Sheridan alumni nominated for top provincial honour

From a Broadway performer to the steward of the Stanley Cup, Sheridan’s nominees for this year’s Premier’s Awards represent a wide spectrum of success. Sheridan has nominated six accomplished graduates for the 2016 awards, which recognize the outstanding social and economic contributions of Ontario’s college graduates.  Since 1992, the awards have recognized one winner in each of six categories, and Sheridan alumni have taken home the prize 15 times. This year’s recipients will be announced at a gala event in Toronto on Nov. 21.

Sheridan’s nominees are:

Camille Eanga-Selenge is the nominee in the recent graduate category. She made her debut in The Book of Mormon, one of Broadway’s most acclaimed and successful musicals, just one year after graduating from the Music Theatre Performance program in 2012. A talented dancer, singer and actress, Eanga-Selenge has already built an impressive career in musical theatre, with more than 13 performance credits. These include Canadian productions of RENT, Hairspray, and the touring and Broadway companies of The Book of Mormon, where she plays the challenging role of female swing and understudy for the lead actress in the musical.

Charmaine Hammond is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, expert in conflict resolution and mediation, and a social entrepreneur. She is the nominee in the community services category. As president of Hammond International Inc. she helps organizations resolve conflict and build leadership skills. She also leads Team Toby, a philanthropic initiative inspired by her rescue dog. As part of Team Toby, she traveled across North America in an RV to deliver workshops to students on the importance of being kind and respectful.

Michael Hicks represents Sheridan in the technology category. Hicks has been a driving force in turning Intelex Technologies from a small Canadian company to a global leader in cloud-based environmental, health, safety and quality management software. As Chief Technology Officer, Hicks led the design and development of the software platform and application builder upon which all the company’s products are based. In 2015, Intelex raised the second largest single round of investment in Canadian tech history. 

One of Canada’s pre-eminent contemporary artists, Kent Monkman is nominated in the creative arts and design category. Monkman is renowned for his paintings, films, installations and performances which recast historical depictions of First Nations people in witty, provocative ways. Of Cree descent, he is an important voice highlighting the darker aspects of colonialism, and has influenced both aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities. Monkman's work has been exhibited internationally and is in the collections of galleries and museums across North America, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Smithsonian. In 2014, he received the Indspire award, the highest honour the indigenous community bestows on its own achievers.

As a head instructor for the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides, Gloria Peckham has earned the nomination in the health sciences category. Her work gives Canadians with disabilities a new lease on life. She developed the Seizure Response Dog Guide and Diabetic Alert Dog Guide programs, the first of their kind in Canada. These specially trained dogs offer their handlers independence, safety and mobility they never had before, and in some cases, the animals save lives. Since their inception, the programs have provided dogs for nearly 200 Canadians.

A graduate of both Sheridan and Durham College, Phil Pritchard is a joint nominee from the two schools in the business category. Before he became widely known as the “Keeper of the Stanley Cup,” Pritchard earned an accounting diploma from Sheridan. Today, he collects, preserves, and promotes hockey’s rich history as curator of the Hockey Hall of Fame museum. He also spends 160 days per year travelling with hockey’s top prize, the Stanley Cup trophy, to bring it closer to fans the world over.

In addition to the nominees, Sheridan will also be represented at this year’s gala by the event’s master of ceremonies, James Cunningham. Cunningham is a comedian and host of the TV show Eat St. He can trace his theatrical roots to Sheridan, where he graduated from the school’s theatre and drama studies program.  

Read more about all Sheridan’s nominees.

Pictured at top of page (clockwise from top left): Camille Eanga-Selenge, Charmaine Hammond, Michael Hicks, Kent Monkman, Gloria Peckham, Phil Pritchard