{"id":71205,"date":"2020-11-13T11:09:53","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T16:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=71205"},"modified":"2025-10-10T13:45:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T17:45:12","slug":"medallists-reflect-university-experience","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/medallists-reflect-university-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Medallists of Fall 2020 Class Discuss their University Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Medallists of Fall 2020 Class Discuss their University Experience\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Carleton University announced the undergraduate winners of the Governor General Silver Medal, the Chancellor\u2019s Medal and the President\u2019s Medal for the graduating class of November 2020. The University Senate officially conferred their degrees at a meeting on Oct. 30, 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governor General Silver Medal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Governor General Silver Medal was awarded to Lucas Samuel DiRienzo, who received a Bachelor of Science<\/a> with a minor in Chemistry. It is awarded to the student at the head of the graduating class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born and raised in Ottawa, DiRienzo came to Carleton to study Biochemistry with the intention of pursuing medical school at the University of Ottawa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lucas
Lucas Samuel DiRienzo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DiRienzo cites working with his peers as one of the highlights of his university tenure, as well as his experience in the field. He collaborated with one of his professors at an injection site in Ottawa, testing drugs for fentanyl and other contaminants. He also served as a lab teaching assistant for organic chemistry in his third year.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI really enjoyed teaching . . . and being able to pass on all the tips and things that I went through [when I was in] that exact same class.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

After medical school, DiRienzo is interested in surgical specialties during residency but remains open to other practices.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Lucas<\/figure>\n\n\n

Chancellor\u2019s Medal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Chancellor\u2019s Medal is awarded to a graduating undergrad based on outstanding academic achievement. The fall 2020 winner is Sara Katharine Garden, who earned an Honours Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Garden also grew up in Ottawa, with previous schooling in Montreal and Kingston. She earned a diploma in Veterinary Technology from St. Lawrence College, and wanted to go to school closer to home. Carleton allowed her to transfer credits from her diploma, and Garden enrolled in the Environmental Science program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sara
Sara Katharine Garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really enjoyed the field and discussion courses that my program offers,\u201d says Garden.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThey allow students to gain experience with practical environmental techniques and exposed us to the many different careers our degree could prepare us for.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Garden recalls opportunities to speak to different environmental professionals, and how they achieved their career path. As well, she was thankful for the professors and teaching assistants who helped her through courses on topics she had previously never studied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Garden works as a veterinary technician, hoping to gain more experience in species identification and surveying. She doesn\u2019t rule out pursuing more schooling in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Sara<\/figure>\n\n\n

President\u2019s Medal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The President\u2019s Medal is awarded to the student with the highest-standing in a general degree program of studies. For fall 2020\u2019s graduating class, that student is Ariane Renaud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Renaud is from Sainte-C\u00e9cile-de-Masham in Quebec. After earning a diploma in Community Studies from Algonquin College, she turned to Carleton to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology<\/a> while working full time at Health Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ariane
Ariane Renaud<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Being a part-time, remote student, Renaud did not have the typical undergraduate experience. But she had high praise for the online classes offered. \u201cIt was valuable for me to see that it is possible to learn online and that it\u2019s super efficient,\u201d Renaud says.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cIn terms of getting the work done, that was really great.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Renaud has been employed by Health Canada for 10 years, holding several different positions, but is currently a project manager within the Employee Assistance Program. She hopes that her Psychology degree, and specifically her Sociology specialization, will help her move up the ladder within the organization. Renaud says that she is considering even further specialization in psychotherapy.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Ariane<\/figure>\n\n\n

—
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Carleton University announced the undergraduate winners of the Governor General Silver Medal, the Chancellor\u2019s Medal and the President\u2019s Medal for the graduating class of November 2020. The University Senate officially conferred their degrees at a meeting on Oct. 30, 2020. Governor General Silver Medal The Governor General Silver Medal was awarded to Lucas Samuel DiRienzo, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":71233,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[25],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-71205","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-student-experience"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/71205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/71205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97809,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/71205\/revisions\/97809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=71205"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=71205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}