McMaster’s Black Student Success Centre has received the Onyx Initiative’s Education Award for its pioneering work in advancing equity on campus through the establishment of new support, development and community resources.

The award was presented earlier this year at Onyx’s second annual Celebration Gala in Toronto, an event that recognizes the achievements and support of partners and allies in five distinct categories — Education, Employer, Community, Volunteer and Scholar.

In addition to McMaster, the other 2025 honourees were: OPTrust and CIBC (Employer), the King’s Trust Canada (Community), diversity advocate and Onyx mentor Dwight Rodgers (Volunteer), and York University student and Onyx Campus Ambassador Ramla Elmi (Scholar)

“The BSSC is about empowering students of Black and African descent and making sure they have all the tools they need to thrive, both personally and professionally,” says Onyx Initiative co-founder Nigela Purboo.

“McMaster is a trailblazer, they’re innovative and committed to meaningful changes and progress. They don’t just talk about equality and inclusivity, they’re proactive in making it happen.”

The BSSC was founded in September 2021 to provide resources for Black students, who across Canadian universities can find themselves isolated and without educational, professional and social support.

The centre provides networking, counselling and professional development through events, workshops and programs, as well as a physical gathering space.

The BSSC currently has approximately 800 members.

The Onyx Initiative is a non-profit organization founded by Nigela Purboo and her husband Wayne in 2020 in the wake of the global social justice movement.

Its primary purpose is to bridge the pervasive gap in recruitment for roles in corporate Canada of Black university and college students, and recent graduates.

The organization provides mentorship, career coaching, access to key business leaders and an exclusive job board, as well as other personal and professional development resources.

The Purboos are prolific philanthropists and supporters of Black excellence. Nigela Purboo, who holds a master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from Western University, has spent decades advocating for human rights through roles at the Toronto District School Board’s Change Your Future Program, the Urban Alliance on Race Relations and on the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital Foundation Board, among others.

Wayne Purboo, a McMaster graduate and 2022 DeGroote School of Business Honorary Doctorate Recipient, has more than 25 years of experience as a serial entrepreneur. Wayne is also a former executive at AT&T and a vice-president at Amazon.

As one of the first Canadian universities to establish a program geared toward addressing inequities experienced by Black students, McMaster is attracting attention from other educational institutions looking to do the same.

Brock University, for example, established its own Black Student Success Centre in 2023 after staff members took a tour and met with organizers of the centre at McMaster. The visit informed their own organizational and staffing needs, as well as their aspirations.

“Right from the start we decided to mirror something along the lines of what McMaster was doing,” says Monique Beauregard, manager of Brock’s BSSC.

“You’d think we’d be competitive, but we are in fact very collegial, especially in the Black student space. When we see Black students thriving, that’s a win for all of us and we can now spread that to others because McMaster invested their time in us.”

McMaster’s BSCC is also garnering praise from its members.

Roland Lightbourn, a third-year economics student from the Bahamas, said he had difficulty when he first came to McMaster. Although he was outgoing and social prior to moving to Canada, he felt isolated and without a community, until he connected with Chinazo Okereke, Black Student Career and Post Graduate Specialist at the BSSC.

That meeting led to a conversation with BSSC Manager Faith Ogunkoya. Lightbourn has since made friends and contacts and become involved in the Caribbean Student Association, where he’s helping with marketing and hosting events.

“Faith told me they were very aware of me and were following my studies,” he says. “I didn’t know I was seen all this time, I thought I was alone. That conversation changed my life.”

McMaster is gearing up to host a 2026-2027 conference on Black student success. Ogunkoya says the Onyx Initiative’s Education Award is validation that progress is happening on several fronts.

“We’re doing such similar work,” she says. “It’s confirmation that our approach has worked really well, and for students it means that underrepresentation doesn’t mean isolation.”