![\"Izabella](\"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/ConvoPhD2-300x227.jpg\")
Izabella Ludwa with her daughters Elowen, left, and Willow, right.<\/p><\/div>\n
Nine days before she walked across the convocation stage at Brock University to receive her Doctor of Philosophy, Ludwa gave birth to her second daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got teary eyed when I walked out. Just being here is amazing,\u201d Ludwa said as she sat with her two children at a table overlooking Ian Beddis Gymnasium, where the morning convocation ceremony was still going on.<\/p>\n
The Toronto native, who now lives in St. Catharines with her husband Tito and daughters Willow, three, and the newborn Elowen, has spent more than a decade as a student. She took her undergrad at the University of Toronto and then moved to Brock for her masters in kinesiology and finally her PhD.<\/p>\n
But getting to Saturday\u2019s ceremony \u2013 Brock\u2019s 100th<\/sup> Convocation \u2013 has been far from an easy journey for the Ludwa family.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was hard. My husband was a huge help and you try to figure out what works. There are moments where it doesn\u2019t work and things go by the wayside in terms of trying to finish school,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Six months after her first child was born, she considered leaving school.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a point where I thought I should just quit. It was too much,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have family here so it\u2019s not like I can go drop someone off. And being a student, financially it\u2019s difficult. Day care is expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n Ludwa credits her supervisor, kinesiology professor Nota Klentrou with pushing her on. Ludwa\u2019s research focused on investigating the bone-muscle interaction during growth and development in children and she\u2019s hoping to continue that research if she\u2019s able to get some post-doc funding.<\/p>\n Ludwa was one of 955 students to graduate during two convocation ceremonies at Brock Saturday.<\/p>\n The Fall Convocation event marked the first for Interim President Tom Traves, who started at Brock two weeks ago, as well as for Registrar Geraldine Jones, who took over the role from the retired Barb Davis over the summer.<\/p>\n During the morning ceremony, Applied Health Sciences Research Excellence Award recipient professor David Gabriel gave the convocation address and reminded the graduates about the importance of friendship.<\/p>\n \u201cConvocation is for family who have sacrificed so much for you, but today I want to acknowledge the friends,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are the people who have been with you through the trials and tribulations when you tell your family \u2018everything is OK,\u2019 and then you go home and spend time with your friends who help you through day-to-day life.<\/p>\n \u201cNever forget to take an opportunity to tell your friends and all those who are there for you that you care about them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The afternoon address was delivered by Faculty of Education professor Nicola Simmons, recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award, who said graduates need to remain creative, patient and inquisitive.<\/p>\n \u201cMy wish for you is that you use your degree wisely; That you continue to ask good questions; That you do today what will be good for tomorrow; That you creatively imagine the future; That you not be rushed and that your life indeed will be rich and full,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Other award recipients included:<\/strong><\/p>\n Governor General\u2019s Silver Medals: Stacey Van Herk (Mathematics and Computer Science) and Cameron Giles (Medical Sciences).<\/p>\n Board of Trustees Spirit of Brock Medals: Dinara Salaeva (Applied Health Sciences); Huzaifa Faizan (Accounting); Lee Belding (Chemistry); Gianluca Agostinelli (Social and Cultural Contexts of Education); Stephanie Culp (Classics); Gabriela Ruiz Rodriguez (Aboriginal Adult Education); Malvina Skorska (Psychology).<\/p>\n Applied Health Sciences Research Excellence Award: Kinesiology professor Sandra Peters.<\/p>\n Distinguished Research and Creative Activity Award: Economics professor Robert Dimand.<\/p>\n Both Fall Convocation ceremonies can be watched in full below<\/strong><\/p>\n Morning Ceremony:
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