Antonia Mantonakis has built her career on creating and observing human connections.

The Professor of Marketing and Consumer Psychology’s innovative approaches to connecting students to class material, her early adoption of experiential learning and her commitment to sustained mentorship have earned her the 2026 Goodman School of Business Excellence in Teaching Award.

Addressing Goodman’s newest graduates  during Brock University’s 119th Convocation on Friday, June 12, Mantonakis encouraged the Class of 2026 to remember that the ability to feel things deeply is their superpower and is something that artificial intelligence (AI) will never have.

“In an era of AI and algorithms we all need to be more human. We need to connect to ourselves, to our emotions, to these moments, to music and our autobiographical memories,” she said.

As they embark on their next steps, Mantonakis invited graduates to remember the importance of connecting with others and their potential as community builders, mentors and leaders.

“Years from now, you won’t be able to generate every slide deck or textbook like AI can. But you will remember the people who changed you. Your mentors, your supporters and your friends.”

For Mantonakis, those words are more than advice, they are also a reflection of her own story.

In one of the first classes during her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto, Professor Steve Joordens modelled how active learning could spark curiosity and deepen understanding.

“Being in his class was the first time I considered that being a professor might be a career option for me,” she said. “He was young, went against traditional professor stereotypes and was passionate about what he was doing.”

The methods that once inspired her have since become trademarks in her own teachings.  She uses similar approaches to him by starting each lecture with in-class demonstrations of the topic of the day.

She’s also been an early adopter of experiential learning, creating opportunities for her students to apply their knowledge through hands-on projects with community partners.

Mantonakis says her career is the proof that a great mentor’s influence can have a sustained impact on students’ trajectories, and her experience inspired her to create sustained mentorship relationships with students who have cross her path.

“I think everyone needs that role model for what they do and what brings them passion,” she said. “If you don’t have someone to look to, then it’s hard to develop that passion within yourself.”

From Tuesday, June 9 to Friday, June 12, about 3,000 graduands from seven Faculties received their degrees as part of Brock’s 119th Convocation. All ceremony recordings are available at brocku.ca/livestream

For more information, visit brocku.ca/convocation

A full collection of Convocation photos by ceremony will be available on Brock University’s official Flickr galleries.