Eleven recipients will be recognized at the 2018 Alumni of Distinction Awards

Every year, Algonquin College celebrates the incredible achievements of its alumni through the Alumni of Distinction Awards. These awards honour the extraordinary contributions our graduates make to the community while achieving career success. Meet the 2018 recipients!

Donna Dooher

Alumna of the Year: Donna Dooher

Chef and Owner, Mildred’s Temple Kitchen
Culinary Arts, Cook Training – Class of 1983

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All the Right Ingredients: Baking grad having her cupcakes and eating them too

Baking was a part of Claudia Arizmendi’s life long before she emigrated from Mexico to Canada more than two decades ago. But turning her passion into a successful business took vision, determination, and a diploma from Algonquin College.

Arizmendi is the woman behind Ottawa’s Cupcake Lounge, a popular specialty bakery with outlets in the Byward Market and Westboro. She has won awards for her entrepreneurship, and a loyal following for the sweet confections she bakes each day.

Algonquin, she says, “was a big, big part of all of this” Read more >


DARE District embedded with Indigenous elements

DARE District

Grand Opening of the DARE District
May 03, 2018
(PHOTO: Jana Chytilova)

The DARE District’s three-storey mural is impossible to miss, but the building’s Indigenous influences go far beyond the striking visual of animals and nature.

Indigenous knowledge, methodology, and imagery are embedded throughout the DARE District’s design, identity, and purpose.

“Within the new DARE District, Algonquin has raised and invested $5.4 million dollars into four unique areas that embed, profile, and celebrate Indigenous culture and identity,” says Ron McLester, Executive Director of Truth, Reconciliation & Indigenization. “There is the courtyard (under construction), the Indigenous Commons, the Institute of Indigenization, and an area on our third floor Library that is meant to be a bit of a repository for traditional Indigenous knowledge. Read more >