma level program.

Rideout is excited to work on the maternal child ward at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital following convocation. She has also been accepted to the Bachelor of Nursing transition program at MHC in fall 2012. She has made a lasting impact on her instructors at MHC’s Brooks Campus, as well as the mentors and patients she worked with during her time in the program. 

The college will once again host distinguished guests from the city and province at the ceremony. Additionally, faculty members will form a gauntlet to honour the graduates as they cross Centennial Hall to enter the gymnasium. For more information on MHC’s graduation ceremonies, visit www.mhc.ab.ca. The ceremony can also be viewed on a live web stream for friends and family who can’t attend. The live streaming link is available here.