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A student athlete known for excellence in academics, athletics and community service has received the top student award at St. Thomas University.

Florence “Flo” 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—this truly embodies the spirit of the Tom McCann Award. From all of us, Florence, congratulations and thank you for your generosity towards ������˾�� and your classmates," Dawn Russell, President and Vice-Chancellor said. 

“Earning 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,” Awde said. 

Leadership On and Off the Ice 

Awde demonstrated her commitment to academic and community leadership through her contributions to the Women’s 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. 
 
“I came to ������˾�� for an education and a university hockey career, but I left with a family,” she said. 

A Dean’s List Scholar, Awde’s 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 ������˾��’s nominee for a Rhodes Scholarship. 

Awde said one of the most important things she’s learned at ������˾�� is the importance of looking at an issue from multiple angles to cultivate solutions that are more inclusive. 

“My 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.” 

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’s Talk Program, and organized Christmas Tree Decorating at Pine Grove Manor. She was also a member of the Women’s Hockey Academic Committee which was created during the pandemic to provide additional academic support to players. 

“I think it is imperative to be involved in the community as it really provides perspectives and opportunities to learn from others and better yourself,” Awde said. 

“Through the volunteer opportunities I embarked on during my time at ������˾�� I gained the values that make me the person I am today.” 

On the ice, Awde was recognized for her exceptional athletic performance. She played on the 2018-19 AUS Women’s Championship Team and was named ������˾��'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’ll also continue playing hockey for ASU.