Congratulations to Noah Pink’01. Noah, an HGS graduate, will be in Cannes this month for the screening of his film ZedCrew, a drama about Zambian hip-hop artists. The film was chosen for the prestigious Directors' Fortnight program at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Noah is the writer, director and producer of highly acclaimed, award-winning short films, music videos and documentaries. With a passion for transforming no-budget projects into big concept films, he clearly states, "I want my work to change the world." His company, I Like You Productions, has experience producing in Canada and throughout Africa. One of its short films, Bad Day, Good Day, Bad Day (2007) has been screened at film festivals around the world, from Toronto to Palestine to Prague and Paris. The film has garnered Best Short awards and sound design awards for its technical craft and was featured at the Winter Olympics as a part of the Cultural Olympiad in Vancouver.  

Noah has worked on films since graduating in 2005 from the University of Pennsylvania (Hon. History). He recently won a Canadian people’s choice award (2009 CBC Radio 3 Bucky Award) for Best Music Video in Canada (Hey Rosetta! Red Song).  Noah is currently writing two feature films for American producer Robert Cort (Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Jumanji, Save The Last Dance).

Justine Colley’09 was named the Atlantic University Sport Rookie of the Year. Justine, a 5'9" first year guard with the Saint Mary’s Huskies, played in all 20 of SMU's regular season games this year and led all CIS freshmen in scoring with an average of 20.9 points per game. Justine scored 20 or more points in 12 games this season, including three 30-plus point efforts. She played an average of 32 minutes per game in her first year and also led the Huskies in steals (2.5 per game) and assists (3.7 per game). An IB Diploma graduate, Justine received the John Aubrey Messenger Scholarship while attending HGS and entered SMU on scholarship. Congratulations, Justine!

Congratulations to Steven Murphy’82 who recently received the National Progress Club Member of the Year award at the annual Canadian Progress Club convention held in Kelowna, BC in October. The Canadian Progress Club is an all-Canadian service club of approximately 800 men and women who enjoy hands-on involvement in volunteer charitable activities. In particular, members are proud of their contributions in helping under-privileged children and fostering the cause of the physically, mentally and socially handicapped people of Canada through service to the community. 

Steve is a member of the local Halifax chapter of the Progress Club and is currently serving as the co-chair of the club's 38th annual Sport Celebrity Dinner, which will be held on February 4, 2010 at the Cunard Centre. Steve works full time as Manager of the Municipal Engineering Department at CBCL Limited in Halifax and received the APENS (Association of Engineers of Nova Scotia) Citizenship Award in 2003.

 Congratulations to Joe Sadek’08 who is studying Mathematics at the University of Western Ontario. Joe was awarded a Faculty Association Scholarship, the Allan Heinicke Memorial Scholarship, in recognition of his outstanding academic record in 2008-2009. This Scholarship Fund is unique in Canadian universities, and “marks a particularly deep understanding among faculty of the contribution that superb undergraduate students make to this university.” Next year Joe will enter the prestigious Richard Ivey School of Business having secured a placement through the exceptional status of an Academic Entry Opportunity (AEO).

Matthieu Aikins’02, a freelancewriter and photographer based in New York City, has a substantial article “The master of Spin Boldak: Undercover with Afghanistan's drug-trafficking border police” in the December issue of Harper’s Magazine. Matt was the editor of the Diatribe at Queen's where he got his start in journalism, and has been a freelance photo journalist since he graduated. His first major engagement was a very popular six-month travel series in the Toronto Sun where he chronicled the adventures of the Aikins family on their year-long journey around the North Atlantic on a sailboat. One of his most acclaimed pieces was "Adam's Fall" for Halifax's Coast magazine on teenage suicide, which won him an Atlantic Journalism Award and lead to the placement of suicide barriers on the MacDonaldBridge. He has been published extensively in such periodicals as the National Post and the Globe and Mail, primarily covering Near Eastern geopolitics, and was awarded the 2008 Dalton Camp Award for his essay on media influence in Canadian democracy. He's currently at NYU doing a Master's in journalism, where he continues to be published. His website is www.maikins.com.

Class of 2004 Reunion

For the Class of 2004, the year 2009 was the 5th year anniversary of their graduation year and the following class members kindly responded to our request for their updates. Read on to find out how well these young people are forging ahead.

Sarah McInnes’04

Sarah earned an Honors degree in Psychology from SaintXavierUniversity in 2008. She wrote her thesis in the field of social psychology and was asked to present it at the annual APICS undergraduate conference. Elected as Life Officer President for her graduating class, she will be keeping her class connected with the university. In September Sarah started her first year at DalhousieLawSchool.

Justin Magnus’04

Justin graduated in 2008 from McGillUniversity with a Bachelor of Commerce, Major in Finance. During his schooling, he spent a few summers working for the Bank of Nova Scotia and Pratt & Whitney Canada in Finance roles. Upon graduating, he signed on with TD Bank in Toronto, where he currently works in the mergers and acquisitions group. He is part of a small team who look for troubled banks in the United States that TD would like to buy and convert to their TD USA Franchise. Since graduating from McGill, he has earned his Canadian Securities Certificate, and is also well on his way to earning his CFA charter. In the next two or three years, he plans on going back to school to complete an MBA, preferably at Columbia University, NYU, or in Europe.

Jill Munro

After graduating from HGS, Jill went to Dalhousie for three years pursuing an honors degree in Microbiology & Immunology. She received an in-course scholarship each year at Dal. During her third year she applied to Waterloo's School of Optometry and received early acceptance.

