photo of tom doherty hugging prime minister justin trudeau at the ceremony held in ottawa.

may 11, 2017 – thunder bay, on

history alumnus tom doherty (ba'94) was one of two exceptional 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 alumni who received the prime minister’s award for teaching excellence at the canadian museum of nature in ottawa on may 3.

when tom doherty (bed, hba and ba from lakehead and med from western) received his award, he gave prime minister justin trudeau a great big hug.

“as a proud métis, it is our culture to greet someone through embrace, and so i greeted him as any proud métis would have,” doherty said, adding that he became very emotional when receiving this teaching award.

doherty currently works as the student retention lead at keewaytinook okimakanak board of education in balmertown, ont. he is on a leave of absence from st. john school in red lake where he taught kindergarten to grade 9.

“i’m proud of all the great things my 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 achieve through the facilitated learning i provide,” he said.

doherty added that it’s important for 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 to learn about canada’s indigenous cultures and traditions.

“i draw as much first nation, métis, and inuit content into the curriculum as possible, which allows 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 to gain a knowledge base and appreciation of our first peoples,” he said.

doherty said attending 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 and serving on the student union helped him realize his potential.

“achieving the goals i set for myself as a lakehead student gave me a sense of accomplishment. it taught me that no matter where you come from in life, with hard work and dedication nothing can stop you from achieving success,” doherty said.

his desire to succeed empowered him to become a teacher. “i impact 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 by helping them achieve their dreams through action,” he said.

kathy cepo (bed from lakehead) was nervous before meeting prime minister trudeau, until she spoke with him. “he very quickly put me at ease and made me feel comfortable,” she said.

cepo teaches science and chemistry to 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 from grade 9 to 12 at st. joseph’s catholic high school in st. thomas, ont.

five years ago, she and two colleagues started first team 4525 renaissance robotics, a competitive team allowing 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 to design, build, and program a new 120-pound robot each year that plays a unique game with robots around the world.

approximately 10 per cent of 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 at st. joseph’s participate on the robotics team, and 84 per cent of graduates from the team pursue studies in science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics.

“my time at 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 affirmed that i made the right career choice,” cepo said.

“from lessons learned in the classroom at the university to those learned during my practicums - i feel that i had a great start to my career.

“i highly recommend 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 as a place to earn your bachelor of education degree. i met many 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 from diverse backgrounds in an area influenced deeply by nature and the environment,” she said.

“lakehead’s faculty of education is pleased to congratulate tom doherty and kathy cepo, along with the other recipients of this prestigious award,” said dr. john o’meara, dean of lakehead’s faculty of education.

“tom and kathy’s commitment to – and passion for – teaching and learning is an example to all educators. this commitment speaks to the exceptional education offered at 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 ,” dr. o’meara added.

(adapted from 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 media release)