Articles from:June 2017

• Canadian business leader receives honorary doctorate from Brock

  Friday, June 09, 2017 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 8 June 2017 – R00112

  Much has changed since Maureen Sabia graduated from law school in the late 1960s. And yet, much has stayed the same.

  “In some ways I feel sorry for these graduates today,” the Chairman of the Board for Canadian Tire Corporation said Thursday afternoon before receiving an honorary degree from Brock University. “They’re just starting out, and all of the challenges and pitfalls ahead of them — I remember those vividly.”

  But graduates today also have the benefit of a world of opportunity, Sabia said.

  “At the same time I’m excited for them, because the opportunities that are available today are opportunities we only dreamed of when I graduated.”

  Sabia grew up in St. Catharines and is the daughter of high-profile social activist Laura Sabia, who received her own honorary degree from Brock in 1979. By that point, Maureen Sabia was working in Toronto, but returned to the campus to watch her mother’s Convocation ceremony.

  It was Sabia’s mother who taught her daughter that women could do anything men could do.

  A Canadian business leader, Sabia has served on committees and boards of directors for numerous corporations across multiple sectors. She has also served on the boards or advisory councils at Brock University, University of Guelph, University of Toronto, Dalhousie University and other post-secondary institutions.

  For more than 30 years, Sabia has been on Canadian Tire’s board, and she’s established herself as someone whose life is focused entirely on her business career.

  In her Convocation address, she encouraged the graduates to believe in the mantra “yes, I can.”

  “It is up to all of you to use your talents and your learning to the very best of your abilities,” Sabia said. “Don’t waste them.”

  She told the students about the difficult journey through sometimes unchartered territory, and said she believes political correctness has been taken too far.

  “We need to celebrate our unity as Canadians and not focus so much on the differences that silo us,” she said.

  Sabia said she wants Canada to go from being known as the “kindest, gentlest country in the world,” to being one where “great leadership, ambition, hard work, innovation, growth and individual responsibility” make Canada prosperous.

  “That is good for all who make Canada home,” she said.

  Goodman School of Business Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching

  Earlier in the day, Goodman School of Business Accounting Professor Samir Trabelsi gave the morning Convocation address after being awarded the Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching.

  Trabelsi, an international expert in corporate governance, said for graduates to succeed in a world increasingly filled with pressure, they need to “be a leader rather than a pathfinder, cultivate agility, and celebrate cultural diversity.”

  “I’m sure each of you have different dreams, but none of you should give up your dreams and aspirations that will drive you to a higher level of achievement,” he said. “You should hold onto your goals, even if you stumble here or there.”

  Convocation wraps up Friday with the final ceremony at 10 a.m. Graduands from both the faculties of Math and Science and Humanities will be conferred, while indigenous language pioneer David Kanatawakhon-Maracle will receive an honorary doctorate and give the Convocation address.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
   
  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University [email protected], 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases

• Grandpa and grandson are so close, they graduated together at Brock convocation

  Friday, June 09, 2017 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE – 7 June 2017 – R00111

  When he was eight years old, Jonah Mondloch walked into the library at Brock University with his grandfather Charles Burke to help him find some research books.

  This week — a decade and a half later — Jonah again walked through the University with his grandfather, but this time they had both just become Brock graduates.

  On Wednesday afternoon, Jonah, 22, and Charles, 78, graduated together in the Spring Convocation ceremony for the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences. Jonah completed his degree in Kinesiology in five years. His grandfather had been taking classes part time, one credit at a time for 15 years, but doubled up his course load this year so he could finish his degree in time to graduate with Jonah.

  “I was just taking courses for fun,” said Charles, “but as we got closer and closer, it became clear that we could graduate together.”

  There were many friends and family members in the Convocation crowd, but none closer than Brock Psychology Professor Cathy Mondloch — Jonah’s mother and Charles’ daughter —who was on stage and beamed as she placed the graduation hoods over her loved ones’ heads.

  “I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time,” said Mondloch, who started teaching at Brock in 2004, not long after her dad enrolled in classes. “To see both of them on stage, and to be up there with them and part of that, is really unique.”

  Mondloch described Jonah and Charles as good friends who share a love of baseball, golf and other sports.

  The pair actually took three classes together over the years — including one in Jonah’s first year, when he was too embarrassed to sit next to his grandfather.

  “He sat on the left side and I sat on the right,” Charles said with a laugh.

  “I had friends from high school in that class, so we all sat together,” said Jonah, whose Brock experience has included being on the varsity Badgers curling team.

  That embarrassment, however, was quickly replaced by collaboration and friendly competition. In one shared class they did a joint presentation together, and they often compared grades against each other.

  “I remember going to his house for dinner one day. I walked in and he was wearing a cardboard sign around his neck with a big 89 on it, because he had beaten me on an assignment or an exam,” Jonah said, admitting his grandfather beat his final mark in two out of the three classes they took together.

  “There’s a good chance I may not have got a degree if Jonah wasn’t here,” said Charles, a retired accountant who still serves as Director of Finance for the United Way of St. Catharines. “I was just doing it for fun. I think when Jonah came here, there was an incentive to go to school.”

  The grandson said graduating together is something precious that he will never forget.

  “It makes it very unique,” said Jonah, whose middle name is Charles after his grandfather. “So many people graduate university these days, so being able to graduate with my grandpa will make it a more memorable experience.”

  Meantime, Prof. Mondloch also had occasion to teach her father in two courses over the years, and says he was a good student.

  “The whole thing has been an interesting journey,” said the proud mother/daughter. “It has been a lot of fun.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University [email protected], 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

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  Categories: Media releases