The winners of the 2020 Dean’s Student Leadership Award will have a lot to remember from this year, including celebrating their awards online. In keeping with the public health regulations of maintaining physical distance in order to help flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Faculty has moved many of its programs and events online, including the celebration of this year’s DSLA ceremony.
Professor Ira Jacobs, dean of KPE, and Beth Ali, executive director of athletics and physical activity at U of T, addressed the awarded students via messages specially recorded for this occasion.
“These are extraordinary times and like everyone else at our Faculty and the University of Toronto, we are trying to adapt as best we can to maintain the continuity of our programs and events like this one, while making sure we heed the advice of public health officials to stay home,” said Jacobs.
Noting that this was the first time in the history of the awards that they were being celebrated online, Jacobs congratulated the students on taking their lessons about health, wellness and civic engagement beyond the classroom to improve the quality of programs, services and student life throughout the university.
The awards, established in 2004, celebrate University of Toronto students who help to advance the Faculty’s mission of promoting knowledge about the interactions of physical activity and health.
In addition to the Dean’s Student Leadership Awards, the Faculty awarded the Kirkwood, McCutcheon and Hill-Powell Awards, as well as the University of Toronto Student Leadership Awards, to recognize outstanding student leadership, service and commitment to the university.
“The opportunities for leadership within our Faculty are wide and varied, from our intercollegiate and intramural sports teams, to our camp programs and community outreach. We are proud of the many students who seize these opportunities daily to make a meaningful impact on others,” said Jacobs.
In her message, Ali congratulated students who, on top of their busy academic careers, still found the time to get involved in co-curricular activities and take leadership positions with fantastic results.
“You set up an example for all U of T students and we are so proud of you,” she said.
Third year student of kinesiology Tiffany Tiu was the recipient of the Kirkwood Award, presented to a student member of the U of T Council on Athletics and Recreation, or one of its sub-committees or task forces, in recognition of a substantial contribution to the work of the council and its committee(s).
As co-chair for the Council of Athletics and Recreation, Tiu helped create yearly budgets and promoted the Faculty’s equity portfolio. She trained with the Varsity mountain biking team, collaborated with the Exercise is Medicine on Campus group and served as KPE peer mentor, among other things.
“I got involved in many different things because I wanted to broaden my horizons and pursue things that I enjoy while I’m still an undergraduate,” she said. “Moreover, I really enjoyed learning from these experiences. I believe they will be very useful one day for giving back to my community and creating impact.”
Mark Corsetti was awarded the McCutcheon Award, presented annually to the male student who provides the most valuable contribution to the administration of athletics and recreation programs in the Faculty during the current year.
A fourth year kinesiology student, Corsetti contributed to the administration of KPE athletic and recreational programs in a variety of roles. He was team captain or participant in a number of intramural teams and tournaments. And, his passion for equity, diversity and dance helped bring visibility to the dance genre of voguing at this year’s Black Excellence Ball.
"This award affirms my passion in giving representation for alternative movement cultures and physical activities at U of T, particularly in the dance genre of Vogue Fem and the LGBTQ2S+ Ballroom Scene,” he said.
Cheryl Yip was awarded the Hill-Powell Award, presented annually to the female student who provides the most valuable contribution to the administration of athletics and recreation programs in the Faculty during the current year.
Yip, now in her fourth year of kinesiology, served as the athletic commissioner in the KPE Undergraduate Association and as co-president of the KPE Athletic Association. She was a member of the D League women’s basketball team and managed or played on numerous intramural teams, while serving as student athletic therapist in the David L. MacIntosh Sport Medicine Clinic.
“Helping others is something I always found personally satisfying,” said Yip. “I try to stay as involved as I possibly can within the Faculty, whether that means providing first-aid for musculoskeletal injuries as a student athletic therapist on the women's volleyball team or introducing adapted sports in the KPE Athletic Association's annual events to raise awareness of disability in sport. I genuinely believe that even if only one person benefits from my contributions, it makes all the effort and hard work worthwhile.”
Yip also won this year’s University of Toronto Student Leadership Award, along with Ruqayyah Alibhai and Benjamin Divito.
Tiu, Corsetti, Yip, Alibhai and Divito were also recipients of the Dean’s Student Leadership Award.
These are all the winners of the 2020 Dean’s Student Leadership Award:
Ruquyyah Alibhai, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Natalie Alvares, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Samir Bhatla, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Hayley Bredt, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Maggie Chen, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Mark Corsetti, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Benjamin Divito, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Rayan Faruque, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Lensa Hassan, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Emily Hickey, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Shea Kinney, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Brenaven Kugamoorthy, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Aalaya Milne, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Sandhya Mylabathula, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Roxy O'Rourke, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Shalyn Pilgrim, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Sabrina Razack, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Jessica Robichaud, Faculty of Arts and Science
Sephora Sandor, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Sarah Sarofim, John Daniels School of Architecture, Landscape and Design
Naseem Shaikh, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Grant Shantz, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Avani Singh, Rotman Commerce
Jenna Stover, Faculty of Arts and Science
Tsz Wing Tiffany Tiu, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Erika Tworzyanski, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
On Ching Cheryl Yip, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education