On November 15, 2016, the University of Toronto’s Varsity Blues honoured top student athletes at the seventh annual Academic Excellence Breakfast held at the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
The awards honoured student athletes who earned an 80 per cent or higher average during the 2015-2016 academic year and participated in a varsity sport.
Osvald Nitski (Year 2 MechE) was one of the 25 students honoured at the event. (Photo by Yan Doublet)
Twenty-five U of T Engineering students were recognized for their academic excellence, and received special pins to mark the achievement — enamel for first-time winners, bronze for second, silver for third, gold for fourth, and diamond for students earning the award five or more times during their intercollegiate athletic career.
Varsity Blues swimmer Nathalin Moy (Year 4 EngSci) said it can be difficult to find a balance between athletics and rigorous academics. “With EngSci and swimming demanding so much time and energy, balancing them requires serious discipline, time management and self-regulation,” she said. However, Moy notes she has not achieved that balance alone: “My classmates, team, TAs, professors, coaches and EngSci staff have been very supportive over the years. I could not have made it this far without them.”
The 2016 U of T Engineering Varsity Blues Academic Excellence Award recipients are:
Corrine Bertoia (CivE MASc candidate) — Lacrosse
Paige Clarke (Year 3 MinE) — Mountain Biking
Lia Codrington (Year 2 EngSci) — Cross Country
Caitlin Elliott (Year 3 MechE) — Curling
Keith Eriks (Year 4 MechE) — Swimming
Antonina Gorshenina (Year 3 EngSci) — Tennis
Brandon Hadfield (Year 3 EngSci) — Baseball
Matthew Hart (Year 4 MinE) — Water Polo
Liam Horrigan (Year 3 MechE) — Water Polo
Beston Leung (Year 2 CompE) — Fencing
Jonathan Luk (MechE 1T1, MIE MASc candidate) — Mountain Biking
Alex Magnan (Year 3 CivE) — Swimming
Caitlin Maikawa (Year 4 ChemE) — Ice Hockey
Nathalin Moy (Year 4 EngSci) — Swimming
Osvald Nitski (Year 2 MechE) — Swimming
Kylie O’Donnell (MASc 1T4, ChemE PhD candidate) — Fast Pitch Softball
Nicole Parkes (Year 3 ChemE) — Soccer
Ross Phillips (Year 4 ChemE) — Swimming
Yusuf Shalaby (Year 3 IndE) — Squash
Sever Topan (Year 4 CompE) — Water Polo
David Urness (Year 4 EngSci) — Rowing
Christopher Vinelli (Year 4 IndE) — Golf
Marko Vojinovic (Year 2 IndE) — Rowing
Jacob Weber (Year 2 EngSci) — Curling
Tanner Young-Schultz (Year 3 CompE) — Baseball
View and download more photos from the event.