In May, students Andriy Bilenkyy, Joshua Brecka, Alex Drusda, Julia Minarik, Tessa Ng, Nate Oppel, Jasmine Tremblay d’Ettorre, and Cameron Yetman each received a Graduate Student Service Award. The annual prize celebrates initiatives undertaken by graduate students to support and improve the community. The honourees bargained for better conditions through the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), rewrote and reformatted the department’s Climate Survey, organized a successful graduate conference, worked with the undergraduate Graduate Philosophy Student Union (PCU), and joined enthusiastically in efforts to attract prospective students to the department. The Department of Philosophy acknowledges the importance of their service and thanks them for their dedication.
The Graduate Student Service Award is unique within U of T. In 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, department chair Martin Pickavé and the director of graduate studies Amy Mullin recognized the extra efforts students took to boost community morale. They created the award as a way to highlight student contributions to the department. Honorees are chosen through nominations from faculty, fellow graduate students, and staff. The award includes a $1,000 prize, which is drawn from the Graduate Student Initiatives and Activity Fund; a fund in part supported by donations.
This community would not be possible without the often invisible efforts of its students. We are grateful for the passion and hard work of all nominees. Congratulations!
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