Beaming students, proud parents, and eager friends filled the River Building Atrium with a warm buzz of chatter on February 11 as the Faculty of Public Affairs celebrated its Dean’s Honour List recipients from the 2013-2014 school year.
Of the more than 900 FPA students who made the list, many arrived in dresses and suit jackets, proudly displaying their Dean’s Honour list pins.
Dean André Plourde described it as a fitting celebration to recognize FPA’s hard-working students.
“The energy in the room was phenomenal. This is our way of letting these students know that we are proud of them and of their achievements,” said Dean Plourde. “With these students as future leaders in our society, we will be in good hands.”
But the happiest guests may have been the parents, who hovered proudly over their offspring.
Rogerio Toledo came with his daughter Mariana, a 4th year Economics student who will be attending McGill law school next year.
“We are very happy for Mariana,” said Toledo, who is visiting from Brazil. “And we are very grateful to Carleton. She came here speaking only a little English and now she is heading to McGill.”
John Moreash stood with his daughter Ayla, eyes transfixed on a list of giant names projected on the wall. One by one, the names cycled through the “M” category, until they spotted “Ayla Moreash” and shouted: “There it is!”
Moreash said his daughter was the first in the family to reach the Dean’s Honour List.
“We came all the way from Toronto because this means a lot to us. We’re very proud.”
Groups of students celebrated throughout the room, especially at the FPA Photo
Booth—complete with professional lights and umbrellas—where students and parents squeezed into mock picture frames for their photos.
Nearby, a crowd of third-year journalism students joked about their secrets to making it on to the Dean’s Honour List.
“No sleep and no social life!” “Lots of coffee!”
Others, like Criminology graduate Dillon Brady were more thoughtful. Brady brought his father Bernie and his brother Mack to the reception: all three were in suits and ties.
“I had to prioritize school over a social life,” says Brady, who maintained an A average for four years. “But in third year, it became a lot more interesting because I could choose a specific path and I got to know the professors quite well. It was a great experience.”
Brady was one of several students who cited their relationships with professors as the key to their success.
“Go to their office hours; ask them questions; get to know them,” urged Communication studies major Madeleine Le Jeune. “That’s how you learn.”
Wednesday, February 11, 2015 in News
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