Showcasing student leadership

The first few weeks of university generally involve finding your way around campus and trying to get to class on time. Simran Rattan, however, decided to run for her first student election in her third week at Ryerson. And she won.

Becoming the 2014 first-year advocacy rep of the Ryerson Nursing Course Union, Rattan went on to mount successful election campaigns in each of her four years at Ryerson. Now in the final year of her nursing program, Rattan received a 2019 Dennis Mock Student Leadership Award and was the student speaker for the Student Experience Awards event, held March 28.

“I still remember my stomach twisting and turning as I asked permission from the professor to deliver my speech,” she told the awards ceremony audience about her first election campaign. “The only thing I remember was [saying], ‘I may be small and tiny, but if you give me a chance, I’ll make this year super shiny!’”

Her small stature wasn’t always a point of pride for Rattan, however. “In elementary school, I was made fun of for my height and a whole bunch of things. And in high school, I was just the quiet kid. I wouldn’t be the type to run for student government back then because I was way too scared about what people thought about me, people judging me, but once I left high school, I thought, it’s time to put myself out there.”

And out there she went – eventually becoming president of the Nursing Course Union, a Ryerson Senator-at-Large, Ryerson’s Next Top Speaker 2019, a Student Initiatives Fund (SIF) representative, REACH peer leadership coach, customer service advisor at the Career and Co-op Centre and a participant in Nurses Got Talent where she “danced like no one was watching.”

Although her list of accomplishments is a long one, Rattan said her undergraduate years haven’t been easy for her.

“There have been times when I’ve felt really down and unsuccessful, I’d lost hope and the quality of being resilient helped me to get back up and keep going,” said Rattan. “And getting the Dennis Mock, sort of completes the journey. I’m at peace now. Makes me feel that what I’ve done has made a positive difference in the lives of others.”

Other student award winners include:

David Tenty, president of the Computer Science Graduate Student Association (CSGCU), sat on a number of committees as a student representative and served as a coach for the Ryerson Competitive Programming Club. “I’m extremely humbled for the recognition of the extracurricular contributions and connections I have made over the six years I have been at Ryerson,” he said.

Michelle Woolfrey, an arts and contemporary studies student who founded a motivational speaking and consulting business called Blind Girl Inc (external link) . Woolfrey was born blind in her right eye and lost the remainder of her vision before her 18th birthday due to a rare brain condition. Her work as a disability activist and speaker have helped break down barriers on campus.

Zena Salem, a journalism student, volunteered as the primary translator for the Al Rassoul family, one of the Syrian families settled in Canada by the Ryerson University Lifeline Syria Challenge in 2016. “I was in Grade 12 when the Syria situation began,” she said. “I wanted to do something myself, but I’m just a student. I looked at the ads and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a perfect chance for me to help out.’ I’m fluent in Arabic, French and English, so it’s perfect for me.”

The Dennis Mock Student Leadership Awards recognize students who have made outstanding voluntary extracurricular contributions during their time at Ryerson.

To view the full list of winners, and to learn more, visit Student Experience Awards.