Ontario Tech announces 2022 Joyce Family Foundation Success Award recipients

Over Ontario Tech’s first two decades, the university has established a culture of community support for student success through a growing base of philanthropic groups and individuals. Among these generous organizations is the The Joyce Family Foundation, a private, family foundation created by the late Canadian entrepreneur Ronald V. Joyce, whose philanthropy reflected a deep-rooted sense of responsibility to give back to his community. 

In 2016, a donation of $1 million from The Joyce Family Foundation to Ontario Tech established two new awards to help students to turn their dream of post-secondary education into reality. The Joyce Family Foundation Success Awards, and The Joyce Family Foundation Success Award in Honour of Mike Harris, support first-year students from Durham Region and Northumberland County attending Ontario Tech.

Every year, two students each receive a $4,000 award, renewable annually over four years, based on set academic criteria.

Students receiving this award have achieved academic excellence in their final year of high school and come highly recommended by their teachers and guidance counsellors. In their first year at the university, The Joyce Family Foundation Award recipients are invited to participate as mentees in the Office of Student Life’s Mentorship program and will be encouraged to act as mentors in subsequent years.

Ontario Tech is excited to announce the 2022 recipients:

• Alexis Marges of Whitby
• Morsal Moradi of Ajax

Alexis Marges

Alexis is a tenacious and diligent student as described by her teachers at Henry Street High School in Whitby. She is a self-determined individual who shows extraordinary confidence in her abilities to take problems into her own hands and find a suitable outcome. Throughout her secondary school career, Alexis consistently took the initiative to learn beyond the classroom. She also actively participated and excelled in the Arts and Culture Specialist High Skills Major. Ontario Tech University is grateful to assist in developing Alexis’s academic skills as she continues to undergo the task of starting the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities’ Forensic Psychology program this fall.

Morsal Moradi

Ontario Tech University welcomes Morsal as she furthers her academic career in the Nursing program in the Faculty of Health Sciences. As a recent graduate of J. Clarke Richardson Collegiate in Ajax, Morsal is recognized for having the qualities of a spectacular leader. Alongside her studies, Morsal spends time planning events to bring youth in her community together at the local Ismaili Community Centre. She is responsible for managing the website Upopolis, and tutors Afghan adults interested in taking the Canadian Citizenship Test. Morsal’s resilience and tenacity will greatly benefit her as she continues to undergo leadership roles and work towards earning her Ontario Tech degree.

Ontario Tech University thanks The Joyce Family Foundation for its generous donation that makes these awards and student aspirations possible.

Past Joyce Family Foundation Award winners

• Lauren Shields – 2021 (Bowmanville, Clarington Central Secondary School)
• Ashwin Gnanaseelan – 2021 (Oshawa, Maxwell Heights Secondary School)
• Angela Karimzad – 2020 (Bowmanville, Bowmanville High School)
• Sophia Tucker – 2020 (Uxbridge, Uxbridge Secondary School)
• Shabana Azizi – 2019 (Oshawa, R.S. McLaughlin Collegiate and Vocational Institute)
• Kristin Davidson – 2019 (Whitby, Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute)
• Gemma Tyner – 2018 (Brooklin, Brooklin High School)
• Rebecca Mosaad – 2018 (Whitby, Father Leo J. Austin Secondary School)
• David Cucuteanu – 2018 (Courtice, Kingsway College)
• Dawson Fraser – 2017 (Uxbridge, Uxbridge Secondary School)
• Quinlan Palmer – 2017 (Port Hope, Port Hope High School)
• Kurtis Collins – 2016 (Oshawa, Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic Secondary School)
• Lorena Diaz – 2016 (Whitby, All Saints Secondary School)