Third-year Design student Madelyn Caopzzi received this year's Faculty of Fine Arts Heather and Erin Humanitarian Award.
The Heather and Erin Humanitarian Award was established in 1995 by the Faculty of Fine Arts through the donations of colleagues and friends to honour the memories of Heather Walker and her daughter Erin. It is awarded annually to a full- or part-time student enrolled in a Bachelor of Fine Arts. The selection is made by the Office of Student Affairs based on demonstration of humanitarian service while in pursuit of excellence in academic, artistic, and community service or related endeavours.
Last summer, Capozzi fundraised for a service-learning trip to South America, where she worked alongside and supported nonprofits working in the areas of food and water security, education, and economic empowerment. She developed a website and wrote a research essay that detailed her experiences of her trip.
During her second year at Concordia, Capozzi conducted an independent study of the zero waste movement on campus in collaboration with Concordia’s Center for Creative Reuse (CUCCR) and student-run waste reduction initiative The Dish Project. She assisted both groups with daily operations and helped organize Concordia’s first Zero Waste Week. She created branding and graphics for the event series, worked on their website and co-wrote and facilitated a workshop on waste justice. She also wrote about these projects for The Concordian and The Link.
She participated in this year’s 5 Days for the Homeless, an annual fundraiser that calls for students to live homeless for a week canvassing for local shelters.
She and a fellow student also created an art installation for the EV Junction titled “Eternal Take-Out” to raise awareness about Styrofoam’s extremely slow rates of biodegradation in proportion to its popular use in disposable food packaging.
Well done Madelyn!