ABOUT THE KPU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS
I’m pleased to report that your Alumni Association (KPUAA) continues to make progress this past year, as we emerge from the global pandemic.
We continue to build on our $50,000 endowment by fulfilling our annual pledge of $5,000 to the KPU Foundation.
During this reporting period (2022) we conferred the Distinguished Alumni Award upon Winston Sayson, the Alumni Excellence Award on Tania Sharifi and the Outstanding Young Alumni Award on Gurkirat Nijjar, all three exceptional people. We also built on Affinity partnerships and Alumni Perks offerings in 2022. The seamless, accessible mobile app and microsite called Alumni Perks has allowed us to continue to grow our offerings. Also in 2022 we produced the 6th issue of the KPU Alumni Magazine featuring 12 alumni who are doing remarkable things.
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE KPU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Dear friends,
It has been such a pleasure to support the Strategic Vision of the KPU Alumni Association this past year through our Three Year Business Plan. We exceeded our goals of building on our alumni engagement programming while navigating the gradual re-opening of life post pandemic.
The KPU Alumni Association (KPUAA) became a registered society in 2008. Founders and directors are KPU alumni who volunteer and support the growth of KPU by creating engagement opportunities for our alumni. The KPUAA board of directors follows a governance model and is responsible for providing the strategic vision to achieve its mission and mandate of engaging a population of 70,000 KPU alumni.
Enhance the engagement within our alumni community
Enhance the value of being KPU alumni
Enhance KPU’s reputation by fully integrating the Alumni Association into the life of KPU, and elevating KPU’s public profile
about the board of directors can be viewed on our website at alumni.kpu.ca
During the 2022/23 year the KPUAA board was pleased to welcome Damanpreet Garcha as a new director. Read director bios at alumni. kpu.ca/kpuaa.
At the 2022 Annual General meeting held on September 21, we said a final farewell to David Dryden who completed one year in the Past Chair role. I was pleased to be re-elected for a second year as Chair and Mohammad Kallas was re-elected for a second year as Vice Chair. As well, Henry Flowers was elected into the role of Treasurer replacing Kelly Trainer, who completed a 6 year term on the board.
Finally, with support from the Alumni Affairs office which functionally operationalizes the KPUAA Strategic Vision through a board approved three-year business plan, we are pleased to report that we achieved and exceeded our objectives for this annual reporting period.
Gabby Gill Chair, KPU Alumni Association
The Alumni Affairs office has proven to be flexible and responsive where needed to implement online and digital methods of engagement through our online mentorship program, KPU Connects; powered by Ten Thousand Coffees and with our mobile app, Alumni Perks, which offers a growing number of discounted products and services from KPU alumni businesses, for all our alumni. In addition, we began to host in person events, such as Night at the Nat and our Annual General Meeting in 2022. With support from KPU Leadership we are pleased to be expanding our office with two new positions, Alumni Affairs Coordinator and Advancement Officer, Alumni Affairs. With the approval of these positions we will be well positioned to embark on many new expanded programs of engagement.
Our monthly newsletter is now deployed to over 37,000 KPU alumni. More details of these initiatives and more are forthcoming in this Annual Report.
I hope you enjoy!
Nancy Armitage Executive Director, KPU Alumni Association and Manager, Alumni Affairs
Back row L-R: David Dryden, Past Chair, Scott McInnes, Henry Flowers, Treasurer, Sukh Rai Front row L- R: Jangir Bains, Deepak Gill, Mohammad Kallas, Vice Chair, Gabby Gill, Chair, Nancy Armitage, Executive Director, Hayley Woodin, Jacqueline Tarantino, Lovepreet Kaur Absent: James Grange, Ayesha Khan, Damanpreet Garcha
KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
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KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
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KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY
ALUMNI
ALUMNI AWARDS 2022
Since 2007 the KPU Alumni Association has been recognizing exceptional KPU alumni who have demonstrated excellence through their achievements.
Consideration for these awards is given to individuals who have enhanced the reputation of the university through their outstanding professional, business or industry endeavours; public, community and/or volunteer service.
THIS YEAR THE KPUAA WAS PLEASED TO CONFER THE DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD UPON
WINSTON SAYSON
Winston Sayson, QC is a retired trial Crown Counsel with the British Columbia Prosecution Service, Ministry of Attorney General (1989-2019). He was the first Filipino-Chinese Canadian appointed as Queen’s Counsel in British Columbia, a designation he received in recognition of “exceptional merit and contribution to the legal profession.”
