Regal recognition for two undergrads
The Hon. Pierre Duchesne has awarded the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Bronze Youth Medals to two Concordia students, Eric Moses Gashirabake and Nicholas Sweet, as recognition of their significant contributions to society.
The two students joined 61 other high school, Cegeps and university students at a lavish ceremony at the Collège Regina Assumpta in Old Montreal, where the Lieutenant Governor, accompanied by his spiffy military escort, handed out the medals.
“My wife and I are very happy to be here among you today to recognize your voluntary efforts and contributions to your community,” conveyed the Lieutenant Governor to the medal recipients.
The Youth medals are one of three categories of awards given out by the Lieutenant Governor to citizens of Quebec who have had a positive influence on their community and demonstrated an exceptional capacity to go above and beyond for the benefit of others.
“It goes without saying that Nick and Moses are most deserving of this recognition,” says Concordia’s Dean of Students Andrew Woodall, who submitted their nominations. “They have distinguished themselves on a number of fronts at Concordia and in the larger Montreal community."
Gashirabake, who is graduating this spring with a BA in honours political science, has been involved with a number of campus organizations since enrolling at Concordia in 2009. He is co-founder and co-president of the World University Services of Canada (WUSC) Concordia chapter, which is raising funds to annually sponsor a refugee to attend Concordia.
The Rwandan native also served as vice-president, Academic, Advocacy and Loyola Affairs, for the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) and the chair of its Enhanced Shadow Program, and as external chair of the Garnet Key Society.
“Winning this important provincial medal was a sweet surprise for me,” he says.
“It was quite a humbling honour to be recognized with exceptional individuals from various educational institutions in this province. I was very proud to represent Concordia.”
This year, Gashirabake received an Alumni Recognition Award from the Concordia University Alumni Association, and an Outstsanding Contribution Award from the Concordia Council on Student Life. He was also named CBC’s Montrealer of the Week.
Nicholas Sweet, an engineering student and President of Space Concordia, led the team of undergraduates that recently won the Canadian Satellite Design Challenge. As well, Sweet was the only Canadian selected to take part in the CalTech Space Challenge. For one week, he joined 32 other students from top institutions all over the world to design a manned mission to one of Mars’ moons under the guidance of NASA engineers. Read his blog about International Space Day, which was May 3. http://www.concordia.ca/now/campus-beat/blogs/20130507/opinion-space-is-the-frontier-of-our-ultimate-dreams.php
Sweet also contributed to student life as a member of the Concordia Student Union Judicial Board, which is charged with resolving issues affecting the student government.
He attended the medal ceremony with his parents and his grandfather, who was celebrating his birthday the same day. “It was a fantastic birthday for him,” Sweet says, adding that it was definitely the most formal ceremony he’d ever been a part of. Despite all the pomp and circumstance, Sweet was delighted to meet the Queen’s representative and shake his hand.
“He was very warm,” he says. “I’d imagine he gets tired of doing that sort of thing, but every single time he seemed very warm and engaging.”
Gashirabake will begin law school at McGill University. Sweet, who still has a few classes to finish up before graduating, is spending his summer working with the chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
He’s not sure which project he’ll be working on, but has his hopes set on one researching the autonomous rendezvous and docking of spacecraft. “It involves figuring out how to get two spacecraft to hook up in space. I would love to work on that,” he says.
Related links:
• “Only Canadian student at Caltech event” — NOW, April 9, 2013
• “Concordia satellite ready for take off” — NOW, October 2, 2012
• “And the winners are …” — NOW, March 4, 2013
• “Concordian named CBC’s Montrealer of the Week” — NOW, March 13, 2013
• Lieutenant Governor’s Youth Medal