Gary Moscardini was flabbergasted. A well-known and liked figure around campus, Moscardini had just learned he was receiving the Lifetime Achievement award at the President’s Awards for Outstanding Service.  

Moscardini works as a gardener with Facility Services, and has been caring for the McMaster campus for three decades. He’s particularly known for engaging the community and helping new students find their way around campus.  

“I felt just a lot of gratitude,” said Moscardini, who received his award this month at an event celebrating him and other award recipients for going above and beyond.  

“This whole experience has been phenomenal… this is something that will stick with me for the rest of my life.” 

12 individuals and teams received President’s Awards this year, out of 96 nominees, in recognition of their exceptional contributions to McMaster.  

Acting Provost Jeremiah Hurley, presented the awards at a celebration on May 8.  

Read more about each 2024 award recipient below, or visit the Human Resources website for the full biographies of each nominee and award winner.  

Gary Moscardini | Gardener | Facility Services
Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient  

Moscardini has been maintaining and improving the McMaster campus for three decades, starting as a custodian and then moving to trades, then the Grounds department as a gardener.  

His work on McMaster’s outdoor environment is dedicated and precise. He knows that a beautiful campus improves the experience for the students, faculty and staff who are on campus every day, and creates a positive first impression for visitors.  

Moscardini continues to improve his own efforts – by, for example, studying the best approaches to pruning shrubs and trees – and supports his team, particularly the students who join the grounds team each summer. He offers help and advice to the volunteers who run the community garden and always looks for ways to improve the results and efficiency of his team.  

‘I try to be a happy person and share that wealth among others’ — Click here for more about Gary Moscardini

Karen McQuigge | Director, Alumni Engagement | University Advancement 

A proud McMaster alumna, McQuigge returned to her alma mater in 1998 to be the alumni communications coordinator. The director of alumni engagement since 2006, McQuigge leads the McMaster alumni program, serving and connecting with more than 200,000 alumni worldwide. McQuigge has a particularly strong track record of working with on-campus partners to develop innovative programming, with one of the highlights being the collaboration with the McMaster Students Union that produced Light Up the Night, now a treasured annual tradition.  

Stephanie Harper | Associate Director, Co-Op and Career Services | Faculty of Engineering 

Under Harper’s leadership, undergraduate and graduate co-op participation has surged. Frequently sought out to lend expertise and to speak at events, symposiums and conferences, Stephanie has become known among Canadian post-secondary colleagues for her work at McMaster, and continues to enhance McMaster’s reputation as a leader in experiential learning. 

Tracie Large | Custodian | Facility Services 

Large worked for Conference and Housing Services for 10 years before moving into her current custodial role in Mills Memorial Library three years ago. She has a consistently positive attitude and goes out of her way to help foster a strong sense of community. She often leaves treats and notes on staff desks, making everyone feel cared for and welcomed. Large also leads events for many informal staff observances like celebrating colleagues’ birthdays, organizing potlucks and collecting memorial donations. 

Paul Leegsma | Manager, Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects | Office of International Affairs 

Leegsma has spent more than 15 years in McMaster’s Office of International Affairs (OIA), where he currently plays a vital role in supporting McMaster’s international agreements with academic institutions worldwide and navigates complex negotiations with grace and diplomacy. Leegsma has a track record of designing, planning and hosting successful international events including the U21 Educational Innovation Symposium in 2023, the UGA-McMaster University Joint Workshop in 2022 and the Ontario Regional Meeting for the Canadian Bureau for International Education in 2021. 

Tanja Petrovic | Academic Department Manager | Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Petrovic has made distinctive contributions to the department – such as supporting seamless operations and enhanced work-life balance, launching a new teaching assistant hiring process, and helping the department’s graduate students connect and excel. Additionally, she has had a significant impact on helping connect the department to the community. Well known for her efforts to establish a strong departmental culture through social events, donation drives and interdepartmental competitions, Petrovic also volunteers to participate in key activities including May@Mac, Fall Preview and the legendary Magic of Molecules show.  

