{"id":66788,"date":"2020-06-26T08:43:56","date_gmt":"2020-06-26T12:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=66788"},"modified":"2020-06-26T16:02:47","modified_gmt":"2020-06-26T20:02:47","slug":"strong-leaders-earn-math-and-science-spirit-of-brock-medals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2020\/06\/strong-leaders-earn-math-and-science-spirit-of-brock-medals\/","title":{"rendered":"Strong leaders earn Math and Science Spirit of Brock medals"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was early on in Shraddha\u00a0Khirwadkar\u2019s time at Brock University that a leadership talk inspired her and gave her a new direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe words that stood out for me were that there is a leader in each of us waiting to help and support others,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Now, years later as she recently graduated from the University with her undergraduate degree from the Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Khirwadkar has proven that she took that advice to heart. During Brock\u2019s first-ever Virtual Spring Convocation, which launched Friday, June 19, she was named the Faculty\u2019s undergraduate recipient of the Spirit of Brock medal, joining graduate student recipient Lelia Meskine.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrock students work diligently every day to grow academically,\u201d said Faculty of Mathematic and Science Dean Ejaz Ahmed. \u201cLong nights of study and hours of preparation go into a successful student career. Many students shine, yet some go even further. Shraddha Khirwadkar and Lelia Meskine are two such examples of students who took it upon themselves to become strong leaders and community participants and they have both earned the Spirit of Brock medals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khirwadkar\u2019s\u00a0dedication in supporting\u00a0Brock\u2019s goal to promote experiential learning both in and out\u00a0of\u00a0the classroom is impressive. While balancing a full academic course load and completing her Biochemistry degree, she demonstrated her commitment to providing fellow students with opportunities to develop their leadership skills.<\/p>\n

Khirwadkar taught students how to turn leadership theory into practical application in a safe and supportive group climate, where the students were willing to risk being wrong and share honest feedback.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople often think that to be a leader, you have to be a Prime Minister or CEO, but it\u2019s not true,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the everyday leaders that take care of a community, large or small, that make the world work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khirwadkar viewed her Virtual Convocation experience with her family by her side.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were so happy to see my name on the screen,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was wonderful to have them right beside me to see how proud they are of the work I\u2019ve done at Brock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khirwadkar is now headed to the University of Toronto to take a master\u2019s program this fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be a scientist and my degree and the leadership training I developed at Brock are a great step toward achieving my goal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Lelia Meskine, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, 2020 Spirit of Brock medal graduate recipient.<\/p><\/div>\n

While completing her master\u2019s in Mathematics and Statistics, Meskine\u00a0was also committed to being involved with\u00a0Brock\u00a0and the local community. She was a member\u00a0of\u00a0the Graduate Students\u2019 Association, which led to her becoming Vice-President International.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first came to Brock as an international student, I didn\u2019t just want to focus on my studies. I wanted to get involved and wondered if there was a place for me,\u201d she said. \u201cAll the opportunities were there with so many organizations and amazing groups ready for motivated individuals to get involved and help others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meskine served as Vice-President\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Brock\u00a0Canadian Union\u00a0of\u00a0Public Employment and as a teaching assistant. She also spent her time tutoring and mentoring at\u00a0Brock\u00a0and in the community by teaching in Mathnasium, a math-only learning centre for children in Grades 2 through 12.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrock made it possible to find a way to balance academics and involvement, which gave true meaning to my work,\u201d she said. \u201cGiving back made my whole experience completely different. I was motivated to stay on campus the whole day attending meetings between class and advocating for graduate students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meskine\u2019s engagement and passion\u00a0for bettering the University and the community highlight how she exemplifies the\u00a0Spirit\u00a0of\u00a0Brock.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t realize I could stand up and stand out so well.\u00a0My family is so proud\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was early on in Shraddha\u00a0Khirwadkar\u2019s time at Brock University that a leadership talk inspired her and gave her a new direction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":66790,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[119,3319,55,41,1,4],"tags":[6044,348,1919,565,9208,7416,9209,1117],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66788"}],"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\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66788"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66792,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66788\/revisions\/66792"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}