Trent Spirit Shining Overseas Thanks to Alumni Leaders

Alumni in Hong Kong and England receive awards and accolades as University senior leaders travel abroad to congratulate them in person

March 28, 2023

Alumni in Hong Kong and England were awarded for their ongoing service to Trent University and their career achievements during recent chapter events attended by University senior leaders.  

Trent honorary degree recipient Dr. Justin Chiu ’76, presented the 2022 Tony Storey Alumni Service Award to Patrick Lam ’86 (Traill College) during the Hong Kong chapter event on Thursday, March 17 that was attended by Dr. Leo Groarke, president and vice chancellor, Trent University; Glennice Burns, associate vice president Trent International; and Dr. Michael Eamon, principal Traill College. 

Patrick, who studied Computing & Information Systems at Trent, has been president of the Hong Kong Alumni Chapter for more than a decade and, through his leadership, has built a strong community of Trent alumni more than 13,000 km away from campus.  

“I take the honour to nominate Patrick for the Spirit of Trent Award because, despite the geographical distance between the campus and where he lives in Hong Kong, Patrick has, for over a decade, been a committed champion for Trent and leader for the Hong Kong Chapter,” Dr. Chiu said. “I feel it is especially important to recognize Patrick for all that he does, in addition to his regular work, to shine the spirit of Trent in Hong Kong. All Trent alumni in Hong Kong are grateful and proud of his long-term dedication to the TUAA (Trent University Alumni Association) and for proactively keeping alumni connected to each other and their alma mater.” 

Patrick, who currently works as a desktop engineer at Emerge Apac, has volunteered to represent Trent at various educational events including the University Alumni Heads Reception at the Consul General of Canada in Hong Kong.  He also encourages other alumni to take on a leadership role by reaching out to them to participate in such events.   

Praising Alumni in United Kingdom

Meanwhile, a chapter event was held in London, England on February 22 during which Anastasia Kaschenko '12 (Lady Eaton College) received the Young Leader Alumni Award for her contributions to sustainable practices, advocacy for social responsibility, and impactful innovations.

As co-founder and chief technical officer of Majik Water since 2017, Anastasia has led the development of novel sustainable technology that generates clean drinking water from atmospheric humidity. Majik Water has deployed projects in Kenya, South Africa, and India, not only providing clean drinking water for drought-stricken regions but also enabling sustainable water solutions for Fortune 500 corporations such as Microsoft. Anastasia is also head of business operations for V7 - a platform for AI teams to turn raw data into running neural network to complete any visual task such as identifying cancer cells and picking hazardous material with robotic hands.  

“Anastasia’s impressive track record of problem solving and connecting with others to build and nurture solutions around sustainability has brought her several honours and awards.… For all of this and more, we are proud to present her with the Trent University Young Leader Alumni Award,” said Sherry Booth ’98, associate vice president Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement during the event. 

Also at the UK & European chapter event, longtime chapter president Gordon Copp ’76 (Otonabee College) received the 2023 Tony Storey Alumni Service Award, given to an alumni volunteer who, through their dedication, efforts, and actions, have had a positive and lasting impact on Trent University alumni, the TUAA, and Trent University as a whole. 

For nearly 20 years, Gordon has shown leadership as president for this loyal and enthusiastic chapter that’s based in England. Ensuring inclusiveness, Gordon has shepherded change and growth of the chapter over the years to include Ireland and Europe.  

University leaders who attended the U.K. event were Chancellor Stephen Stohn ’66; Debra Cooper-Burger, chair of Board of Governors; Sherry Booth ’98, associate vice president Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement; and Dr. Holger Hintelmann, dean of Arts & Science.