Class Notes
Read news and updates submitted by fellow alumni by date submitted, news category, faculty of graduation, decade or search for a name. Share your news here.
passed away in March 2021.
passed away in March 2022. David had a life-long passion for athletics, from his days on the Mustangs football team and as a dedicated and well-respected teacher, coach and basketball referee. Read more.
Richard Raibmon, BA’60, LLB’63
passed away in May 2022 after retiring from a successful law career in 2019.
Peter Craig Campbell , BA’60, LLB’63
passed away on November 18th, 2021. He was a cartoonist for the Western Gazette in the ‘80s, a commissioned artist, property manager and bird of prey handler during his diversified career path.
released his latest album of original folk-rock music, Free Times.
and Jake Schindler, BMus’18, BSc’19, co-wrote and performed in a folk musical “Ursa” during the Watershed Festival in 2022.
will retire in 2023 after more than 32 years at London Life/Canada Life.
Alwynne Beaudoin, MSc’78, PhD’84
won the 2022 Lieutenant Governor’s Award by the Alberta Museums Association, in recognition of her research and excellence in the museum community.
was recognized in 2022 as one of 100 women and gender-diverse people who are leading the way to a clean energy future in Canada through the Women in Energy Transformation Series.
welcomed a baby girl in May 2021.
became the youngest national showrunner at Sportsnet for the audio series ‘Painting the Pitch Red’. The series looks at the rise, fall and eventual triumph of the Canadian men’s soccer team.
Mickey Kasemphaibulsuk, BESc’09
and family welcomed baby Kylian in 2022.
moved to Pasadena, California with his wife, Nivin Nystrom, PHD’20, and joined KJMLAW Partners PLC. Nivin joined Caltech as a post-doctoral fellow.
has become a TikTok creator reporting on Chicago architecture and culture with a sprinkle of humour.
won a leader award during Women Business Enterprises Canada’s 2022 Excellence Awards. These awards celebrate the accomplishments of distinguished women entrepreneurs.
began working for Rocket Companies as their associate product owner.
Ben Cecil, BA’90, MA’95, PhD’99
has been appointed as the 14th president at Olds College of Agriculture & Technology, effective January 2023.
Alyssa Nicholls, BFA’11, BEd’12, MEd’13, BA’17
became engaged to Grant Dawson at Schloss Kronberg in Frankfurt, Germany.
was elected Mayor of the Town of Perth and celebrated 30 years in municipal politics in 2022.
published Shelter from our Secrets, Silence & Shame; How Our Stories Can Keep Us Stuck or Set Us Free.
published Cinema’s Original Sin: D.W. Griffith, American Racism, and the Rise of Film Culture. The book details the history of Griffith’s racist epic The Birth of a Nation from 1915 to the Trump era.
and Laird Weagant, BA’73, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in September 2022.
A group of MBA’72 alumni came together in summer 2022 for a 50th reunion celebration. [L to R] Hugh Willis, David Mitten, Gregory Katchin, Mac Benoy and James Hodgins.
Barbara Macaulay, BA’75, BEd’76
published a biography This is War and I Ain’t Kiddin’: A Collection of World War II Letters From Dad, honouring her father and everyone affected by the war.
published her first book Speak Kindly, You’re Listening, teaching high achievers to navigate their inner voice.
published True Tales of Medical Physics: Insights into a Life Saving Specialty featuring short stories from scientists and medical professionals.
released her new children’s book, From Head to Heart, a story about bullying and the importance of mental health.
published The Rosetta Mind, the second novel in her science fiction series.
Tristan Squire-Smith, BSc’04, BA’05
published Wrinkly Ranch, a deep dive into COVID’s toll on long-term care facilities.
Erica McKeen, BA’17, BA’19, MA’20
published her debut novel, Tear, a layered, lyrical tale dealing with contemporary feminist issues set in London, Ontario.
published his ninth book, a collection of playful verses titled What If Jack Wasn’t So Nimble? Mother Goose Characters Reimagined in 2022.
won the 2022 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer’s Award for New Girl in Little Cove, published in 2021.
retired as a family physician in 2019 and self-published a novella called Hearts Of Wax in 2022.
published her first book, Demystifying Grief: What You Need to Know to Heal, in 2022.
published Immigrant to accompany her paintings featured in the ‘Immigrant’ exhibition. Read more here.
published Writers’ Words Volume II, a collection of interviews with 10 Canadian poets.
first went viral in 2020 for her unique TikTok music mashup featuring her ability to sing in more than nine languages and her online following continues to grow. Read more here.
won Season 10 of Big Brother Canada.
produced a virtual music album The Stochastics & Friends with 13 other amateur international physicist-musicians. Learn more here.
and family welcomed baby Hartley Muriella Rocco in June 2022.
Thalia Standish, BSc’14, PhD 2020
and Geoff Standish welcomed their first child, Eliana Ava Standish in May 2021.
married Scott Burton, HBA’13 in March 2022.
married Adam Miller in June 2022 near Elora, Ontario.
married the love of her life in August 2022.
and Thomas Wong had a private wedding in August 2021 and renewed their vows with family and friends in August 2022.
and Kyle Tan, BSc’18, met at Western and were married in June 2022.
married Michael Van Vaals, in April 2022.
married Harjot Bhandal, BMOS’16, in May 2022 in Hamilton, On.
