Each year at convocation, MacEwan University recognizes the outstanding achievements of our graduates with academic awards. Here are the award recipients for the Fall Class of 2022.

President’s Medal for Academic Excellence and Student Leadership

The President’s Medal recognizes students for their exemplary combination of academic achievement and contribution to the betterment of MacEwan University. Medal recipients are graduates who demonstrate the best qualities of a MacEwan student by maintaining a high grade point average while demonstrating leadership through active participation in university-wide committees, groups, organizations or extra-curricular activities. One medal may be awarded to a graduating student in a certificate or diploma program and one medal to a graduating student in a degree program.

FATTIMA DEIAB
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE, COMPUTER SCIENCE
PRESIDENT’S MEDAL FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND STUDENT LEADERSHIP

Back in 2004, my mother took some classes at MacEwan when it was still a college. My father and I would pick her up in front of the clock tower, and I was mesmerized by its beauty. My four-year-old self told my parents that when I was older, I would attend MacEwan. Here I am today, a part of the graduating class of 2022! 

I was certain I wanted to go to MacEwan, but less sure about what I would study. I was completing my breadth requirements for the Bachelor of Science, and took CMPT 101 (to avoid the math-related courses). With some encouragement from my lab instructor (who left an inspiring comment on my last assignment about my hard work and success), I declared my major in Computer Science. 

Early in my own computer science journey (and later when I became a teaching assistant), I was always reminding myself (and others) that just because you do not understand a concept now, does not mean you are a lost cause. Simplifying complex topics and seeing students’ eyes light up when it became clear always made my day, and making a difference for them fuelled my own passion. 

I also thought (like most students) that computer science only focuses on programming, but my perspective changed when I took CMPT 491, which focused on data mining and research. Because of that course, I was part of a research group that used statistics and computer science to look at which government policies most influenced the containment of COVID-19 cases. It was fascinating to see how our research made use of interdisciplinary studies.

Now I’m excited to start a career in software development, and would also love to share my passion with others who, like myself, didn't realize that computer science was a career option for them. 

– Fattima Deiab

Watch Fattima Deiab’s address to the Fall Class of 2022:

Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence

The Dean’s Medal is each faculty or school’s highest academic honour. Each dean may award one medal to a graduating student in a certificate or diploma program and one medal to a graduating student in a degree program. Medal recipients are recognized by the dean for their exemplary success in meeting the learning challenges and academic requirements of their programs of study.

• Emily Marie Simon, Faculty of Arts and Science
• Daryn Marie Leggo, Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications
• Lindsay Jackson, Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications
• Melissa Danielle Steinke, Faculty of Health and Community Studies
• Tammy Powell, Faculty of Health and Community Studies
• Joni Michelle Forsyth, Faculty of Nursing
• Nikolina Kovacevic, School of Business
• Jayda Payge Brenneis, School of Business
• Nathalie Marie C. Landry, School of Continuing Education