As spring settled in we eagerly joined in lots of activities in April and May, especially enjoying the return of in-person events!
This year’s reunion was particularly special as it was the first in-person reunion since 2019. Hundreds of alumni joined us online and in person to learn from faculty lectures, reconnect with classmates, make new friends and celebrate milestone graduation anniversaries together. Highlights include Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie’s keynote speech at the Annual General Meeting, a Young Alumni Pub Quiz held in Yorkville, fascinating faculty lectures by Dr. Michael O’Connor, Dr. Alison More and Dr. Cynthia Cameron, the Double Blue All-Alumni Party and two wonderful brunches – one to celebrate the 50th graduation anniversary of the Class of 1972, and one to honour this year’s Alway Award winner, Barry McInerney (SMC 8T5), for his contributions at St. Mike’s and beyond. We’re already looking forward to next year’s Reunion!
Our incredibly popular 1st-year Gilson Seminar in Faith and Ideas finally made it to Rome for the pinnacle of the program. Piggybacking groups that missed the trip because of the pandemic allowed all students to have a chance to make the tri. Their stay in the Eternal City included a visit to the Vatican, as well as the Vatican Observatory, as well as numerous day trips and lectures. No doubt a great time was had by all.
Spring saw a great group of doctoral candidates in the Faculty of Theology offer successful thesis defences. Congratulations to Shannon Wylie, Aleksander Krogevoll, and Somyong Lee.
The Faculty of Theology held its annual commissioning Mass, a beautiful tradition that sees the community come together to pray for graduates as they head out into the world to minister in a variety of ways.
Congratulations to librarian Silvia Vong. One of her recent articles on information literacy was rated among the top 20 instruction article of the past year by the American Library Association (ALA) Library Instruction Round Table (LIRT).
A book shifting project on the 2nd floor is now finished. Spearheaded by librarian Remi Pulwer, the floor’s entire collection was shifted over 12 months of work to create space for new books and titles from our print reference collection.
To paraphrase Shakespeare, in spring, a young student’s heart turns to …. sports! Construction began on St. Mike’s Athletic Field thanks to the initiative of the St. Michael’s College Student Union (SMCSU), who have funded the project, which includes new fencing, grass, and picnic benches for students to enjoy the outdoor space in our #Oasisinthecity.
Meanwhile, the SMC Crochet club completed their blanket tapestry to celebrate the community here at St. Michael’s!
And of course, while spring always leaves us guessing, it arrived in all its splendor on campus, each year a little more beautiful than the one before. There’s a reasons St. Mike’s is known as the #Oasisinthecity!