Award Recipients: 2022
Every year, Algonquin College celebrates the incredible achievements of its alumni through the Alumni of Distinction Awards. These awards honour the extraordinary contributions our graduates make to the community while achieving career success.
Here are the 2022 recipients:
Alumnus of the Year: David Trick
Entrepreneur and Philanthropist
Biochemical Technology, Class of 1970
As a businessman, David Trick measured success by the number of employees he kept employed and the bottom line. And he also measured success by the way he looked after his family.
He is now the chair of a family foundation built on the results of his hard work and good fortune that helps look after others today — and that will, through his six children and nine grandchildren, continue to do so tomorrow.
Trick, who grew up in Ottawa, graduated from Algonquin College in 1970 with a diploma in Biochemical Technology. He started his career as a chemist with Warner-Lambert, maker of Listerine and Bromo Seltzer, and ended it 36 years later as co-owner of one of North America’s largest bar soap manufacturers.
Apprenticeship: Laurie Potvin
Author, Tradeswoman, Artist, Teacher
Auto Body Apprentice, 1985
Growing up in Deep River, Ont., Lorrie Potvin wasn’t allowed to take shop class like her three brothers, despite her interest in machinery. Girls were to learn home economics to prepare for a career as a homemaker. Self-identified as a “queer little kid,” she knew that was not the life for her.
Leaving home at 17 with a suitcase and $20 in her pocket, Potvin landed her first job as a secretary with the Metric Commission in Ottawa. After two years, she left her secure government position to travel western Canada, eventually returning to the National Capital Region, determined to follow her passion.
“When I came back to Ottawa, I signed up for a one-year machine shop program at St. Lawrence College in Brockville. At the time, I was the only woman in class,” said Potvin. “I graduated with the highest marks, but I still was unable to find a work placement because I was a woman.”
Business: Wendy Beckles
President and CEO, Shepherd Village Inc.
Financial Management, Class of 1993
Relationships and teamwork are at the heart of leadership for Wendy Beckles. They’re what helped propel her to success in her career — and they’re what helped the seniors’ community she runs in Toronto keep COVID-19 at bay in the first wave of the pandemic.
Beckles rallied the troops, prioritized transparency, and assured her staff that they were facing the deadly virus together.
“It took being able to say, ‘I’m afraid, too. But I need you with me, and I need you to trust me. Together we’re going to find the solution.’”
Changing Lives: Collinda Joseph
Paralympic Bronze Medalist and Accessibility Advocate
Public Relations, Class of 1991
One of the biggest accomplishments in Collinda Joseph’s athletic career came when she first passed through the competitors’ tunnel at the National Stadium in Beijing.
“It was a surreal moment. I was trying to take it all in because I felt like, if I don’t do this, I’m going to forget something,” she said. “Just looking at the whole stadium and being part of this march with all these red jackets and everybody else that’s part of Team Canada. … That was pretty cool.”
She and her teammates would take home the 2022 Winter Paralympics bronze medal in wheelchair curling just a few days later, continuing a streak of Canadian medal wins in the sport. She adds the medal to an ever-growing list of curling achievements, including medals and championships at the international, national and provincial levels in Canada.
Community Services: Aaron Tompkins
Constable, Smiths Falls Police Service
Law & Security Administration, Class of 1994
Aaron Tompkins’ family is quick to remind him that his path to policing had been a long time coming.
“Ever since I was three or four –years old I was telling [my family] I want to be a police officer,” said Tompkins. “I remember playing cops and robbers when I was a small kid, and that never went away.”
Since joining the Smiths Falls Police Service (SFPS), Tompkins — now a constable — has taken the mantle of community service officer, by building relationships directly with the public through social media, membership on various local boards and direct initiatives through the SFPS. He spends much of his time volunteering with local organizations — such as Crime Stoppers, Special Olympics Ontario and the Smiths Falls Community Food Bank — and working on youth programs and events.
Creative Arts & Design: Sam Laprade
Host, The Sam Laprade Show and An Hour to Give, Fundraising Strategist and Coach
Public Relations, Class of 1991
Everyone has a story about what they did on the day nobody knew what to do. What Sam Laprade did put her on the radio every day for the next 58 days straight, 90 days in total, telling the community’s uplifting stories in the midst of a dark and confusing time. It was March 13, 2020, and the lockdowns and border closures rolling across the world had reached Ottawa.
