Although all our graduates work hard for their diplomas, once a year the Automobile Mechanics Department of the NOVA Career Centre takes the time to recognize the efforts that certain students who, over the course of their program really shined in terms of the efforts put forth and the results they obtained. Of course, our graduation celebration is an excellent way to do just this!
Our valedictorian this year was Christopher Walsh, and our outstanding student was Aspha Smart. I could go on about how great these guys are, but knowing these two, they would probably just be embarrassed by the compliments no matter how deserving. What I will say is that they made their presence known in the department and in the centre, and that although their success is definitely to be celebrated, their presence in both will be truly missed. Congratulations on your outstanding efforts gentlemen! Fantastic work!
As you can imagine, with at least 6 cohorts of students in the Automotive program at any given time, it can be almost impossible to select only two students who are deserving of recognition for their efforts, work ethics, and excellence. Fortunately, being members of the Comité Éducation Travail en Équipement Motorisé du Montréal Métropolitain, we don’t have to!
The Méritas Gala is a CETEMMM sponsored celebration of excellence in the mechanical field. Students from schools from across the Greater Montreal area gather to be recognized at a formal event which includes meeting industry partners, certificates, prizes, and a great meal!
This year our recipients were: Mateen Ahmad; David Reid; Steven Brodeur; Joshua Du Temple; and Peter Dymond. Both Nicholas Forget and Zachary Goodleaf were also recognized but unable to attend the gala.
As a teacher, through the normal hustle and bustle of a given day, month, year… (we can be so busy that they can all seem to bleed together sometimes), it’s easy to forget to take a minute and tell our students what a great job they are doing. That’s why I believe celebrations such as these are so important. It gives us a chance as educators to express our admiration for the work that our students do on a daily basis and recognize the challenges that many of them may face in doing so. On behalf of all the instructors of the Automotive department, I’d like to congratulate our award recipients and all our graduates. We wish you success in your future endeavours, and would also like to remind you not to be strangers, we love visits!
Derek Stacey
Automobile Mechanics teacher
NOVA Career Centre