Spring 2025 Convocation award winners

Congratulations Spring 2025 award winners! Your passion and hard work shine through and we’re proud to recognize your excellence and extraordinary contributions to the classroom and beyond.
Governor General’s Gold Medal

Doctor of Social Sciences graduate Rajinder Sohal receives the Governor General’s Gold Medal in recognition of her thesis, "Rising From The Phoenix: Punjabi-Canadian Women Resisting Sharam, Reclaiming Izzat And Redefining Pehchan Through Resilience Approaches In The Aftermath Of Intimate Partner Violence."
Her award-winning research explores the lived experiences and resilience in Punjabi-Canadian women after intimate partner violence.

This highly prestigious award recognizes one student at each of Canada's public Universities twice a year for having presented the most outstanding dissertation, thesis, or graduate research project.
Royal Roads also recognizes the following candidates for receiving a nomination for the Governor General’s Gold Medal:
- Raimundo Olivos Donoso, School of Tourism and Hospitality
- Shelley Lynn Legin, School of Business
- Nicole Nadine Kathleen Croft, School of Education and Technology
- Mirae Kim, School of Environment and Sustainability
- Thomas Roy Beveridge, School of Humanitarian Studies
- Ceri Eluned Rees, School of Leadership Studies

Royal Roads Chancellor’s Award
The university presents the Royal Roads Chancellor’s Award to graduates who achieved the highest academic performance in their undergraduate or graduate program.
Spring 2025 Chancellor’s Award recipients:
- Lisa Juliette Amanda Korec, Master of Arts in Conflict Analysis and Management
- Tami Lynn Shaw, Master of Disaster and Emergency Management
- Renee Helene Davies Cenerini, Master of Arts in Environmental Education and Communication
- Hideki Daniel Shirasaka Arakaki, Master of Arts in Environment and Management
- Elizabeth Sophia Dammann, Master of Business Administration in Executive Management
- Susan Margaret Cline, Master of Arts in Global Leadership
- Kurt Russell Anderson, Master of Global Management
- Heidi Maleen Fricker, Master of Arts in Human Security and Peacebuilding
- Evan Blake Tumanako Green, Master of Arts in Justice Studies
- Ceri Eluned Rees, Master of Arts in Leadership
- Agrim Banerjee, Master of Arts in Tourism Management

Founders’ Award
The Royal Roads Founders’ Award is presented to a student or a small collective of students in each graduating cohort of a degree program for exemplifying the qualities of leadership, commitment to sustainability, positive and proactive work in equity, diversity and inclusion, and personal growth.
Spring 2025 Founders’ Award recipients:
- Joshua Michael William Morris, Master of Arts in Conflict Analysis and Management
- Lesley Anne Pollard, Master of Arts in Environmental Education and Communication
- Deanna Catherine Woods, Master of Arts in Environment and Management (blended)
- Roberta Montes de Oca Palau, Master of Arts in Environment and Management (on campus)
- Amrita Verma, Master of Arts in Global Leadership (Eve’s Global Leadership Learner Award recipient)
- Penny Florence Mullan, Master of Arts in Human Security and Peacebuilding
- Gaoqianhui Xie, Master of Arts in International and Intercultural Communication
- Eleanor Allison Creighton, Master of Arts in Justice Studies
- Jennifer Dawn Smyth, Master of Arts in Leadership – Executive Leadership
- Amy Louise McKinnon, Master of Arts in Leadership
- Kimberley Dawn Misik, Master of Arts in Professional Communication
- Michelle Ann Sullivan, Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurial Management
- John Vinay Fernandes, Master of Business Administration in Executive
- Grace Wairimu Ndirangu, Master of Global Management
- Sofia Lases Rufeil, Master of Global Management
- Ahmad Ullah Khan, Bachelor of Arts in Global Tourism Management
- Agrim Banerjee, Master of Arts in Tourism Management
President’s Scholar Award
The President’s Scholar Award is presented to students who graduate with distinction in the top 10 per cent of the graduating class in each undergraduate degree program.
Spring 2025 President’s Scholar Award recipients:
- William James Houliston, Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurial Management
- Steven Charles Smith, Bachelor of Business Administration in Innovation and Sustainability
- Lawson Alexander Currie, Bachelor of Business Administration in Innovation and Sustainability
- Aoi Hashimoto, Bachelor of Business Administration in Innovation and Sustainability
- Danae Solis Pasaran, Bachelor of Business Administration in Innovation and Sustainability
- Sara Jane Trites, Bachelor of Arts in Global Tourism Management
- Marsha Lang Clarke, Bachelor of Science in Environmental Practice