UPEI celebrates its distinguished alumni

The UPEI community honoured three graduates yesterday with the 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award and the Inspiring Young Alumni Awards. Since 1990, the UPEI Alumni Association has been awarding the Distinguished Alumni Award to recognize graduates who have made an outstanding contribution to knowledge, the arts, the community, the University, or have made a special contribution to an area of service to humanity. In 2011, the Association gave out the first Inspiring Young Alumni Award, which was a way to recognize the contributions of our more recent graduates, and use their success as a catalyst to inspire current UPEI students.

'I would like to congratulate our award recipients, Mr. Stetson, Dr. Singh, and Mr. Cousins,' said Alicia Bremner, president of the UPEI Alumni Association. 'Thank you for all that you have done and for what I'm sure you will continue to do. I want you to know how proud of you we are and how excited we are to have you join this exclusive group of alumni.'

This year's recipients are:

Distinguished Alumni Award

E. Kent Stetson, CM (BA'70)
Mr. Stetson is a celebrated Canadian playwright, author, teacher, director, and mentor. He is the winner of multiple awards, including the Governor General's Literary Award for English Drama, the Canadian Author's Association Carol Bolt Award for Excellence in Drama, and the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation's inaugural Wendell Boyle Award. In 2007, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. Mr. Stetson was the Inaugural Artist-in-Residence at The Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas at McGill University in 2013.

Inspiring Young Alumni Award

Trent Cousins (BA'09)
Mr. Cousins is a true entrepreneur. Starting at a young age in the lawn care business, he has blossomed into a community-minded leader with multiple business partnerships and has a passion for growing the local and regional economy. His hard work was recently recognized when he was named one of 21 Inc.'s Top Emerging Leaders in Atlantic Canada under 35.

Ameet Singh (DVM'06)
Dr. Singh an Assistant Professor of Veterinary Surgery at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. His area of specialty and research is focused on minimally invasive surgery techniques and the prevention of infection at surgical sites. He was recently named one of the 'Top 40 Under 40' by the Guelph Mercury newspaper.

'We continue to strive to be the best for our students and to celebrate our accomplishments as a University,' said President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. 'UPEI is actively pursuing its vision to enable our students to reach their full potential in both the classroom and the community, and develop leaders who emerge from their studies ready to excel and contribute to the betterment of our local and global communities. Kent, Ameet, and Trent: you exemplify all of these attributes.'

The UPEI Alumni Association is a network of over 23,000 PWC (Prince Of Wales College), SDU (Saint Dunstan's University), and UPEI graduates that span 50 countries and eight decades. Each year new graduates join this impressive network, strengthening our Panther Pride. Alumni are encouraged to get involved with activities, stay connected, and take advantage of alumni benefits.