WATERLOO, Ont. (April 6, 2022) - The Wilfrid Laurier Department of Athletics and Recreation returned to in person celebrations with the Student Appreciation Brunch on Wednesday, April 6 to honour their student staff.

The annual award celebration recognizes student staff from all areas within the department for their hard work, customer service, teamwork, leadership and dedication during the 2021-22 school year. This year four major awards and 13 awards of excellence were handed out. 

Peter Baxter, the retiring Director, Athletics and Recreation, is grateful for the amazing student staff and student leader model within the Laurier community and knows they played a key role in the return to campus and in person programming this year. "Our student leaders are the face of our department. They are the first thing people see when they enter the Athletic Complex, they make that first impression. They have a big part in why the Athletics and Recreation experience is so meaningful to our students. Tough times require resilient leaders to ensure a smooth transition from remote programming, with limited building capacity, changing protocols and to continue engagement with our students. We sincerely appreciate all our staff's contributions and leadership that has been integral in ensuring the continuity of our programs as we returned to campus safely!"

The Don Smith Award recognizes a student with a lasting contribution to the recreation program at Wilfrid Laurier University. This year's recipient is Cole McGregor. McGregor worked in a number of areas in the department including events, facilities and intramurals. Within intramurals McGregor has been involved in every role possible from referee to supervisor. He was primarily responsible for revitalizing the intramural program this year after two years of pandemic restrictions kept intramurals from normal operations. McGregor has been described by his supervisor as "the unsung hero for the largest recreational program in the department" while supporting a large number of student staff with minimal supervision.

The Pat Kitchen Award recognizes a student leader who exemplifies outstanding customer service through opportunities to improve service, implement new service ideas, impresses customers and is well informed about programs and services. This year's recipient is Madison Godfrey. Godfrey, the Fitness Centre Supervisor, was hired during the pandemic and was faced with ever-changing restrictions and building capacity protocols which she handled with great care. Through all the changes she never waivered, using great communication with her staff and facility users to ensure changes were executed quickly and efficiently. Godfrey implemented new cleaning schedules, new check in protocols in the Fitness Centre and ensured her large student staff team was supported in order to run the Fitness Centre as smoothly as possible.

The Bill Haggstrom Trophy is presented to the male contributing most to Athletics. This year's co-recipients are Mark Cascagnette and Anthony Sorrentino. Cascagnette has been a broadcaster on Laurier's OUA.tv webcasts as a member of Radio Laurier doing both play-by-play and colour commentary for both hockey and basketball games since 2018. He has also been the sports editor at the campus newspaper, The Cord, for three years where he covers all athletics teams and ensures the successes and stories of our student-athletes are shared.

Sorrentino has worked in the Department of Athletics and Recreation in a variety of roles over his five years at Laurier. A past Fitness Centre supervisor and current Fitness Centre student staff member, Sorrentino is also a member of our men's hockey team. As a team captain he engages the community through involvement in the Blood Battle and Movember campaigns, is a member of the Captains Leadership Council, Hockey Give Blood and is a committed leader within both the Athletics and Recreation sides of the department.

The Dean E. Brandon Award is presented to the female contributing most to Athletics. This year's recipient is Tyra Forde. The Varsity Sports Info and Communications Student Leader went above and beyond in her role during the 2021-22 school year. Aside from providing onboarding and training to an all brand-new team of student writers, she was also an integral resource as the department underwent a transition and hiring process for a new Sports Info and Communications Coordinator. Forde evolved her passion for hockey writing to covering football this past season - and doing it with ease and a zest for learning. She also wrote numerous features on Laurier student-athletes that supported university-wide initiatives like Black History Month and International Women's Day.

The Golden Hawk Award of Excellence is given to a student staff member of each area within the department. They are chosen by their student coordinator for contributions to their area over the course of the year.  

• Golden Hawk Award of Excellence, Aquatics: Lauren Shewflet
• Golden Hawk Award of Excellence, Communications: Sam Bellerose
• Golden Hawk Award of Excellence, Dance: Megan Heck
• Golden Hawk Award of Excellence, Events: Tuesday Kaiser
• Golden Hawk Award of Excellence, Fitness Centre: Piper Rozeboom
• Golden Hawk Award of Excellence, Group Exercise: Alyssa Malskaitis
• Golden Hawk Award of Excellence, Hawk Desk: Elias Chagui
• Golden Hawk Award of Excellence, I Move My Mood: Monisha Dhindsa
• Golden Hawk Award of Excellence, Intramurals – Referee: Curtis Hirabayashi
• Golden Hawk Award of Excellence, Intramurals – Convenor: Kevin Rops
• Golden Hawk Award of Excellence, Marketing & Promotions: Ryan Tomalin
• Golden Hawk Award of Excellence, Personal Training: Tys Loyens
• Golden Hawk Award of Excellence, University Stadium Desk: Jill Lyman