From 1981 to 1983, Kwantlen College (as it was then called) welcomed and provided Sayson with valuable university transfer education and experience. At the time, he was a new immigrant from the Philippines. English was his third language. Kwantlen College was instrumental to his adjustment to a new country and culture. In 2004, he received the Citation in Counselling Skills from Kwantlen University College (as it was then called), which further equipped him to be a better and more effective trial Crown Counsel.
During his career, Sayson prosecuted significant and high-profile criminal cases. He is highly regarded for his expertise in working with children and vulnerable victims and helping them through the criminal justice system with genuine care. As he worked primarily on files dealing with violence or sexual abuse, his compassion for those he served left a lasting and positive impact on the lives of countless victims and their families. He was a leader in his profession through his commitment to mentoring others in the field. He volunteered to provide practical training to forensic nurse examiners, police officers, victim services workers, and prosecutors.
In 2006, Sayson represented the Criminal Justice Branch on a project to China with the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy. The US Ambassador invited him to participate in the International Visitor Leadership program in 2009. In 2010, Sayson was awarded the Criminal Justice
System Leadership Award by the Police Victim Services of British Columbia in recognition of his compassionate work with the victims of crimes and their families.
In 2011, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel by the Attorney General of BC. In 2014, Sayson was honoured with the Recognizing Excellence Award from the Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of Justice. In 2015, he was presented with the Vision Award from the International Association of Forensic Nursing for his contribution to the promotion and advancement of forensic nursing. In 2018, Sayson received the inaugural Leadership Award from the BC Prosecution Service. In 2018, he received a 30-year Service Award from Attorney General David Eby, QC. In 2019, he received the inaugural Lawyer of Distinction Award from the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, BC, and the Award of Excellence from the Surrey Women’s Centre for his commitment to justice for women, girls, and victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Throughout his career, Sayson believed in serving the public with diligence and passion. He mentored and trained criminology practicum students, law students, articling students, and new prosecutors. He was committed to the success of others while modeling excellence in his trial work.
In his retirement, Sayson has been involved in causes and documentaries addressing issues regarding social justice and mental health. He has continued to present as a speaker on mental health and wellness. He also advocates for equality, diversity, and inclusiveness within the legal profession, the public service, and our broader community. He volunteers at his church and for the Canadian Red Cross.
An expert in the field of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, Tiana Sharifi is the founder of Sexual Exploitation Education (SEE), an agency which aims to prevent sexual exploitation and human trafficking through awareness, advocacy, education and consultation. Through her work, Tiana has provided prevention education to thousands of students, parents and teachers, while training hundreds of social service providers, including law enforcement. She recently provided in house training to hundreds of federal RCMP across Canada.
Tiana places importance on Indigenous education and has been an ally to agencies such as the Indigenous Perspective Society to educate workers who work directly with Indigenous youth, parents and adults. Tiana has made it a priority to educate groups working with Indigenous populations to prevent vulnerability factors that would affect an Indigenous child or youth from becoming more vulnerable to exploitation, including running a full day conference in partnership with Indigenous Training and
Consulting Services. Her consulting services have rendered her a reputable resource for research center advisory, as well as non profit curriculum development.
Tiana currently sits as the Co-Executive Director for the international non profit The Breakfree Collective, and was the co-author and consultant for first ever BC research on the digital presence of human trafficking, completed in May of this year. She has recently been the first to release an app on sexual exploitation prevention, called the SEE-App.
KPU is very pleased to be awarding Tiana as the inaugural recipient of the 2022 Alumni Excellence award. This new award aims to honor KPU alumni who are having a significant impact.
Gurkirat Nijjar - 2022 Outstanding Young Alumni Award
Gurkirat came to KPU in 2015 as an international student and he quickly became instrumental in developing and supporting a number of important community service initiatives.
As founder of a non-profit youth led organization called Students Overcoming Opioid Use Disorder and Addictions, Gurkirat is responsible for bringing lifesaving resources to our community. Since September 2019, Gurkirat led his team of volunteers to setup opioid overdose response and prevention booths at local places of worship, parks, colleges, and community events. Gurkirat organizes and manages team SOOUDA and volunteers to provide awareness on the opioid overdose crisis. His team provides education, resources, on-site naloxone training and conversation in four languages to help break the stigma and encourage harm reduction strategies. The organization has been at the forefront of giving the South Asian community this culturally relevant resource, which has helped so many families.
