A year in review: Celebrating student success
With the Faculty of Arts Class of 2026 crossing the stage on June 23 at convocation, here is a look back at some of the achievements in leadership and innovation from Arts students:
Faculty of Arts Student Awards
The Faculty of Arts Awards Luncheon Ceremony on April 28 gathered students, faculty, and community members together to celebrate outstanding student achievements across all programs.
Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Anne-Marie Lee-Loy (middle) with the Saleh Family at the awards luncheon. Photo by O’Neal McIntosh
Congratulations to the following award recipients:
- Leo Ayala Mejia, Politics and Governance - Alterna Prize for Women, Social Change Leader and Global Exchange Award
- Kashaf Alvi, Politics and Governance - Carla Cassidy Award
- Hamid Kwaja, Politics and Governance - Carla Cassidy Award
- Charles Liu, Philosophy - Carla Cassidy Award
- Mya Israel, Criminology - Chief Justice Michael Tulloch Second Chance Scholarship
- Andrew Norris, Economics and Finance - Dagmar Rajagopal Award
- Christel Shepherd, Child and Youth Care - Fumia/Siemiatycki Award for Social Justice Engagement
- Amy Tynan, Psychology - Global Exchange Award
- Cassandra Didier, Psychology - Jehangir Saleh Kindness Award
- Suzette St Pierre, Psychology - Jehangir Saleh Kindness Award
- Sherees Thompson, Politics and Governance - Sonia Marryshow Black Scholar Award
- Katie Ellis, Economics and Finance - William Henry Pope International Economics Award
- Thomas Nguyen, Economics and Finance - William Henry Pope International Economics Award
- Kristen Cordeiro, Criminology - Zonta Award, in memory of Marlene Simmonds
- Natasha Larmond, Criminology - Zonta Award, in memory of Marlene Simmonds
A special thank you to Arts donors for their generous contributions to make this event possible.
The 15th Annual Indigenous Student Showcase and Awards Recognition
The 15th Annual Indigenous Student Showcase and Awards Recognition, organized by Indigenous Education Council and Gdoo-maawnjidimi Mompii Indigenous Student Services offers an important platform for Indigenous students at TMU to define their success and present their accomplishments to the broader community.
The event highlights the scholarly, research and creative pursuits of Indigenous students, and recognizes student presenters with the Defining Your Success Award, made possible by Elder Joanne Dallaire.
Sociology student Olivia Huemmert (Red River Métis) presented a research project on her capstone thesis class on the misinformation and misappropriation of Métis identity, with a focus on eastern Canada and how this issue contributes to ongoing colonialism and harm. For her work, she was awarded the Defining Your Success – Award for Creative Excellence.
Zone Learning supports Arts students projects through two courses
Zone Learning has established two courses (ZON 100 and ZON 200) that give undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue self-directed, real-world projects for academic credit through experiential and work-integrated learning.
These Zone Learning courses are designed for students who want to develop transversal, future-of-work skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, organization, communication, and accountability through applied and real-world projects. Along the way, students build portfolios of work that can strengthen future applications for co-op opportunities, employment, graduate school, and other professional pathways.
As an experiential and work-integrated learning course, class time is uniquely designed to maximize opportunities for students, with one hour dedicated to discussion and two hours dedicated to advancing their own projects. This structure combines dedicated project time, peer learning, and accountability, helping students make consistent progress on projects that often become valuable additions to their professional portfolios.
Two Arts students showcasing their Zone Learning projects at Open House 2026
From left to right: Erica Gorenko, Instructor JP Silva, and Majd Bayouq.
History student Serge Khvatov took ZON100 to help him build on his passion project: Mutual Market. Mutual Market is a student-run non-profit artisan market running since August 2022. The market primarily offers a venue for student artisans, but also runs a free clothing drive called Common Threads, and a soup kitchen called Common Pot that recently offered close to 800 free soups.
Through the course, Khvatov was able to take agency and shape the course based on his needs. The in-class discussions provided him with insight he could apply to his project, allowed him to build his network and make new connections to grow the Mutual Market, and he greatly valued the mentorship of course instructor JP Silva.
“This course gave me the tools and resources I needed to take my passion to the next level, without having to sacrifice time outside of school,” says Khvatov. “If you have a passion project you want to launch but don’t know where to start, this course is for you.”
You can learn more about Mutual Market by checking out their Instagram (external link) . If you wish to learn more about Zone Learning, you can contact JP Silva at jpsilva@torontomu.ca or visit their website. The website includes video testimonials from students representing almost every major in the Faculty of Arts, sharing how the course helped them develop their projects and prepare for future opportunities.
Alumni spotlight: Zaima Aurony
Meet Zaima Aurony, Arts alumna (International Economics and Finance ‘23) and trade policy analyst at Global Affairs Canada, where she works on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between Canada and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).
During her time at TMU, she was very involved on campus and took on leadership roles in several student groups. Zaima shares how her Arts experience helped shape her career path:
How was your experience at TMU? How did your time at TMU align with and support your goals and values as an undergraduate arts student?
As an international student who was new to university life as well, I quickly learned about the many opportunities beyond the classroom and took advantage of all I could to build a strong network that would support me to this day. I was a student leader for many initiatives, including student groups, my course union, the Senate, and the Ryerson Student Association (now called Toronto Metropolitan Student Union). I also had the pleasure of working as a Research and Teaching Assistant and held positions for Women in the House and the Institute for Future Legislators. For my co-op, I worked with the Ontario Ministry of Finance. I experienced many different career possibilities during my time as a TMU student, helping me be confident in my future and the pathway I set out for myself.
What was your most memorable experience at TMU?
It goes without saying that TMU offers a diverse and well-rounded education both in and outside the classroom that exposed me to many different niches and possibilities – TMU builds you up as a whole human being rather than one simple thing. As such, an International Trade class in 3rd year was transformative for me in many ways. Through this class, I quickly realized that I wanted to pursue this area of Economics further and felt like I found my calling. With the support of a campus rich in mentorship, support, and opportunities that encouraged me I pursued this further in my later studies.
Zaima as a student in the Women in the House program back in Winter 2022. The photo is taken at the legislative building of Ontario (Queen’s Park).
What did a typical day look like for you on campus?
I spent my first year living in the International Living & Learning Centre (ILC) with people I am still friends with today. We loved meeting up for lunch, either in the cafeteria of the ILC or at a restaurant near campus. I also miss the hot chocolate from Balzac’s, especially after an 8 a.m. class. I would frequently spend an entire day on campus – I loved being surrounded by people and absorbing the energy of university life.