May 31, 2016

Preparations are currently underway for Medicine Hat College’s convocation. This annual celebration will take place on Friday, June 3, 2016 in the college gymnasium.

A total of 514 students will graduate from certificate, diploma and applied degree programs, with another 199 apprentice students completing studies at MHC this spring.

The morning ceremony will start at 10 a.m. and will see grads from the Divisions of Arts, Education and Business and the Division of Trades and Technology. The afternoon program will begin at 2 p.m. and celebrate students from the Division of Science and Health.

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

This year’s Student of the Year award will be presented to Colton Eremenko, a third year student in the business administration program. This honour is given to an individual with exceptional academic standing and someone who has made a significant contribution to the cultural, social or recreational life of MHC.

Eremenko grew up on a farm south of Acadia Valley, Alberta. He comes from a very business-minded and entrepreneurial family, making the business program a natural fit. He maintains high grades while volunteering for organizations like Enactus MHC. Currently he is the president of Enactus. Under his leadership the team has had many wins, including taking home the Impact Award for their Young Entrepreneur Program at Enactus Western Canada Regional Competition in Calgary. The group recently returned from nationals in Toronto where they were named runner-up in their league.

Miranda Davies will be receiving the 2016 Instructor of the Year award. Davies has been an instructor at the college for six years. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English and French from the University of Alberta and a Master’s in Business Administration from Dalhousie University. She teaches subjects ranging from communications and marketing to entrepreneurship and operations management. Davies’ students describe her as encouraging, understanding and passionate about teaching. She is also a positive mentor who challenges them to pursue their dreams.

This year’s recipient of the Governor General’s Academic Medal is Rori Dundas, a practical nurse graduate from the Brooks campus. 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.

Dundas wanted to be a nurse since she was a teenager, and relocated to Medicine Hat in 2012 to complete the health care aide program at Medicine Hat College. The experience she gained working as a nursing attendant only reinforced her ultimate goal of becoming a nurse. In 2014, Rori began the practical nursing program at MHC’s Brooks Campus. She completed the program while maintaining top grades, working, and managing a pregnancy in her second year.

During this year’s convocation, two individuals will receive the Honorary Applied Baccalaureate Degree. Austin Curtin will be acknowledged in the morning and Dr. John H.M. (Jack) Snedden during the afternoon ceremony. 

Curtin is a past member of MHC’s board of governors, and was named MHC’s Business Person of the Year in 2014. He recently retired after owning and operating several Canadian Tire locations including stores in Medicine Hat, Brooks and Cold Lake, Alberta.

In January 2014, the Canadian Tire Corporation donated $50,000 to MHC’s Enactus chapter in honour of Curtin. He has provided ongoing support to the community and served as a mentor in the business world.

Dr. Snedden is a retired dentist and former partner of River Centre Dental. He was the president of the Medicine Hat Kinsmen Club, member of the Rotary Club and chairman of the National Convention. He was also a past president of the Cypress Club and the Medicine Hat Curling Club.

In 1967, when the college was still housed at Medicine Hat High School as a junior college, Dr. Snedden joined the board of governors as chair. He was deeply involved in the planning and relocation of MHC as it stands today.

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 will be available from the MHC website on Friday.