CEO of Allanson International Inc., was awarded the 2022 “Sign Professional of the Year” by the Canadian Sign Association, recognizing his 30 years of leadership and contributions.
Deryn Rizzi, GDipPA’18, Jody Becker, BA’96, LLB’99, Karen Chan, EMBA’10, Rebecca Kacaba, BA’03, Priscilla Luna, EMBA’19, Erica Nielsen, MBA’02, Karen Peesker, HBA’92, MBA’97, Eva Salem, HBA’93, Oricia Smith, HBA’95, MBA ‘98, Nitsa Staikos, BA’97, and Nurin Thawer, HBA’05, were selected by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) as some of the 2022 Canada’s Most Powerful Women. Read more here.
Nicole Baranowski, BA’19, MScM’21
Anthony Giugno, BSc’19, Paige Martin, BA’18, MMJC’19, Ian Rake, BMOS’16, and Justin Tiseo, BA’16 were recognized as trailblazers in the 2022 Business London’s Twenty in the 20s. Read more here.
leads Canada’s Agency team at Google.
won the Canadian Screen Awards ‘Best Local Reporter 2022’.
Mary Anne White, BSc’75, DSc’11
and John Noel, were granted a US patent for “Phase-change Material and Method for Producing Same”.
Hugh Armitage, BESc’82, MESc’85
retired as supervisor from the Hydro Services group at Southern Company-Georgia Power in Atlanta, Georgia in March 2021.
was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Toronto Arts Foundation in September 2022.
began the startup Spently (now UpOrder) that has been acquired by Pantastic. Vincent has joined the Pantastic team as Director of Corporate Development.
Germaine Joseph-Hays, BSc’05, MSc’07
was promoted to Assistant Principal at Corvallis High School in Corvallis, OR,USA and was selected as scholar in the prestigious Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms program.
is the Adjunct Professor at Nazareth College School Of Business Rochester, NY and new Board Member with Volunteers Of America Upstate NY.
Dr. Gillian Mandich, BHSc’07, MSc’12, PhD’19
joined the National Board of Directors for The Sunshine Foundation of Canada.
was appointed as the Finance Committee Chair/Secretary/Treasurer for Head Injury Rehabilitation Ontario. In 2023, George has also been appointed Chairman of Specialty Risk and Intelligence Services Inc., a consulting agency.
Nicholas Hunt-Bull, BA’89, MA’90
was appointed as the 13th President of Paul Smith’s College, in northern New York State.
was acknowledged by Canadian Lawyer Magazine as one of the 2022 Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada in the Changemaker Category. Read more here.
was selected by The Women Leaders magazine as one of 20 Most Inspiring Women Leaders of 2022.
joined the Department of Justice Canada as counsel.
Melanie Levenberg, BA’04, BEd’05
was selected by canfitpro as Canada’s Top Fitness Professional for 2022.
was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame as a journalist for his decades of covering motorsports in North America and Europe.
Stacey Ann Allaster, LLD’14, MBA’00, BA’85
James Lloyd Cassels, LLB’80; Dr. William Foster Clark, MD’70; Dr. Zane Cohen, BA’65; and Guy Jacques Pratte, BA’78 all joined the prestigious Order of Canada roster in 2022. Read more here.
actor-producer is the acting Executive Director and Board Member of the new Canadian Comedy Hall of Fame. Read more here.
was installed as Nipissing University’s President in June 2022. Read more here.
is re-imagining lending in India through his company Asset Direct of Canada Inc. Read more here.
won the prestigious MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award in 2022. Read more here.
retired from a project management career and is now traveling the continent with the goal of visiting 52 cities, 39 states, and 8 provinces.
and Vasiliki McInnes, MScN’15, opened a vegan food manufacturing facility in London, Ontario. Read more here.
started a new position as the retail operations manager of Cannabis Xpress in July 2022.
began a new job at PricewaterhouseCoopers in September 2022.
and Jason Grier launched a startup called Delphic Research to help support government affairs professionals.
was inducted into the Junior Achievement London and District Business Hall of Fame in 2022. Read more here.
participated in the 29th Annual International Conference on Tinnitus.
won the 2022 Canadian General Counsel Award. Read more here.
began showrunning after more than a decade of directing. David’s recent project, MTV’s unscripted TV series ‘Hip Hop My House’ is available worldwide on MTV International and Paramount+ (streaming).
celebrated five years travelling as a digital nomad, working with Waste Solutions Canada as a sustainability data analyst.
was promoted to Chief Information Officer at Ontario College Application Service in May 2022.
was appointed as a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Family Branch in May 2022.
has been elected as the rector of the University of Chile.
has recently accepted a faculty teaching position at Fanshawe College where he will teach Law to business and accounting students.
Joel, his wife Kim, and their son Samuel welcomed baby Isla Jade to their family in May 2022.