Over three beautiful days at the end of May, Dal alumni celebrated Alumni Days. It was Dal’s sixth Alumni Days of its kind; the spring celebration began in 2019 timed during Convocation, in part, so any alumni returning to Dal to see their children graduate could attend. It moved online during the pandemic but has been fully in-person since 2022 and growing ever since.
This year, alumni took part in Faculty-organized tours and panel discussions, networked at the mentorship mixer, took part in the awarding our flagship alumni awards — the Aurum Awards — and enjoyed a delicious meal and the bestowing of the Golden Eagle Lifetime Achievement Award at the Champagne Brunch.
Here are some highlights:
Mentorship Mixer
Alumni learned about the Dal Alumni Link — Dal’s alumni mentorship program — at a cocktail-hour mixer at the Lord Nelson Hotel.
Mentee Will Mclafferty (BScK'15) spoke about the importance of seeking mentors early on in his career. “If I could give my younger self advice, it would be to start the program earlier. Why wait?” he said.
Mentor Katerina Kratzer (MSc’22) spoke about her key learnings from being a mentor: “Being a mentor is not just about sharing your knowledge and building your resume – it's also about altruism, those crucial soft skills like connection and empathy and giving back and paying it forward.”
Faculty and Department Events
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences offered a tour of the newest additions to the Dal Arts Centre — the Joseph Strug Concert Hall and the Fountain School of Performing Arts’s Costume Studies department. At the Faculty of Management’s Neville Gilfoy Entrepreneurship Panel, successful alumni entrepreneurs shared their insights and experiences. The Faculty of Architecture and Planning held an alumni mixer and panel, celebrating the accomplishments and journeys of its vibrant alumni community. The School of Nursing hosted a panel discussion about nursing research in the Faculty of Health. The Faculty of Science held a public lecture celebrating World Ocean Day. The Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture held an alumni reception at Dal’s Truro campus. The Faculty of Computer Science toured guests around its new space on Barrington Street in the Paramount Building. And Dal Tigers hockey alumni played a friendly game at the Halifax Forum.
Aurum Awards
Guests were moved and inspired by the stories shared through videos and speeches at the Aurum Awards gala, where five esteemed alumni received Dal’s flagship alumni awards. This year's flagship alumni award winners included: a physiotherapist making the world a steadier and more accessible place; a labour relations and human rights lawyer; a social policy consultant supporting less-advantaged people; organic farmers and entrepreneurs practicing agricultural sustainability; and a world-renowned battery scientist and educator/mentor. Explore their stories and videos.
Champagne Social
Alumni closed out Alumni Days with our much-loved Champagne Social. There guests enjoyed a delicious buffet, and honour and toast our milestone alumni. The highlight was the bestowing of The Golden Eagle Lifetime Achievement Award to the creator of Dal’s graduate degree in oral and maxillofacial surgery, alum and professor emeritus Dr. Frank Lovely (DDS'59).
Until next year
Dalhousie is very grateful to our Alumni Days volunteers, including our event hosts and attending Dal Alumni Association members. We so enjoyed seeing everyone who joined us at the festivities, and we can’t wait to do it all again at Dal Alumni Days next year! Thank you for being part of our strong alumni community.
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