{"id":100669,"date":"2025-04-10T12:03:57","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T16:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=100669"},"modified":"2025-04-10T18:05:28","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T22:05:28","slug":"grad-generosity-supports-60-years-of-student-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2025\/04\/grad-generosity-supports-60-years-of-student-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Grad generosity supports 60 years of student success"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Once a Badger, always a Badger.<\/p>\n<p>Students may spend just a few years at Brock, but their connection to the University\u2019s close-knit community lasts for life. Over the past 60 years, Brock graduates have played an essential role in supporting student success through volunteering, monetary donations and providing experiential education opportunities.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_100688\" style=\"width: 361px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-100688\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-100688\" src=\"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1741718367960-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Jon Faber \" width=\"351\" height=\"351\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-100688\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jon Faber (BBA \u201902)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In the past five years, alumni donors have contributed an average of about $250 each a year, providing more than $1 million to support students, research and other critical needs across the University.<\/p>\n<p>Graduates Jon Faber (BBA \u201902) and Aleks Novakovic (BAcc \u201997) were inspired to give back to Brock by memories of a supportive environment that has profoundly influenced their lives since graduation.<\/p>\n<p>When Faber, now CEO of Pason Systems, enrolled in Brock\u2019s Co-op Accounting program in the 1990s, he and his wife Jill Ormiston Faber (BA &#8217;01) made life-changing connections.<\/p>\n<p>Faber\u2019s ongoing support including his generous donation of $10,000 to the Jamie Fleming Scholarship, which recognizes students for their outstanding leadership and commitment as a member of the Residence Life staff, holds particular significance for Faber.<\/p>\n<p>He says residence life at Brock gave him a sense of belonging, moulded his own perspective and identity, and allowed him to build invaluable life skills and lifelong friendships<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found a community that welcomed me and taught me how to navigate various types of relationships. It helped shape my future in a way I couldn\u2019t have imagined,\u201d he says. \u201cThe communication and leadership skills I developed through involvement in residence life and in the seminar system in the business school at Brock have been the most impactful in my current professional and volunteer experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Also a Co-op Accounting graduate, Novakovic was moved to give back to his alma mater when his daughter was exploring her post-secondary education options. As part of the process, he reconnected with the Dean of the Goodman School of Business and was impressed with the School\u2019s commitment to excellence in business and accounting.<\/p>\n<p>Novakovic and his wife Donna, decided to donate to the Building Fund and establish the Aleks Novakovic Undergraduate Scholarship for Excellence in Accounting, which was first awarded in April 2024.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_100689\" style=\"width: 361px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-100689\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-100689\" src=\"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/A_Novakovic_Headshot-copy.jpg\" alt=\"Aleks Novakovic\" width=\"351\" height=\"429\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-100689\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aleks Novakovic (BAcc \u201997)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Our own educational journeys were made possible with financial support. We aspire to extend this privilege to deserving students,\u201d he says. \u201cThe Co-op Accounting program at Brock prepared me extremely well for the Chartered Professional Accountant designation and was a great foundation for a business career,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Novakovic served as Global Head of Tax at Brookfield Corporation for more 20 years and is currently the company\u2019s Head of Strategic Initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>Both Faber and Novakovic\u2019s donations reflect their belief in the transformative power of education and their commitment to ensuring students can achieve their goals and make meaningful contributions to society.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond providing financial support, Brock grads have an incredible impact on the lives of students by sharing their time and insights, with than 1,500 volunteering over the years in a variety of ways.<\/p>\n<p>Whether speaking to a class about their experiences, judging a competition, serving on a panel, hosting a webinar or speaking at Convocation, these interactions with students demonstrate an abiding commitment to supporting fellow Badgers and strengthening the Brock community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur alumni community is made up of a diverse range of perspectives, narratives and experiences,\u201d says Kim Post (BA \u201903, MEd \u201914, BEd \u201921), Director, Alumni Relations. \u201cWhen they give their time, they demonstrate to current students that with a Brock degree, you can truly achieve anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once a Badger, always a Badger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":100690,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[119,39,9794,1],"tags":[13423,283,14421],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100669"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100669"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100692,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100669\/revisions\/100692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}