Five students recognized for exemplary leadership

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During their time at McMaster, five students have been models of leadership to their peers. This week, McMaster President Peter George recognized the exemplary scholarship and community service of Jaimini Chauhan, Elaine Cheng, Dionne Matthew, Avita Sooknanan and Mark Yep, with distinguished President's Award of Excellence in Student Leadership.

Established in 1993, the award recognizes students who have demonstrated a commitment to the University's belief in excellence in its student body.

The students received their awards during this week's Spring Convocation.

Jaimini Chauhan, Bachelor of Health Sciences

Jaimini Chauhan

Jaimini Chauhan is committed to her hometown, her cultural community and her McMaster community.

In residence, she served as a room host and a room host co-ordinator. She was a desk staff co-ordinator and a community advisor for Bates Residence before assuming greater responsibility as a house community advisor. In 2004, Chauhan received the Community Advisor Award of Excellence.

Chauhan has volunteered with the Health and Wellness Centre and the Centre for Student Development. She was also a peer tutor for the Bachelor of Health Sciences Program.

In her hometown of St. Catharines, Jaimini has been the president of the India-Canada Community since 2003. She has also pursued research at Hotel Dieu Hospital by investigating the effects of wine consumption on cardiovascular disease. She is also a talented musician and tennis player.

Elaine Cheng, Bachelor of Health Sciences

Elaine Cheng

Elaine Cheng's pursuit of excellence touched almost every aspect of campus life.

She worked with the Centre for Gene Therapeutics, garnering co-author credits on two scholarly papers. She was the Bachelor of Health Sciences academic co-ordinator and founded the program's Buddy Mentoring System and Peer Tutoring initiatives. A Faculty Welcome Week leader, Cheng was also on the Health Sciences Library Users Committee.

Cheng was a community advisor in residence and volunteered for the Rez Life Cares Charity Foundation. She was a teaching assistant and a volunteer with the Centre for Student Development and the McMaster Diversity Committee.

An accomplished musician and athlete, she was a member of the McMaster Varsity Track Team and the McMaster Chamber Orchestra.

Dionne Matthew, Bachelor of Arts (Psychology)

Dionne Matthew

As a volunteer, Dionne Matthew has covered the McMaster campus and beyond. She volunteered at the Sports Medicine Clinic and was the student therapist for men's volleyball. She was elected to the Student Representative Assembly and was the vice-president of the Kinesiology Society. She was an executive member of the African Caribbean Association and a Welcome Week representative in residence.

For McMaster Children's Hospital, Matthew was treasurer of Smiling Over Sickness. She volunteered with the MSU Charity Ball, the Health and Wellness Centre and was on the executive of the Creating Leadership Among Youth conference.

Matthew has also undertaken humanitarian mission trips to Brazil with Global Youth Network to work with street children and orphans. She is currently preparing to lead another mission to Guatemala.

Avita Sooknanan, Bachelor of Health Sciences

Avita Sooknanan

As a student, Avita Sooknanan has won awards including the Honour Award and McMaster Students Union Merit Scholarship. As a volunteer, she was the vice-president of the Student International Health Initiative and worked with this group on a public health education study in India. She wrote for the McMaster Meducator and was
a Student Health Education Centre educator.

Sooknanan was a peer tutor and an ESL volunteer. She organized McMaster's Epilepsy Awareness Campaign and was a house manager and fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House. She is the co-organizer of this year's Aboriginal Health Conference.

Sooknanan received the First Year Award of Excellence for her work as a residence community advisor.

In her home town, Sooknanan has been a volunteer with a shelter for abused women and children, and a presenter for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Mark Yep, Bachelor of Electrical Engineering and Management

Mark Yep

Mark Yep has represented engineering students with great success. As a member of the Student Representative Assembly, he sat on the club's Executive Council, the Elections Committee, the Public Relations Committee and the Board of Publications. Yep represented his faculty on the University Senate and was president of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Society.

Yep founded the Electronic Systems Design Group, organized the first Intern Networking Lunch, and co-founded The Catalyst, an engineering and science magazine. He has been involved with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and Robotics Club. He was selected to participate in a political skills development institute organized by the Working Group on Racial Equity and subsequently designed a web portal on fighting hate crime.