In addition to his studies at KPU and his dedication to the opioid crisis, Gurkirat was also involved in improving pedestrian road safety in Newton by organizing and
leading a road safety campaign. He is a coach, group leader and volunteer at Chimo Crisis Line, supporting crisis intervention.
In addition, during the COVID pandemic
Gurkirat served as a bridge between KPU International student services with the South Asian COVID19 Task Force to share COVID related information and resources.
Gurkirat is also involved in many religious programs at local Sikh Gurudwara in Surrey. He serves as a volunteer in the community kitchen of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. He is involved in the food bank which provides services for international students of all ethnicities. He is also a Fraser Health wellness ambassador and serves as a community outreach director at One Voice Canada.
Gurkirat is a tremendous leader and an example of selfless community service. The KPU Alumni Association was very pleased to be awarding Gurkirat with the 2022 Outstanding Young Alumni award.
ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS
Convocation
The KPUAA continues to play an integral role at the annual convocation ceremonies. This past year we were pleased to resume our tradition of gifting the Alumni pen to each graduate as they crossed the stage. The in-person convocation ceremony featured Board Director Mohammad Kallas who provided a message on behalf of the KPU Alumni Association.
Mentorship and Networking
KPUAA remains dedicated to offering alumni an opportunity to connect. To this end KPU Connects is a virtual platform that offers alumni and students meaningful opportunities to have conversations on how to advance in their careers. KPU Connects mentoring and networking platform is powered by Ten Thousand Coffees and supported by RBC Future Launch!
Chapters
Chapters provide alumni with the opportunity to remain connected with others from their cohorts. While the Wilson School of Design has remained active, many of our Chapters have been on hiatus due to COVID. We look forward to building our chapter program over the next three-year business plan phase.
For more on Chapters visit: alumni.kpu.ca/chapters
Tiana Sharifi – Alumni Excellence Award
ALUMNI BENEFITS AND PRIVILEGES
The KPU Alumni Association was pleased to expand our alumni benefits and privileges program with the launch of Alumni Perks mobile app and microsite in 2021. Our perks partners, including many alumni owned and operated businesses, provide services and products to KPU Alumni at discounted rates:
• Altitude Media Co.
• Arafat Kalam Notary Public
• Best Coast Bonsai Inc.
• Black Bird Holistic
• Broadway Across Canada (Eagle Eye Entertainment Inc. )
• Coach Hector Wong
• Conscious Works
• AG Dominion Blue Reprographics
• EJ Cellphone Repair
• Eyetician
• Fresh Prep
• Hannah T Photography
• Hum Apparel
• Ingrid Brito Life coaching
• Magic IT Solutions
• Miller & Co.
• RC Railing Experts
• Niecey Glam Studio
• Partopia Digital
• S&A Accounting
• Second Life Apparel
• Thunderbolt Sign
• Vancouver Boat Parties
• Vancouver Canadians
• VanGo Vapes
• Z&R Automotive
We continue to collaborate with our affinity partners, who provide discounted services to alumni while also generating revenue for the Alumni Association. Our Affinity partners include:
• All Purpose Realty
• Artona Group
• Bell Mobility
• Convocation Flowers
• Canucks Sport and Entertainment
• KPU Bookstore
• LEAD Benefits – (Legal Extended Assistance Discount)
• TD Insurance
• TD Life
Alumni Magazine
This year the magazine was dedicated to featuring 12 alumni stories of note.
DOWNLOAD THE APP TODAY!
For more information on alumni benefits, privileges and services, contact the Alumni Affairs office at alumni@kpu.ca
Learn more at alumni.kpu.ca/perks
The digital version can be viewed at alumni.kpu.ca/magazine
Communications
The KPU Alumni Affairs office coordinates our engagement communications through email messaging and on our social media platforms including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
All our activities and initiatives can be found on our website at alumni.kpu.ca KPU Alumni
As well our newsletter is sent to over 37,000 alumni every month and we have launched a special welcome email to our newly graduated alumni several times a year.
KPU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ANNUAL REPORT
alumni.kpu.ca
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