CAMPaign EVENTS

Distinguished Alumnus and Outstanding Young Alumna honoured

SAIT Polytechnic presented the 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award and, for the first time, the 2009 Outstanding Young Alumni Award at a reception on campus February 11.

Tom Mauro, founder of luxury home builder Albi Homes, was presented with the award for the 2009 Distinguished Alumnus.

“Tom is being honoured not only as a successful SAIT graduate, but as a community leader and strong supporter of SAIT,” said Irene Lewis, SAIT President and CEO. “Tom is a member of the Founding Builders Circle and the Promising Futures Campaign Cabinet in support of SAIT’s new Trades and Technology Complex. His commitment to post-secondary education is further exemplified in the fact that sixty per cent of Albi Home employees are SAIT grads.”

Mauro is the 28th recipient of SAIT’s Distinguished Alumni Award. Established in 1988, the award recognizes SAIT graduates who have demonstrated strong leadership, exceptional achievements in business or industry, outstanding contributions to the community and an history of support for SAIT.

A strong commitment to SAIT is also demonstrated by the first-ever recipient of SAIT’s Young Alumni Award. Although only in her early thirties, Smita Acharyya, a graduate of SAIT’s Cinema, Television, Stage and Radio program, has already made a name for herself in the film community as a successful filmmaker.

“Smita is a fitting recipient of our very first Outstanding Young Alumna Award,” said Lewis. “She is active in many film industry organizations as an energetic volunteer and mentors many aspiring filmmakers, at SAIT and in the larger community.”

Acharyya’s work has been nominated several times for awards from the Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association and has been included at the Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver International film festivals.

Acharyya is the first recipient of SAIT’s Outstanding Young Alumna Award. Established in 2009, the award recognizes a SAIT alumnus/a who has graduated from SAIT in the last ten years and is 35 years or younger who has demonstrated leadership skills, exceptional achievements in their field of endeavour and outstanding contributions to the community.