CIC Toronto Student Award Winners.

 

Due to time difference, day was night and night was day
To attend the lectures, I had to figure out a way
Had to show conversions of pound to milligram
Couldn’t afford a laptop with a webcam
Then managed to borrow it from where I can
Passed the semester with the flying colours Oh man!

The above is an excerpt from student winner Ritika Ritika’s award acceptance speech. Ritika was awarded a Silver Medal for being the top student in Sheridan College’s Chemical Engineering Technology program. She and other award winners gathered with a group of 100 students, guests, and faculty at the Science Discovery Zone of Toronto Metropolitan University on the evening of March 30th, 2023 for CIC Toronto Student Awards Night (SAN). Last year’s edition of SAN was held as an online-only event, which made it extra special to celebrate SAN 2023 in person. Prof. Kris Kim of University of Toronto Scarborough put it this way:

“The past few years have been rough for students, to say the least, and I felt it was important to join in celebrating their resilience and achievements.” Prof. Kim was particularly impressed by the students’ humility. “It was heartening to watch all the awardees taking the time to acknowledge and celebrate those that supported them through the process, whether it be family, friends, mentors and others.”

Featured speaker Prof. Christopher Caputo explores career paths in the chemical sciences.

 

At SAN, CIC Toronto hands out awards to the top student and the most improved student entering the final year of chemistry, chemical engineering, and chemical technology programs in Toronto-area universities and colleges. The top students were awarded Silver Medals and $100, and the most improved students were awarded Book Prizes and $75. SAN featured awards, refreshments, award acceptance speeches, and an inspiring lecture from Prof. Christopher Caputo of York University, which was a career-focused description of the places that a training in chemistry took him: from fundamental research in main group chemistry, to successful startup, to co-founding a nonprofit to encourage more scientists to enter politics. Prof Caputo encouraged students to go out into the world, to meet new people, and to not be afraid to apply their chemical training in areas outside their comfort zone. Event volunteer and previous SAN organizer Mariya Kalinina found Prof. Caputo’s talk very insightful: “It underlined one more time how important it is to be open to opportunities, not being afraid of trying something new, and to pursue your interests.” Prof Caputo notes “It was an honour to be at the awards night amongst some of the best and brightest young chemists in the region. Hearing their stories and ambitions was inspiring.”

For Shanna-Kay Ming, CIC Toronto Industrial Liaison, organizing the event was was well worth her time and energy: “SAN is a wonderful opportunity to tangibly encourage budding chemical professionals. One of my most memorable experiences was when a student in his acceptance speech thanked his mom who travelled in from New York to support him. That was major for me, it showed the reach, importance and value of the event for both students and loved ones!”

Students deliver their award acceptance speeches.

 

SAN could not have taken place without generous sponsorships from Science Discovery Zone at Toronto Metropolitan University, LGC, University of Toronto, University of Toronto Chem Club, Seneca College, Sheridan College, University of Toronto Mississauga, University of Toronto Scarborough, York University, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Durham College. Andrew Corbett, Chief Chemist at LGC wrote in an email “LGC is very proud to be a sponsor of the awards event. We extend our congratulations to all the winners! Recognizing both achievement and improvement in the study of chemistry is important to grow our profession and we are delighted to be associated with these awards of distinction.”

Prof. David Duncan of Durham College attends SAN annually. “I look at my attendance at this event as a responsibility to ensure the students know they matter, their achievements are significant, and we are sending them off to bring value to our world.” Prof Duncan was impressed by the way the students flourished at SAN. “It always seems that “chem nerds” are a bit quiet by nature, but being in room full of people like themselves, they seem to be willing to speak more easily, and suddenly they start to shine as they emerge. They are always sharp, courteous and well spoken – leading me to believe they will be leaders wherever they go in our world.”

We at CIC Toronto look forward to celebrating more future leaders in Toronto-area undergraduate student excellence next year at SAN 2024.

Trevor Janes, Co-Chair, CIC Toronto

CIC Toronto SAN Committee. From left to right: Mariya Kalinina, Shakiba Ghaffari, Jennifer Huynh, Trevor Janes, Shanna-Kay Ming, Kelsy Yuan, Brian Malile, Matthew Puzhitsky. Not pictured: Quang Nguyen, Emily Fung, Shunquan Tan, Hao Xu, Richard Pettipas