Florence Awde Named 2022 Recipient of Tom McCann Memorial Trophy
![Tom McCann Memorial Trophy Winner 2022](/media/stu/site-assets/images/features/flo-news.jpg)
A student athlete known for excellence in academics, athletics and community service has received the top student award at St. Thomas University.
Florence 鈥淔lo鈥 Awde, from Mount Albert, Ontario has been named the Tom McCann Memorial Trophy recipient for 2022. The award is presented annually to a senior student who possesses strong leadership, character, and personality traits, and best portrays the spirit of the university through their contributions.
"Flo achieved the highest standards in the classroom, on the ice, and in the community. Her intelligence, talent, and character were expanded and inspired through a liberal arts education鈥攖his truly embodies the spirit of the Tom McCann Award. From all of us, Florence, congratulations and thank you for your generosity towards 黑料老司机 and your classmates," Dawn Russell, President and Vice-Chancellor said.
鈥淓arning this award means the world to me as St. Thomas embodies the values I have come to cherish and will take forward with me in my future education and life endeavors,鈥 Awde said.
Leadership On and Off the Ice
Awde demonstrated her commitment to academic and community leadership through her contributions to the Women鈥檚 Hockey team. She helped create a positive team culture, connected team members with academic and student support resources, and mentored teammates to help them develop successful academic habits.
鈥淚 came to 黑料老司机 for an education and a university hockey career, but I left with a family,鈥 she said.
A Dean鈥檚 List Scholar, Awde鈥檚 professors and classmates recognized her demonstrated enthusiasm, respect, and kindness in the classroom. Awde earned majors in Psychology and History, with a minor in Spanish and Latin American Studies. She has also received the Nature of History Prize and the Juergen Doerr History Scholarship, and last year she was 黑料老司机鈥檚 nominee for a Rhodes Scholarship.
Awde said one of the most important things she鈥檚 learned at 黑料老司机 is the importance of looking at an issue from multiple angles to cultivate solutions that are more inclusive.
鈥淢y liberal arts education has instilled in me a passion for the value of looking at disciplines such as medicine from non-traditional perspectives that acknowledge the complexity of the issue.鈥
Community Champion
Awde served the larger campus and Fredericton communities as a member of the Student Athletic Council and the Student Athlete Community Outreach Council. She helped organize food drives, promoted mental health awareness activities through the Bell Let鈥檚 Talk Program, and organized Christmas Tree Decorating at Pine Grove Manor. She was also a member of the Women鈥檚 Hockey Academic Committee which was created during the pandemic to provide additional academic support to players.
鈥淚 think it is imperative to be involved in the community as it really provides perspectives and opportunities to learn from others and better yourself,鈥 Awde said.
鈥淭hrough the volunteer opportunities I embarked on during my time at 黑料老司机 I gained the values that make me the person I am today.鈥
On the ice, Awde was recognized for her exceptional athletic performance. She played on the 2018-19 AUS Women鈥檚 Championship Team and was named 黑料老司机's Women's Hockey Rookie of the Year in 2018. Awde was also named Academic All-Canadian four times, a national designation denoting academic excellence.
In addition to dedicating her time to academics, athletics, and charity work, Awde also found time to coach youth skating, cycling and rock-climbing programs.
Passion for Global Health Care
Awde had been accepted by four schools in the US for nursing, neuroscience, and general pre-med science programs before she decided to pursue a path in liberal arts.
After earning her Bachelor of Arts, Awde will be starting a Master of Applied Science in transborder studies at Arizona State University in the fall. There she plans to study inequities in health care systems to learn how to enact global change for health care equity. She鈥檒l also continue playing hockey for ASU.