“It was very much telling really, really difficult stories and trying to bring some hope and some positivity during a time there was very little of it,” says Laprade, a widely recognized name in Ottawa’s charity community, who has since 2018 hosted “An Hour to Give” on CityNews 101.1 in Ottawa and CityNews 95.7 in Halifax.
Just over a year after she wrapped her 90 days of storytelling, she was back, hosting “The Sam Laprade Show” every weekday from noon to 2 p.m. Laprade introduced a new kind of voice to daily radio. She continues to host the show “An Hour to Give,” which provides an outlet for local charities and not-for-profits to tell the stories and amazing work they do to change and save lives.
Health Sciences: Frank Fiorenza
Inventor and Vice President, Sales and Marketing, McArthur Medical Sales
Respiratory Therapy, Class of 2002
With just $20 dollars in his pocket, Frank Fiorenza’s father arrived from Italy at Canada’s historic Pier 21 in Halifax in search of a better life. As a second-generation Canadian, Fiorenza reflects on how his father’s courage helped shape his success today. That familial spirit also sparked his desire to pursue what would become his passion.
“My grandfather had COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), a lung disease. He had smoked his entire life, pretty much from the time he was a child,” says Fiorenza. “At the time of his illness, I was in the process of deciding what I wanted to study and saw there was a respiratory therapist coming in to see him weekly. My grandfather loved their visits and it sounded like a pretty cool job. So, I started looking into it.”
Fiorenza quickly narrowed down Algonquin College as his school of choice. In 1998, he packed up his belongings and moved to Ottawa from Thunder Bay, Ont., in pursuit of a career in respiratory therapy.
Brian Fraser Recent Graduate: Keshana King
Global youth entrepreneurship leader
Business — Management & Entrepreneurship, Class of 2019
Keshana King always had a passion for advocacy, education and business, but it wasn’t until she graduated from the Business Management and Entrepreneurship program at Algonquin College in 2019 that she really began to put her passion to work.
As a student, King worked at the College’s Learning and Teaching Services and quickly honed her skills to transition into a full-time role with Algonquin College after graduation. In this role, King combined her interests in education and facilitation to support current and prospective students in the digital education and micro-credential streams.
“Even though my studies are in business, most of my work experience has been in education because it’s another field that I am really passionate about,” says King. “I really see learning as something for everyone: business leaders, students, even educators.”
Today, King’s appetite for education is echoed in her civic engagement and career.
Technology: John Hewie
National Security Officer, Microsoft Canada
Computer Technology – Computing Science, Class of 1993
John Hewie’s first encounter with the personal computer was in his own home, in 1980, when he was 10. It was a Sinclair ZX80 with an 8-bit microprocessor, 1 KB of RAM, 4 KB of read-only memory and a 128-page manual. “X” represented the mystery ingredient.
It was a kit computer, assembly required.
Now the National Security Officer at Microsoft Canada, John enjoyed tinkering with the Sinclair ZX80 and later a Commodore 64 learning programming in BASIC and the new world of online Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) of the ’80s. But his path to studying computer science at Algonquin College was not a straight line.
Rena Bowen Volunteer of the Year: Christina Ranieri
President and Executive Director, Ability First Ottawa
Developmental Service Worker, Class of 2012
Christina Ranieri never lets her limitations stop her from having a joyful life. And she does everything she can to help others have a joyful life, too.
Ranieri is a longtime abilities advocate and consultant who, in 2014, founded Ability First Ottawa (AFO), a community non-profit organization that offers services and supports to people with developmental disabilities. Its services include a summer camp, adult skills training, entrepreneurship mentoring, and other programs that help people with disabilities reach their social, educational and employment goals.
“I am very blessed to live my joy,” says Ranieri, who is the driving force behind AFO’s many programs and its executive director and president. “I just want to see as many people live their joy [as possible]. And if your needs are met, and you feel safe, and you are supported, you’re going to do well.”
Read Christina Ranieri’s story
Employer of the Year: Canada Revenue Agency
The Canada Revenue Agency, repeatedly named one of the top 100 employers in Canada and a top 100 employer for young people in 2022, serves Canadians by administering tax, benefits and related programs, and ensures compliance on behalf of governments across Canada, contributing to the ongoing economic and social well-being of Canadians.
A recent high-profile example is the CRA’s administration of COVID-19 benefits to provide temporary income support to individuals between mid-March 2020 and early May of this year.