{"id":12940,"date":"2024-05-10T10:17:14","date_gmt":"2024-05-10T14:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/boardofgovernors\/boardofgovernors\/?page_id=12940"},"modified":"2025-08-25T15:11:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T19:11:08","slug":"2024-board-award-recipient-christopher-patt","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/boardofgovernors\/board-award\/2024-board-award-recipient-christopher-patt\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 Board Award Recipient"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n 2024 Board Award Recipient\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

By Poonam Das<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat gives me motivation and what I like to do every day is bring smiles to people’s faces.”<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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The focus and commitment to serve others and do good for society became the defining moment for Bachelor of Global and International Studies (BGINS)<\/a> graduate, Christopher (Chris) Pratt. Chris, who hails from Calgary, was drawn to Carleton because of its people-focused approach to studies. As someone who was raised with the ethos of volunteering and community engagement from a young age, all roads led to Carleton University, where he ultimately received Carleton’s 2024 Board of Governor\u2019s Award for Outstanding Community Achievement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, four years later, Chris crosses the Carleton stage to the applause and accolade of family, and friends, reminding us of the importance of doing things that bring us joy and spreading joy to others.<\/p>\n\n\n

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“As an institution that prides itself in recognizing the academic and voluntary contributions of those within its community, we are honoured to celebrate the remarkable achievements of Chris Pratt. His post-secondary journey has encompassed dedication, altruism, and compassion \u2013 resulting in an impact on the Carleton community, that is nothing short of extraordinary.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greg Farrell, Chair, Carleton University Board of Governors<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Chris started his volunteer journey in sixth grade. Surrounded by community leaders, and volunteers, Chris naturally gravitated to choosing an academic path that focused on understanding people, their perspectives, and what he could do to improve their lives. His interest in community involvement, both inside and outside the Carleton community grew as his skills and knowledge at Carleton blossomed.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI truly believe that volunteering gives you the opportunity to experience so many different experiences that you otherwise would not get a chance to.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Some of Chris\u2019 achievements were serving as President of BGInS and a Vice President – Operations of Carleton Academic Student Government (CASG)<\/a>, where he helped to administer $7620 in funding that supported 36 events ran by academic societies on campus and worked alongside with CASG President Francesca Lepore, to advocate for greater transparency in course overview information for students before registration. “It’s really important to me that students get to enjoy the university experience as much as possible,”<\/strong> said Chris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI get to meet so many different people outside of my program through the volunteer experiences I’ve done at Carleton, and I’ve also got to be introduced to so many different perspectives and so many ways of approaching how the world works,\u201d says Chris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, he worked as a volunteer on Parliament Hill for a Member of Parliament, where he interacted with stakeholders from various backgrounds like Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, Lions of Canada, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation\u2019s and more. But one of Chris’s most heartwarming encounters was when he was volunteering at the Carleton Outdoors Club, where he came to know a newcomer in Canada who, despite their difficult past experiences, were eager to explore the Canadian wilderness and give back to the Canadian community. This encounter left Chris with a greater appreciation for human life and the power of resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cPut yourself out there and become involved in everything!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For current or prospective students seeking greater involvement at Carleton, Chris’ message is clear: put yourself out there and get involved in everything.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGet involved in every club, academic group or volunteering drive the campus has to offer and then set boundaries and scale back, and focus on activities that attract your attention,” said Chris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a person who stepped out of his comfort zone and left Calgary to study in Ottawa, driven by the passion to help others and recipient of one of Carleton\u2019s most prestigious student awards, Chris\u2019s words aren\u2019t just advice but serve as a path to his success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris’ story is one of resilience, determination, and the conviction that one can be of help to others while maintaining a positive outlook on life and all that it may bring. From the initial obstacle of starting a degree during a pandemic to maintaining academic excellence while maintaining connections and getting involved in a variety of volunteer activities, Chris’s story not only exemplifies service to community but is also a source of inspiration to all of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris intends to remain in Ontario and obtain a Bachelor of Education degree to become a teacher and inspire Canada’s upcoming young changemakers.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Poonam Das \u201cWhat gives me motivation and what I like to do every day is bring smiles to people’s faces.” The focus and commitment to serve others and do good for society became the defining moment for Bachelor of Global and International Studies (BGINS) graduate, Christopher (Chris) Pratt. Chris, who hails from Calgary, was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":0,"parent":52,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cu_dining_location_slug":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_page_type":[],"class_list":["post-12940","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/boardofgovernors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/boardofgovernors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/boardofgovernors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/boardofgovernors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/boardofgovernors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12940"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/boardofgovernors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13766,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/boardofgovernors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12940\/revisions\/13766"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/boardofgovernors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/52"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/boardofgovernors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_page_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/boardofgovernors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_page_type?post=12940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}