Sarah Sullivan | Academic Department Manager | Civil Engineering  

Sullivan has been part of McMaster Faculty of Engineering since 2014 and is deeply committed to the well-being of the people around her.  As a facilitator of The Working Mind mental health training program, she helps deliver mental health-related training and effectively advocates for students. In 2024, Sullivan created a departmental parental leave grant for master’s students and pushed successfully for the founding of a parallel Faculty-wide program. She has volunteered to be part of multiple selection committees for key leadership positions within the Faculty and was elected to represent the Faculty of Engineering’s TMG members on the Joint Health and Safety Committee. 

Clare Warner | Director, Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism | Student Affairs 

As the director of equity, inclusion and anti-racism in Student Affairs, Warner has provided leadership to numerous institutional equity initiatives, including the Black Student-Athlete Council, Black Student Success Centre, and the Brighter World Entrance Scholarship. She plays valuable roles in conflict resolution and facilitating dialogues on sensitive issues such as racial discrimination, religious tensions and global conflicts. 

Stan Zolinski | Laboratory Technician | Biology  

Zolinski has been an integral part of the Department of Biology since 2009, managing everything from IT support to equipment repair and new construction. Zolinski played an irreplaceable leadership role in shepherding the recent greenhouse build and Life Sciences Building renovations to completion, and put in a “herculean” effort to get the greenhouse running while also working to rescue and replace essential research equipment during a flood. Zolinski’s contributions were crucial to the creation of a dedicated undergraduate research laboratory, and he also improved a challenging system that had been moving undergrad lab material and equipment back-and-forth between two buildings.  

Sydney Brennan | Registered Dietitian | Hospitality Services
Early Achievement Award Recipient  

Brennan joined McMaster Hospitality Services as a registered dietitian in 2023, then quickly launched a number of impactful programs including the Dietitian Picks grab-and-go products, Fuels for Finals and the More Than Food (MTF) peer-to-peer program which has engaged more than 2,000 students in a year. An active member of the Canadian College and University Food Service Association, she also trains over 300 Hospitality Services staff in allergy awareness and safe food preparation, ensuring a campus-wide commitment to safety and inclusivity.  

Made at Mac Entrepreneurship Team | Team Award Recipient 

Since the 2024 Made at Mac launch, the team has hosted more than two dozen events and designed new programs to support faculty entrepreneurs, expanded initiatives for student entrepreneurs, and re-imagined entrepreneurship support programs at McMaster by embracing a “One University” approach. The team’s work helped ensure that McMaster entrepreneurs were featured in outlets as prominent as the New York Times and BNN Bloomberg, with advertising campaigns in the Globe & Mail and Post Media papers, collectively reaching millions.  

Team Members 

• Monique Beech 

• Fiona Bergin 

• Sarah Bouma 

• Lauren Brown 

• Matt Clarke 

• Elizabeth DiEmanuele 

• Lori Dillon 

• Clara Fama 

• Shaaf Farooq 

• Daniella Fiorentino 

• Beth Gallagher 

• Jacquie Hampshire 

• Maryia Leslie 

• Anthony Lucic 

• Sara Morgan 

• Sagar Prabhudev 

• Marissa Principato 

• Jessica Rudden 

• Dua Saqib 

• Richard Valentine 

• Sydney Valentino 

• Leigh Wilson 

• Gay Yuyitung 

Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) Working Group | Team Award Recipient 

Following the announcement by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that there would be a nationwide reduction in new study permits, introducing an urgent requirement for provincial attestation letters (PALs) to be included in study permit applications, the PAL Working Group was established.

They navigated tight deadlines and evolving regulations, managed all communication with the IRCC, and developed an efficient process for issuing PALs to international students who required them. The working group also created a comprehensive communication plan to keep applicants informed.

Ultimately, 90 per cent of PALs were issued to eligible applicants with a utilization rate of 70 per cent – one of the highest in the province. The team’s innovative approach to tracking progress in PAL distribution has set a benchmark for other Ontario U15 institutions.  

Team Members 

• Shaikh Mohd Faizaan 

• Carla Hodal 

• Akash Kukadia 

• Janet Lynch 

• Tshenolo Mosimaneotsile 

• Moby Onuoha 

• Allan Prior 

• Lucas Robinson 

• Sarah Robinson 

• Gemma Spadafora