Neither Harroop Ahuja nor Amy Cruickshank had a straight-forward academic journey, but both paths led to the Applied Health Sciences graduates being honoured with the Board of Trustees Spirit of Brock medal.<\/p>\n
The pair were recognized during Brock\u2019s Virtual Spring Convocation on Friday, June 18 for their leadership, courage, innovation, inspiration and community involvement.<\/p>\n
Ahuja began his time at Brock in Medical Sciences, but after becoming involved in Med Plus<\/a> and the Brock Leaders Citizenship Society<\/a>, he began to realize that Public Health is where his interests lie.<\/p>\n “I was originally inspired to go into Medical Sciences because one of my sisters is a doctor, my brother-in-law is a medical administrator and my father worked in the surgical equipment industry,\u201d Ahuja says. \u201cI know many health professionals can be frustrated with systemic limitations that prevent them from providing the best care to their patients and I wanted to help change that.\u201d<\/p>\n Through opportunities in experiential education and learning key reflection skills through the Med Plus program, Ahuja began to see for himself that he is most passionate about helping communities.<\/p>\n \u201cMy two goals when I started at Brock were becoming a better individual and learning to become a better leader,\u201d he says. \u201cMy inspiration comes from the fact that I always want to develop and continually learn how to propel forward. This has helped me to identify and understand where I want to go and how to contribute to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking back, Ahuja is happy he began transitioning to the Public Health program in his second year.<\/p>\n \u201cMaking the switch afforded me the ability to further understand the impact of system-level policy and led me to learn how quality improvement and quality assurance in health care can be an effective tool for change,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n During his time at Brock, Ahuja served on numerous committees including on the President\u2019s Advisory Committee on Human Rights, Equity and Decolonization, as an Undergraduate Student Representative for Brock Senate and on the Brock University Students\u2019 Union Board of Directors, among others. He was also a Peer Health Educator for Brock\u2019s Student Wellness and Accessibility Centre, volunteered with Niagara Region Public Health to help design the Niagara-on-the-Lake COVID-19 immunization clinics and served in volunteer leadership roles with Pathstone Mental Health.<\/p>\n Putting his classroom skills into practice, Ahuja gained research experience as an I-Equip<\/a> Health Care Quality Improvement Project Facilitator and worked to improve access to health services for the 2SLGBTQ+ community at Brock<\/a>.<\/p>\n Of his undergraduate experience, Ahuja says, \u201cBrock is a place where success is not defined as an individual achievement, rather, a community one.<\/p>\n \u201cSuccess is not when one person wins, it is rather when you win, you also celebrate other people winning with you. In this culture of collaboration, I have been inspired and encouraged and it is my hope that I too, indirectly, helped other students to pursue their interests.\u201d<\/p>\n Ahuja is also the recipient of the Distinguished Graduating Student Award \u2014 Public Health and is one of 10 recipients of the 2021 President\u2019s Surgite Award<\/a>, which recognizes leadership, community involvement and academic achievement. He plans to continue pursuing his master\u2019s degree in Public Policy, Administration and Law at another Ontario university.<\/p>\n Cruickshank (BKin \u201919), a newly conferred Master of Professional Kinesiology (MPK) graduate, transferred to Brock in her second year of undergraduate studies when she realized continuing the arts program she was enrolled in at another Ontario university would mean missing out on taking sciences courses she enjoyed.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always had a strong interest in how the human body works and its resilience,\u201d says Cruickshank, an Oakville resident. \u201cBrock wasn\u2019t far from home; the Kinesiology program has a great reputation and I really liked the idea of a tight-knit campus community.\u201d<\/p>\n Being introduced to experiential education on her arrival helped to set things in motion.<\/p>\n