Gurjit Sangha

Fave U of T moment As president of the Nursing Undergraduate Society, I learned that leadership isn’t just about having vision – it’s about having the right people work with you, because you can’t do it alone.

Since graduation I work as a clinical nurse specialist with the Palliative and Bereavement Care Service at the Hospital for Sick Children. I’ve also been a nurse at Camp Oochigeas, a camp for children with cancer, for one week each summer.

A meaningful event I particularly enjoy working with teenagers, as they teach me the importance of focusing on them as individuals with their own needs, hopes and dreams, rather than on their illness. It is a great privilege to care for them and work with them. They challenge me to think outside the box and to share my knowledge so they understand why we’re doing what we’re doing.

Are you doing now what you thought you’d be doing when you attended U of T? I knew I wanted to make a positive difference in the lives of others and that it would be in nursing, probably with children.

What has winning the Gordon Cressy Award meant to you? To me, the Cressy acknowledges the importance of community participation, which often gets less recognition than academic accomplishments.