At the Department of Philosophy’s annual Spring Party, Faisal Bhabha, Josh Brecka, Alex Drusda, Zoe Leslie, Yi-Cheng Lin, Sooyoung Moon, and Jules Sheldon each received a Graduate Student Service Award. The annual prize celebrates initiatives undertaken by graduate students to support and improve the community.
“The functioning and climate of our academic community depends on its members also taking on service roles,” says Christian Pfeiffer, the department’s director of graduate studies. “We are thrilled to have these awards honour students who commit their time and energies to the common good,” he adds.
The seven award winners were acknowledged for the following efforts:
- Faisal Bhabha: For his work as the Graduate Philosophy Student Union (GPSU) president, which included creating a budget (and a really nifty spreadsheet to keep track of it), amending the constitution (and changing the font to Garamond), overseeing the creation of a high-interest savings account, digitizing the financial records, organizing grad recruitment events, empowering GPSU officials, and improving systems for a more efficient functioning of the GPSU, including smoother annual transitions
- Josh Brecka: For his continuing work in organizing the graduate writing group and representing the GPSU at Graduate Student Union (GSU) meetings
- Alex Drusda: For his work as a CUPE3902 steward and providing timely support regarding union work-related issues
- Zoe Leslie: For her work as GPSU treasurer; Zoe handled the many financial transactions between the GPSU and others throughout the year, putting systems in place that improved efficiency and ease of work.
- Yi-Cheng Lin: For being one of the main organizers of this year’s graduate conference. He (with Sooyoung) coordinated all aspects of the event, from speaker invitations to logistics, ensuring its smooth and successful execution.
- Sooyoung Moon: For being one of the main organizers of this year’s graduate conference. He (with Yi-Cheng) coordinated all aspects of the event, from speaker invitations to logistics, ensuring its smooth and successful execution. With verve and care, Sooyoung also planned the social events for the GPSU this past year, including the Pub Nights for grad recruitment.
- Jules Sheldon: For organizing grad recruitment days, especially the Pub Nights
The Graduate Student Service Awards are unique within U of T. In 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, department chair Martin Pickavé and then 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 labour of its students. We are grateful for the dedication and committed efforts of all nominees. Congratulations!
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