Concordia grad honoured by his community

Canada’s Aboriginal youth have a brand-new role model in recent Concordia graduate Duncan Cree.

Cree – along with 13 other leaders from the nation’s Aboriginal communities – was honoured with a National Aboriginal Achievement Award during a ceremony at the House of Commons on November 21.

The National Aboriginal Achievement Award is a “great honour to receive,” says Cree, “especially when your own people have selected you.” It shows that, "with some guidance, hard work and determination, anyone can achieve their dreams or goals.” He hopes his recent win will impress this idea upon aboriginal youth across the country, as well as spark an interest in education.

National Aboriginal Achievement Awards Recipients in front of Parliament. Front row, left to right: Cindy Blackstock, Audrey Poitras, Teyotsihstokwathe Dakota Brant, Annie Panguit Peterloosie, Corrine Hunt. Back row, left to right: Duncan Cree, Roger Jones, Margo L. Greenwood, Jean LaRose, Joseph F. Dion, Frederick G. Sasakamoose, Ronald Edward Sparrow. Missing: Lillian McGregor, Marcia Anderson DeCoteau. | Photo courtesy of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation.

Originally from Kanesatake, Que., Cree completed the joint Aircraft Maintenance program at John Abbott College and École Édouard-Montpetit before being drawn to Concordia by the aerospace option offered through the Mechanical Engineering program.

While at Concordia, Cree excelled far beyond just the bachelor’s degree, earning his master and graduating with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2009. He now recalls his time at Concordia fondly, remembering the many friends from around the world he made while here. “Alongside my engineering courses, Concordia gave me an education on the different cultures of the world,” he explains.

Cree is no stranger to accolades. While pursuing his PhD, he was selected from a very competitive field to be part of the seventh Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference in the summer of 2008. He was also chosen to be one of only 10 students from Canada to take part in the International Space University’s nine-week Summer Session Scholarship Program in 2007 in Beijing.

Cree is someone who likes to give back to his community. This past September he was invited to the University of Saskatchewan to speak to first year Aboriginal students during their orientation session. He shared with them his own secrets to succeeding at university, and talked to them about the hardships they may experience when they find themselves away from their community for the first time. He also volunteers yearly as a judge at the Quebec Aboriginal Science Fair.

Cree is now into the second year of a post-doctoral fellowship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, which he holds at Queen’s University.

Related links:
•  Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
•  National Aboriginal Achievement Awards
•  Duncan Cree gets spacey in China -- Concordia Journal, September 27, 2007