It’s an award with the highest distinction, given out to Queen’s students who have made inestimable contributions to the University community in non-athletic extra-curricular activities.
This year’s Tricolour Award winners are Grant Bishop, Wesley Fok and Kym Shumsky.
An appointed committee composed of students from different faculties and University Rector Ahmed Kayssi conducted interviews to determine the winners.
The committee interviewed 21 candidates for the award this year.
“The candidates hailed from at least 10 different faculty societies, and were truly incredible in their range of their activities,” Kayssi said. “The committee struggled throughout the process to really get a feel for what defines exceptional contribution to Queen’s. The policy for the criteria for the award is intentionally ambiguous … so that it allows for unconventional candidates.”
Meaghan O’Reilly, Sci ’07 and a member of the selection committee, agreed, saying all nominees were outstanding individuals who had committed a lot to the University.
“We were looking for huge contribution, people who had gone beyond bounds of their position,” she said. “Queen’s is a different place because they have been here.”
Grant Bishop, Sci ’03, won the Tricolour for his leadership both inside and outside the Engineering Society, Kayssi said.
As former EngSoc president, Grant is famous for his dedicated involvement in issues affecting not only Engineering students, but the student body as a whole, Kayssi said.
Bishop is also a Don in Morris Hall and a member of the Campus Sustainability Initiative.
“Grant was referred to as a living legend of the Engineering Society,” Kayssi said. “Grant is such a powerful presence in his community.”
O’Reilly agreed, saying Bishop went beyond his role as president to fundamentally change EngSoc. “Before his time, it was somewhat of a clique,” she said. “He really encouraged people to come out there and made great steps to include everyone.”
Bishop said providing and fostering leadership has been an important part of his educational experience.
“I came to Queen’s to be part of the community,” Bishop said. “I have been lucky because I have been able to be part of the educational process from both ends … the real essence of leadership is your ability to awaken it in others.”
Wesley Fok, ArtSci ’04, received the award for his contributions to campus publications. Fok is currently co-editor-in-chief of the Journal, and has also helped lay out and produce Ultraviolet, His & Hers magazine, the Tricolour Yearbook and the Queen’s Feminist Review. Fok said he was surprised to win the award.
“There are lots of people on campus who contribute to these sorts of things,” he said. “It’s hard to see how I’ve made a larger impact than many other people, but I feel like I was able to make an impact in one particular realm. There are certainly people who make an impact in other areas that I may not know about.”
O’Reilly said Fok’s efforts have improved the quality and reputation of the University’s student media.
Kayssi agreed, saying Fok’s nomination was unique because of the range of students who backed him.
“Wesley had an enormous amount of from his team, but what was most impressive was his commitment to the cultural well-being of campus,” he said. “We received letters from four different publications, saying that if Wesley wasn’t there, the publication wouldn’t make it to print. Wesley would do jobs that took enormous amounts of time and energy, and would finish them faster than most people would consider possible.”
Kym Shumsky, MPA ‘04, won the award after only eight months at the University for her role in establishing Operation Rainbow, a medical fundraising charity for children born in developing nations with cleft lip and palate.
Shumsky also created a website for MPA students to post photos and events, so that future students would have an instant community to refer to online.
Kayssi said Shumsky was an unconventional winner because she has not been at the University for long.
“When I called her on the phone to tell her she had been nominated for an award, she thought she was in trouble because the Rector was calling,” he said.
O’Reilly said the committee was impressed with what Shumsky had accomplished during her time at Queen’s.
“She became so involved,” she said. “She did so much in so little time.”
Shumsky noted the Queen’s atmosphere is markedly different from the atmosphere at Carleton University, where she did her undergraduate degree.
“There’s no comparison between university life at Carleton and that at Queen’s,” she said. “Queen’s is a state of mind and becomes part of your identity. Being at Queen’s is being part of a powerful place, and getting involved here can colour your career for the rest of your life.”
The recipients of the Tricolour will receive their awards at convocation.
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