Jill is now in her third year of the Optometry program. After graduating with her OD degree in 2011, she hopes to head back to the maritimes to work.

Eric Taylor’04

Eric graduated with a BSc Honours, Specialization in Psychology and a Certificate in Writing, from the University of Western Ontario in 2008. He is now in his second of a five year Cognitive Sciences program at PurdueUniversity in Indiana. He will graduate with both his Masters of Science as well as his PhD.

Tyler Deacon’04

Tyler graduated with a BA in Canadian Studies and English from MSVU in 2009, where he held the position of VP Student Life for the Students Union for two years. He created frosh week at MSVU and many other events during the year. In 2008, Tyler received the Student Affairs Award, an annual award that is given to the student that exemplifies contributions to student life, their community, and the student leadership. He also received a scholarship towards a free residence room for his final year at the Mount, which is awarded to student leaders who have a great amount of involvement in the school. He is now in the 16-month BEd Elementary program at Acadia and loving Acadia’s atmosphere and spirit. After graduating from Acadia with his teaching degree, he plans on traveling for a year or two and teaching in a different country. However, if he is offered a teaching position in Nova Scotia, he would love to take that opportunity. He plans on furthering his education by getting his Masters in Education within the next five years, eventually becoming a Principal.

Ryan Gurr’04

Ryan is currently in the Arctic for the next eight months working aboard the Louis St. Laurent as part of his training for the CanadianCoastGuardCollege. He will earn a 3^rd Officers Ticket for working on large vessels and a degree in Nautical Sciences. He plans on becoming a Ships Captain by obtaining his Master Mariner’s Certification. His job on the Louis St. Laurent involves working with the Americans and a team of scientists doing Seismic research to make UNCLOS (United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea) claims by 2013 and claim the natural resources that the Arctic holds.

Reed Hollett’04

Reed graduated from WheatonCollege in Massachusetts in 2008 with a degree in Psychobiology. While deciding to pursue medicine or teaching, he has been leading adventure programs and doing leadership in Northern Wisconsin. This past summer he went on two 14 day trips in Georgian Bay where he led 15 year olds on sea kayaking expeditions through 30,000 islands!

Laura Johnstone’04

Laura graduated with Honours in Geography and Environmental Studies from Queen’s while playing for the varsity soccer team, where she won bronze and silver medals at CIS Nationals. She received the Women’s Golden Gaels Scholarship for excellence in academics and athletics in her 4^th year and the Sport NS Bursary in both first and second years. In the summer of 2008 she worked in Kingston doing environmental research for a sustainable soccer complex. She wrote the funding proposal as well as the construction proposal, both of which were granted. The complex is currently under construction! This past year she taught English in South Korea and traveled in South East Asia. She returned to Halifax to attend Dalhousie to do her Masters in Resource and Environmental Management, and play soccer for the Tigers. She hopes to get into the field of management of our natural resources and/or environmental consulting, focusing on agricultural sustainability.

Charles Armour’04

Charles earned a Bachelor of Applied Science Honours in Civil Engineering at the University of Waterloo where he was on the Dean’s List. He graduated with distinction and also obtained a certificate in structural engineering. During his co-op terms he traveled to Toronto, Halifax, and Boston, and passed the LEED-AP test (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which is a green building certification program. Charles is now living in Toronto and working for Halsall, an engineering firm, where he works on green building design as well as building restoration.

Bridget Arsenault’04

Bridget is currently at JesusCollege, Oxford, completing her Masters in English with a focus in Creative Writing. She earned a BA Honours in English and a Minor in Women’s Studies from MountAllison in 2008. She was awarded the Mount Allison University Bell Scholarship, was on the Dean’s list every year and was awarded the Women Studies Departmental Prize, which is awarded to the graduating student with the top academic average. She also spent her third year of study at SmithCollege in NorthamptonMassachusetts on a Killam Fellowship. There, she was awarded the Gertrude Posner Spencer Prize for excellence in fiction writing. Since moving to England, she has worked for Condé Nast, a magazine company that publishes magazines such as Vanity Fair and GQ, and is considering doing another Masters or a PhD. She knows that she wants to work in a writing/English/media related field, but is unsure of her specific plans.

Andrew Conrod’04

Andrew graduated from WilfredLaurierUniversity in 2008 with a BBA (Honours). He is currently pursuing his Certified Insurance Practitioner Certification and is working in Toronto as a Property and Liability Claims Adjuster.

Jenna Conter’04

After graduating, Jenna earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from DalhousieUniversity and moved on to a Journalism graduate degree at CentennialCollege in Toronto. She will graduate from CentennialCollege in December and then return to Halifax. She hopes to find a journalism job, preferably at CBC.

John Corbit’04

John graduated from Dalhousie with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in the spring of 2009, and ran for the Dalhousie Cross Country and Track & Field teams. He was the AUS Rookie of the Year for both teams and received 1^st place in the 1000m, 1500m, and 4x800m at the AUS Championships in 2005. In 2007, he placed 1^st in the Boston University Valentine’s Invitational 1000m. John’s Gold Medal efforts that year at the AUS Indoor Track Championships for his 1000m, 1500m, 4x400m, and 4x800m, led him to be ranked 1^st nationally for his 4x800m Relay, 2^nd nationally for his 1000m in CIS Indoor Track, and 3^rd Nationally, for the 1000m, Athletics Canada. Another Gold Medal (College Division) was added for the Cambridge Classic Mile (4:16). This past year, John was a Canadian Olympic Trials participant in the 1500m. He is now enrolled in Psychology Honours at St.FX and plans to apply for graduate schools.