Outstanding Nipissing alumni honoured at 2023 Alumni Awards
North Bay, ON – In a private awards ceremony on Thursday, September 21, the Nipissing University Alumni Advisory Board (NUAAB) will officially recognize the achievements of five outstanding alumni during its annual Alumni Awards celebration.
The Nipissing University Alumni Awards are presented in five categories: the Rising Star Alumni Award, Dr. James Jamieson Influential Alumni Award, the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, the Philanthropy Award, and the Honorary Alumni Award.
Megan Odd is this year’s winner of the Rising Star Alumni Award, presented to a recent graduate of Nipissing University who has demonstrated significant achievements on a professional, community, volunteer basis, or has displayed promise of significant future accomplishments.
Odd graduated from Nipissing University with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Criminal Justice in 2020, and Master of Arts in Sociology in 2022. During her time at Nipissing, Odd was actively engaged in research and the community through her undergraduate and graduate theses. In 2021, she was invited to present her undergraduate honours thesis research “Implementing the Eight-Lamp Amber-Red Advanced Warning Light System on School Buses in Ontario”, to the Province’s Legislative Assembly in support of Bill-246, the Safer School Bus Act. While completing her master’s, she worked full-time at the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board where she was responsible for coordinating the 2021 point-in-time count and of homelessness in the Nipissing district. Odd was hired at Canadore College as a Research Officer and in January 2023, and transitioned to full-time professor of social sciences. To this day, Odd remains actively engaged in research through Canadore College acting as a faculty researcher on two projects.
The Dr. James Jamieson Influential Alumni Award is awarded to Dr. Jonathan Pitt. This award is presented to a graduate whose dedication and leadership has influenced significant change within their community.
Holding multiple degrees Nipissing University (BA (Hons.), B.Ed., AdEd., M.Ed.), Dr. Pitt is an instructor at Nipissing University in the Schulich School of Education and Faculty of Arts and Science teaching Indigenous Studies, and Indigenous Education. As an Indigenous Educator, he incorporates his life experiences and land-based knowledge to his courses by bringing students onto the land to demonstrate that learning can occur outside the classroom walls, something that his students share as important to their learning and communities.
Maggie Horsfield is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award which is presented to an alumnus whose achievements and excellence in their endeavours have distinguished themselves as a valued leader.
A lifelong North Bay resident, Horsfield holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Political Science and History from Nipissing University and began her career at Nipissing in 2014 as a Student Recruitment Officer before moving to the President’s Office as the Executive Assistant. She was elected Deputy Mayor of the City of North Bay in 2022 and serves on serval boards for local organizations. Horsfield is passionate about building relationships and connecting people to grow community.
Paige Trudeau-Shemilt is the recipient of the Philanthropy Alumni Award, presented to an alumnus or champion of Nipissing University who is making significant contributions to improve their community through generosity, dedication, commitment, and service.
Trudeau-Shemilt graduated from Nipissing University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Marketing and a minor in Psychology. At a young age, Paige she was formally introduced to public speaking and inspiring others because of her own fight with cancer. After delivering her first formal community speech at age eight at Relay for Life, Trudeau-Shemilt continued to share her personal battle with cancer, speaking at local schools during Terry Fox campaigns. When her husband, Jordan, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, more energy was sparked in raising awareness. She co-founded “Jordan’s Bash for Hope”, a colon cancer fundraising event for Colon Cancer Canada and for North Bay families going through their own health battles. Trudeau-Shemilt has endeavoured tirelessly in her commitment to various efforts and organizations.
The Honorary Alumni Award was awarded to Maurice Switzer. This award is presented to an individual who is not a graduate of the University, but whose actions and dedication have had a positive impact on the Nipissing University experience.
Switzer began as a cub reporter with the Belleville Intelligencer and retired as a publisher of Winnipeg Free Press, the only Indigenous person – and of the few of Jewish ancestry or journalism background – to hold such a position in that industry. Combining his media experience with a thirst for learning more about Indigenous Cultures, Switzer became the Director of Communications at the Assembly of First Nations in Ottawa and then the Union of Ontario Indians outside North Bay, before retiring from full-time work in 2014. He continues the public education initiatives that he launched at First Nations Political Organization and serves as a member of several Indigenous organizations including the Nipissing University Indigenous Council on Education where he is Chair.
“I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to this year’s deserving Alumni Award recipients,” shared Dr. Kevin Wamsley, President and Vice-Chancellor, Nipissing University. “Their dedication, talent, kindness, and meaningful contributions to their communities truly embody what it means to be Laker.”
For full biographies of this year’s recipients visit: www.nipissingu.ca/alumniawards
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