2021 Awards of Excellence
Mohawk celebrates three outstanding employees
Mohawk College's annual Awards of Excellence recognize three remarkable faculty and staff who live Mohawk's core values, help advance the college’s strategic priorities, demonstrate excellence and professionalism in their work, and champion life-long learning. This year's awards were presented at the virtual President's Breakfast on September 1.
All full-time and part-time employees who have worked at Mohawk for at least one year are eligible. Along with being recognized with a Mohawk Award of Excellence, the three recipients will also be nominated for the Colleges and Institutes Canada national awards of excellence.
Congratulations to this year's recipients:
Jennifer Jahnke
Professor/Coordinator, Accessible Media Production
Jennifer is this year’s recipient of the Mohawk Award of Excellence in the Faculty category. As Professor and Coordinator for the college’s Accessible Media Production program Jennifer is making a difference in the lives of the students she teaches, the partners she works with and the community she serves. Her nominators, and there are many, describe her as someone whose passion for making the world a more inclusive and accessible place is unmatched. She is an inspiration to her students, many of whom have gone on to begin exciting new careers in an in-demand field, and she is sought after by companies and community partners who turn to her expertise. In the words of one nominator: “If Mohawk’s vision is “Future ready. Learning for life,” then clearly Jennifer’s vision is “Future ready. Learning for everyone.” Congratulations, Jennifer.
Adam Luyk
LMS and Technical Support
Adam is this year’s recipient of the Mohawk Award of Excellence in the Support Staff category. Adam’s nominators describe him as someone who possesses an infinite amount of patience and who is always available to help when presented with a problem in need of a solution. This last point is important, as one of Adam’s primary responsibilities was to assist faculty with the transition to the college’s new MyCanvas eLearning platform. This transition, coupled with the sudden shift to remote and virtual learning when the pandemic began, meant that there were a lot of questions and adjustment to a new way of learning and working. No matter the challenge, Adam can always be counted on to offer a solution, and he does it with a calm voice and an unwavering sense of humour. For that, he has clearly earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues and friends. Congratulations, Adam.
Cathy O’Donnell
Director, Security Services
Cathy is this year’s recipient of the Mohawk Award of Excellence in the Administrative Staff category. As head of Mohawk’s security team, Cathy led the establishment of the Incident Management System framework and was a strong advocate for the emergency management training that played a large part in the college’s success in responding to and managing the pandemic. Cathy is always open to looking at better ways of doing things. She is collaborative in her process, and she has shown true leadership throughout the pandemic. Most importantly, she and her team have been there to ensure the continued safety and security of the employees and students who have been coming to campus throughout this crisis. Congratulations, Cathy.