Class Notes

Catch up on classmates, housemates, faculty, and friends.

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Marking career and personal achievements, special milestones and the birth of future ĂŰĚŇ´«Ă˝ alumni - Class Notes helps you stay in touch with former classmates, housemates, and faculty.

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  • 1990s

    Mona Rahman

    – Artsci’93, PhD’01

    Winter 2023

    Mona Rahman is humbled and surprised to discover that she has been included in the EqualityX Top 50 Influential Muslims List in the Americas. The 2023 Influential Muslim List is reserved for the most inspirational Muslim individual whose work has brought distinction to Muslim communities. This recognition is awarded to professionals with a solid track record of making a positive difference and clear evidence of impact, both in the workplace and in society. Mona had served as education coordinator of the Islamic Society of Kingston (ISK) for six years. She’s also been working with children and youth in the Muslim community since her undergraduate days and frequently speaks about various topics in the local schools and on campus as a member of the Islamic information and outreach committee. She currently teaches Qur’an as well as Grade 11/12 Islamic studies at the ISK Evening and Weekend School. Since 2014, she has been serving as co-chair for the Give30 Campaign in Kingston, which aims to raise money for local food banks during Ramadan and also serves on the boards of Family and Children's Services of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington and the Kingston Health Sciences Centre. She was the inaugural interim co-chair of UCARE at ĂŰĚŇ´«Ă˝ and is the current co-chair of the community equity advisory committee for the Limestone District School Board. During the day, she serves as the research awards officer in the vice-principal research portfolio at ĂŰĚŇ´«Ă˝.

  • 1970s

    Terry Collins

    – Com’77

    Winter 2023

    Terry Collins is deeply grateful to the Royal Canadian Institute for Science for awarding him the Fleming Medal for Excellence in Science Communication, which was announced on Oct. 30. For Terry, the Fleming Medal is the honour of a lifetime and humbling, given the list of past recipients but also because of the award's famous namesake, Sir Sandford Fleming, the Institute's founder, the father of standard time and ĂŰĚŇ´«Ă˝ long-serving second chancellor.

    He would like to thank RCIScience and the hundreds of scientists and media colleagues with whom he has had the honour to work with over his career. He would also like to congratulate

    CBC's “Quirks and Quarks” on winning the RCIScience William Edmond Logan award.

  • Sheila Cornett's book, Hoping to Hear From You Soon

    1960s

    Sheila Cornett 

    – Arts’69, MA’72 

    Winter 2023

    Sheila Cornett has published letters her father, Don Cornett (Arts’47), wrote to his future wife, Marjory Lindsay (Arts’41), when he served with the Royal Canadian Artillery during the Second World War. In "Hoping to Hear from You Soon: Canadian War Letters, 1940-1945," Don describes what army life is like for Canadian servicemen during the long years of training in the U.K. He complains that “month after month, we do next to nothing” and “our existence over here seems so utterly futile.” He critiques Canada’s political leadership and finds it wanting; discusses current affairs and the progress of the war; and expounds his views on bureaucracy within the army. After disembarking in Normandy, Don's endurance is tested further, as he commands a battery through the battlefields of northwest Europe. The book is available from the . 

  • 1990s

    Jodi (Rossman) Nathanson

    – ArtsSci’98, ConEd’99

    Winter 2023

    Jodi Nathanson has been a high school English teacher (Grades 9-12) at TanenbaumCHAT in Toronto for over 20 years. She has filled the role of co-head of the English department, and has recently published articles in Canadian Teacher Magazine, The Literary Yard, The Wilderness House Literary Review and The Bangalore Review by Spanning Minds. Those interested are encouraged to read her articles: , Sept. 26, 2023; , Aug. 23, 2023; , July 2023

  • 1980s

    John Wynne and Denise Hawrysio

    – Artsci’83 and BFA’81

    Winter 2023

    Showing support for Ukraine, John and Denise’s latest art installation, “and quiet that splinters the winter”, was exhibited at At Home Gallery – a former synagogue built by the Slovak Jewish community in the early 20th century – in Samorin, Slovakia in the fall. The installation asked how – and if – art can respond to the Russian invasion of the country. Hawrysio’s family were part of the early 20th-century Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, and she grew up hearing her grandmother’s stories of the traumatic circumstances that caused her to leave Ukraine. Since February 2022, both artists have felt compelled to search for ways to respond to the atrocities in Ukraine through their work. Denise's collages are being sold to raise funds for the Ukrainian Civil Defence through , a project started by artist Taras Polataiko in Chernivtsi, Ukraine.

  • 1980s

    Ian Burwash

    – Meds’85

    Winter 2023

    Ian Burwash was awarded the Distinguished Teacher/Mentor Award by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society for his outstanding contribution to cardiovascular health and care in October 2023. Ian, as a University of Ottawa professor and director of Echocardiography at the Ottawa Heart Institute, continues to train medical students, cardiology residents and echo fellows. Ian thanks ĂŰĚŇ´«Ă˝, Dalhousie and University of Washington for his training.