April 17, 2014
This year Victor Zhang won a hackathon, joined The Next 36 entrepreneurship program, and designed an app to help travellers navigate complex airports. And that was just the beginning.
Zhang was one of five ECE students to receive a 2014 Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award on April 16. The winners are:
Zerzar Bukhari (CompE 1T4)— Since his first day at U of T, Zerzar was involved in various business ventures and non-profit organizations. As the president of the Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) — one of the largest clubs on campus — he nurtured an executive leadership team that developed programming committed to the welfare of Muslim students.
Maegan Chang (CompE 1T3 + PEY)—As orientation chair for the Engineering Society (EngSoc), Maegan directed a team of more than 50 volunteers and organized F!rosh Week, which hosted more than 1,300 students. She was also co-founder and managing director for the Discovery Series, a networking event for young leaders and professionals, as part of the Nspire Innovation Network.
Freddy Chen (CompE 1T4)—Freddy spent time as the director of the U of T Engineering Kompetition (UTEK) and U of T High School Design Competition (UTHSDC). He was also vice-president of academics for Engineering Society (EngSoc). Through the You’re Next Career Network, Freddy led mentorship events, hosted interview prep sessions and lectured to first-year students about best practices for career preparation.
Anmol Kaur (CompE 1T4)—Over the last four years, Anmol focused her co-curricular efforts on improving the quality of life for her peers. She founded the Spark Design Club, a monthly workshop series that provides students with an opportunity to apply classroom learning and design concepts to the creation of interactive installations. She launched the You’re Next Startup Career Fair, engaging over 600 students with more than 35 companies, and for two years she supported and mentored students as a don at Innis Residence.
Victor Zhang (ElecE 1T4)—Victor served as Electrical Engineering class representative, helped to organize the Ontario Engineering Competition (OEC) and successfully ran the U of T Bookstore. As president of the You’re Next Career Network, he helped strengthen relationships with existing industry partners, while fostering new ones with Google, Tesla and Facebook.
The prestigious award—established in 1994 and named after Gordon Cressy, former U of T vice-president of development and university relations—has been presented to more than 3,000 students since its inception. This year 17 engineering students received the award.
“We are extremely proud of the engineering students honoured by this year’s Cressy Awards,” said Dean Cristina Amon. “Their passionate dedication to enhancing university life beyond the classroom is an inspiration to all of us.”
With files from RJ Taylor
More information:
Marit Mitchell
Senior Communications Officer
The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
416-978-7997; marit.mitchell@utoronto.ca