In 2007, the Alumni Association introduced four alumni awards, based on the four strands of the Collingwood education: Academics, Arts, Athletics and Service. The awards were named after Collingwood’s first Headmaster, David Mackenzie, and honour alumni who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in one of the four strands. On April 12, 2010, the Alumni Association presented the 2010 Mackenzie Awards for Academics and Service.

In the fall of 2010, Mackenzie Awards will be presented for Arts and Academics. Please click here for a Nomination Form.

The recipient of the 2010 Mackenzie Award in Academics is Wendy Fok '00

Wendy graduated from Collingwood in 2000 with a lengthy list of awards in all four strands. She then studied Mandarin and Chinese History at Tsing-Hua University in Beijing and French at the Sorbonne in Paris. Next, she enrolled at Columbia University in New York and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture. Wendy’s academic journey then took her to England, where she studied at the University College of London for a year.

 

In 2005, Wendy enrolled at the Princeton School of Architecture and graduated with a Masters of Architecture and a Certification in Urban Policy and Planning. She was subsequently granted a number of fellowships and in 2009 she was the winner of the Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award and the Premier Prix winner of the École des Beaux Arts de Fontainebleau in France.

 

Wendy has been a presenter at both Yale and Princeton Universities and her art installation works have been displayed in New York, Athens and the Czech Republic. She had worked in numerous cities including Athens, London and New York, and since 2008, she has worked in Vienna as an architectural designer. Wendy is also co-organizing an Urban Dialogues symposia series in Hong Kong.  Wendy’s written and design works have been published in Art&Design, Interior Design Asia, FRAME Asia, Middle East Architect Magazine, Urban Flux, and the Prague Quadrennial and her installation works have been covered by Fringe Festival, TimeOut New York, New York Mag, and Architectural Newspaper, to name just a few.

 

In her spare time, Wendy is the Contributing / Overseas Editor of a+a Magazine, published in China, and a freelance writer for FRAME Asia, Interior Design China, AREA Magazine. She is also the Overseas Editor for France and Austria of the Architectural Society of China.

 

The recipient of the Mackenzie Award for Service is Ali Pirbhai '96

Ali was one of our founding Collingwood students, entering Grade 1 in 1984 and graduating in 1996. Since then he has achieved well beyond his years in service to the community. 

In 2004, Ali co-founded Child Aid International, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping orphan children worldwide, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or faith.  At present, the organization sponsors over 400 orphan children in the war-torn country of Iraq, providing for basic needs such as food, clothing, education and healthcare. It has two offices in Iraq and is one of a very few international non-governmental organizations that are effectively delivering aid to Iraqi orphan children.

In addition to sponsoring orphan children, the organization distributes gifts to over 1,500 orphan children during the holiday season in Iraq.  It has also shipped hospital equipment and supplies to Iraq to equip the children’s wing of a hospital situated in an impoverished Basra neighbourhood. 

Since co-founding Child Aid International, Ali has remained involved with many facets of the organization.  He helped to coordinate and also served as the Master of Ceremonies for the organization’s past two major fundraisers in Vancouver and is currently working on its third large-scale fundraiser. He is also working with his team to continually enhance the systems and processes of the organization. 

Ali holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the UBC Sauder School of Business and obtained his CA and CPA designations in 2003. Since 2006, he has been a partner at Karyon Group, an integrated communications, consulting and capital projects firm.  He is also a director of a private real estate investment company and the owner of Vespa Metro Vancouver, an Italian scooter boutique. 

In 2006 the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia recognized Ali’s outstanding service efforts by awarding him their Community Service Award.  He was also awarded their 2007 Early Achievement Award, an award presented to CA's who distinguish themselves early in their careers through professional achievement and volunteer service.

Ali’s volunteer activities do not stop with Child Aid International.  He also volunteers his time to benefit the Vancouver community.  For the past several years, Ali has volunteered at the Sauder School of Business as a board member of its senior-level management simulation course.  He has also been involved in reaching out to university students by speaking at the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Ali has also volunteered as a business mentor with Junior Achievement of British Columbia, an organization dedicated to helping BC high school students unleash their potential and gain valuable life skills through exposure to the practical side of business.

Past recipients of Mackenzie Awards:

Jennifer Bebb (Henfrey) '01 – Arts

In the March/April 2007 issue of American PHOTO magazine, Jennifer and her husband Steve were named one of the Top 10 Wedding Photographers in the World. Jen and Steve have since opened Bebb Studios on the North Shore. Focusing on the relationships within families and the arts that results, they have brought their eclectic flare to the portrait market.

 

Michael Simpson ’01 – Athletics

After developing a passion for running while still a Collingwood student, Michael went on to become a professional triathlete. In 2005 he won the prestigious Los Angeles Triathlon, and in 2006 he burst onto the international stage when he came 5^th in the Half Ironman World Championships.  He won the Mackenzie Award in 2007, in which his results included a 10th place in the US Open Triathlon, 8^thth place in the New York City Triathlon. place in the LA Triathlon and 9

 

Dr. Pam Walker ’98 – Academics

Pam attended Oberlin for her undergraduate degree – BA Hons in Neuropsychology, Pre-Law and Ethics and graduated in 2002.  She followed that with a doctorate from Oxford in Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology in 2005. She played varsity field hockey while doing her university degrees.   She currently is with the Department of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University, England.

 

Jennifer Winstanley ‘01 - Service

Jennifer worked with an NGO called "Bridges Across Borders" as a summer legal intern in the summer of 2007 in Cambodia and in 2008 she worked with the same NGO in northern Thailand working on public health and access to health care legal training in the Chiang Mai women's prison. Subsequently, she worked on a research project on human trafficking in Canada, looking specifically at best practices internationally in the prosecution of human traffickers, and with a new Canadian NGO called the "Canadian Center for International Justice". The goal of the group is to increase prosecution of war criminals that take refuge in Canada, and to work with survivors to help them seek compensation.