Good Works

Parents, partners and friends crowded the Great Hall at Hart House on April 15 to fete 136 remarkable students. The Gordon Cressy Leadership Awards celebrate students’ outstanding extracurricular contributions to the university. Take recipient Fattah Aboghodieh: as the Muslim Students’ Association president at the University of Toronto at Mississauga, he played a crucial role on campus post-September 11, organizing a panel discussion and working with administration, campus police and students to ensure safety and ease stress. He also initiated a campaign to raise funds for the victims of 9/11, as well as for orphans in Afghanistan. “It was a stressful time,” he admits, “but helping people adds meaning to life. You are enriched.” Known for his own community service, Cressy himself was on hand to help present the awards.